What if you pulled your film out of a film festival but your open letter explaining your reasons omitted numerous pertinent facts?

John Greyson teaches film at York University in Toronto. He is also a prolific Canadian filmmaker whose subject matter often touches on gay themes (he is openly gay) and he is politically active for a number of causes. He also writes boycott letters to film festivals.

Last year, for example, he refused to participate in the Tel Aviv LGBT Festival, hurting the organizers’ feelings (really, there’s a Youtube video where Yair Hochner, the Festival’s director shows how hurt he was by this move by Greyson) with his excuse that because of the conflict with the Palestinians, he couldn’t bring his film to their festival. Well, to be more precise, he accused Israel of apartheid and claimed that he was boycotting this festival because it reminded him of how effective boycotting South Africa had been. More on that letter later in this long post.

A few days ago Greyson made some news in Canada because this time he decided to withdraw a short film (if you click and watch it, please leave him a polite comment) he had directed from the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The TIFF is one of the world’s best and biggest film fests and this year they decided to create a new program called City to City, “to take a closer look at global cities through a cinematic lens, especially cities where film contributes to or chronicles social change in compelling ways.” For their first city they chose Tel Aviv.

John Greyson announced in an open letter that he was withdrawing his film and boycotting TIFF. He said many things in his letter, but among them was that the TIFF was serving as a propaganda vehicle for Israel. Cameron Bailey, the curator of the City to City program wrote an open letter in response where he specifically rejected claims made by Greyson and some media outlets that the decision to program Tel Aviv as the first city was made in partnership or via influence of other (i.e., Israel or wealthy media organizations affiliated or owned by Jews). Bailey writes, “Contrary to rumours or mistaken media reports, this focus is a product only of TIFF’s programming decisions. We value that independence and would never compromise it.”

Aside from the funny way in which Canadians spell rumor, I felt that Mr. Bailey’s response to Greyson didn’t cover sufficient territory and that in fairness to Greyson’s strong letter, his comments to the festival required a better response. What I mean to say is that I consider what Greyson had done to be shameful and after watching his short film on Sarajevo, the one which he withdrew from TIFF, I felt that his actions deserve a response. I tried to write it in the same non-linear style he used to edit his movie and to honor his metier, I’ve given myself 24, uh, frames, in which to make my points.

1. John Greyson makes a film about censorship and absence of free speech and then seeks to apply pressure on a film festival to practice censorship and kill free speech.

Make no mistake, his boycott is made to pressure TIFF and any other film festival that would consider programming Israeli cinema that they will be faced with controversy and general insults in the media and on the internet.

2. John Greyson’s film, Covered, a short film with no particular distinguishing qualities (in my humble opinion) which tells the sad tale of a new “queer” (his description) film festival in Sarajevo that was crushed primarily by hostility of a certain population. The film, which briefly mentions that the festival was accused by its opponents of running during Ramadan, arguably covers up for the culprits by skimming over their identities and their actions.

The film will receive far more attention as a result of his actions than it would at TIFF. It seems that attacking Israel is a good maneuver these days if you’re going to generate publicity. Greyson rejects the notion of “Brand Israel” but has no difficulty riding Israel to generate “Brand Greyson.” Of course, letters like his, full of omissions and half truths are the reason Israel need a Brand Israel campaign in the first place.

3. John Greyson uses phrases like “Gaza massacre” “viral growth of the totalitarian security wall” “further enshrining of the check-point system” without even attempting to seek balance or fairness, such as he demands in his movie, for example, from the Canadian ambassador who was in Sarajevo and who didn’t return his call (John Greyson must be a very important person indeed, expecting ambassadors to return his calls immediately).

Examples of fairness in this case would be to mention the several thousand rockets and mortars that were fired at Israeli civilian communities before Israel finally attacked Gaza. He could mention that Israel left Gaza en masse years ago, for example, and instead of building parks and schools, first the PA and then Hamas built tunnels and smuggled arms while firing rockets into Israel. He could mention the consistent Palestinian attempts, every time Israel opened one of the Gaza crossings, to smuggle terrorists through. I could go on, but the list is too long.

After the break, 21 more…and they get better!

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Wo! Two Jewlicious related stories have appeared in the Jewish press recently and we’re flattered. The first was an article profiling our Hero, Rabbi Yonah, who has just relocated to Los Angeles where he is now heading up JConnectLA. The Jewish Journal of Los Angeles wrote of Rabbi Yonah:

Rabbi Yonah Bookstein knows how to excite Jewish youth. He’s been the guiding light behind the annual Jewlicious Festivals in Long Beach, which bring together youth from all denominations to celebrate their spirituality with raucous concerts mixed with some serious learning; he’s been a highly popular campus rabbi at Cal State University Long Beach Hillel, and now, he’s just moved to Los Angeles to head up JconnectLA, which presents social events for young Jews. Bookstein (or Rabbi Yo, as he’s known to his followers) and his wife Rachel have also worked hard on behalf of Jews living in Poland. He talked with The Journal recently about what being a rabbi at JconnectLA means to him.

The other article was published in the Baltimore Jewish Times, titled “How Social Networking Impacts the Jewish Community,” where, for some odd reason, I was interviewed for my thoughts on Jewish social Networking:

“Much of the extra-organizational innovation you see in the Jewish world has been made possible by the Internet,” says David Abitbol, founder of the Web’s most popular Jewish blog, Jewlicious.com, where posts by Jewish bloggers quickly become vibrant conversations connecting Jews all around the world. “The Internet has made it easier for Jews to find each other. Jewlicious [especially the Festival] itself would not have existed before the Internet.”

As a “community” our social networking prowess is second to none of course. Rabbi Yonah is kicking serious butt over at Jewish Community Heroes contest with more than twice the number of votes of his nearest rival. That’s a reflection of how much he has managed to inspire a generation of jacked in, technologically adept young Jews. Take note Jewish Foundations! Me? I’m just hangin’ in for the ride!

Be sure to read our all new Example of Israel Apartheid 2!

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1111344.html

An Israeli Arab man has been indicted for allegedly working on behalf of Hezbollah in a plot to assassinate Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, a gag order lifted on Monday revealed.

….

According to the charge sheet, Sultani first made contact with Hezbollah agents at a multi-national Arab summer camp in Morocco organized by the Israeli Arab movement Balad.
Lebanese Hezbollah agent Salman Harev, who also took part in the camp, spent much of the summer lecturing the Israeli Arab participants on his group’s struggle.

Harev allegedly recruited Sultani, who is the son of a well-known Tira lawyer, after the latter informed him that he and the IDF chief worked out at the same Kfar Sava gym.

I know, I know, Jimmy Carter accused Israel of being an apartheid state.

But sometimes facts get in the way.

Oh, and by the way, Balad, the group that ran this lovely summer camp, is a political party that runs people for the Israeli parliament, the Knesset. It usually gets two to three representatives elected.

But wait, there’s a new and much better example of Israeli apartheid on our site!

The Mad Man from Libya has gotten into a skirmish with Rabbi Shmuley. He messed with the wrong rabbi.

The Libyan uprooted trees, Shmuley argued, and destroyed other stuff on the border between Shmuley’s house and the Libyan’s. There was a protest there today. Shmuley took his case to CNN, MSNBC, and beyond in order to keep Gaddafi far far far away from Englewood, New Jersey. Jpost Reports Gaddafi won’t show up for the showdown.

Bowing to pressure from US lawmakers and members of New Jersey’s Jewish community, Libyan officials said Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi has scrapped plans to pitch his tent in that state during a visit to America next month.

Gaddafi, who is expected to attend the UN General Assembly, had planned to camp out in a Jewish neighborhood in Englewood, New Jersey, after New York City officials said he could not pitch his tent in Central Park.

Working for a blog does come with perks! Muffti just got this email:

Dearest Dear.
My name is Jennifer,i saw your profile today in www.jewlicious.com and became intrested in you,i will also like to know you the more,and i want you to send an email to my email address so i can give you my picture for you to know whom i am. Here is my email address(jennifer2006mendy@yahoo.com)
I believe we can move from here! I am waiting for your mail to my email address above.
Jennifer.

Sure, her photo included has a name that turns up on scam sites, and Muffti doesn’t think she is jewish. He thinks he may have to put some money into wire transfer to keep up the relationship as well, but luckily he has been saving for a rainy day. Wish him mazel tov!

And already she has prevented a sabbath violation!

So I’m sitting at a place called Tarrantino on Hillel and the paper near me (Yediot) reports that Madonna landed last night at Ben Gurion. Accompanied by her kids and a large posse, Esther plans on visiting Jerusalem prior to her two shows at Park Hayarkon in Tel Aviv on Tuesday and Wednesday. Yediot reports that her crew was already in town last week to build the stage for the shows. However, Madonna insisted that all work cease Friday night so as to avoid a violation of the Sabbath. OK, all that kabbalah junk aside, see? Madonna is more Jewish than you are. Heh. Shavuah tov Madge. Break a leg. Tuesday’s show is sold out but some tickets are still available for the next day’s show with prices starting at 490 NIS (about $125).

When a law is made, or a ruling is handed down by the Supreme Court, all citizens are meant to follow it. Yet, a certain governmental agency in Israel has decided to ignore this basic principle of democratic nations. Israel’s Religious Affairs Ministry has decided that it is above the law.

Earlier this year, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the Ministry of Religious Affairs must fund non-Orthodox institutions if they provide Jewish services. The specific case was about the funding of conversion programs of non-Orthodox institutions, such as those of the Reform and Conservative movements in Israel, yet may easily be extrapolated to include other Jewish services. Despite this ruling, religious Affairs Minister Ya’akov Margi stated last week that state-funding for religious services will only be given to Orthodox institutions, and that the Reform and Conservative movements ought to fund their own services. Margi stated that, “According to the law for Jewish Religious Services, the Chief Rabbinate is the sole body responsible for providing religious services. And they do this in accordance with Halacha. Since the Conservative and the Reform do not conform to Halacha, they are not eligible for state funds. Nor do they have the right to use existing mikvaot and synagogues.” However, it would appear that the true sentiment behind this is, to quote Finance Committee chairman Moshe Gafni, “The Reform Movement is not a legitimate form of Judaism. [They] are a bunch of treacherous backstabbers to Judaism. They are jokers who operate without hierarchy and without rules.”

Natan Sharansky, head of the Jewish Agency sent a letter to the Ministry of Religious Affairs saying the following:
“I was surprised to read your statements in The Jerusalem Post in which you claim that only institutions that are run in accordance with Halacha are eligible for Religious Affairs Ministry funding. I wish to remind you that the Religious Affairs Ministry is not a halachic body and is responsible for providing religious services to all citizens of the state of Israel from all religions, streams and congregations who need these services.

The Religious Affairs Ministry must ensure religious freedom and prevent infringement of citizens’ rights in this field. The Jewish Agency calls on the Religious Affairs Ministry to fulfill its responsibility to all the religious congregations in Israel and to foster mutual respect and brotherhood among different religious approaches and beliefs. By doing so the ministry will deepen appreciation and respect for Jewish tradition.”

I would like to congratulate Mr. Sharansky on this action. But more so, I would like to add my utter contempt for the statement by the Minister of Religious Affairs and his associates. The question at stake is not whether these individuals believe that either Reform or Conservative Judaism are “legitimate.” Rather, it is a question as to whether a governmental institution will abide by the rulings of its own Supreme Court. Debate and even disagreement is legitimate, but this should not be demonstrated through contempt for the court. If rulings by the Court are to be ignored at will, then what is the point of the Court? How is the system of checks and balances supposed to function? Then again, maybe these individuals would prefer that there be no Court, no system of checks and balances, no democracy; maybe these individuals believe themselves to be elected monarchs who may rule over the public as “benign” dictators. It would appear that such statements indicate that Margi and his compatriots see themselves as above the law.

These heroes don’t wear tights or capes. They hardly need leotards to reveal how super they really are.

If you somehow haven’t yet heard, Rabbi Yonah Bookstein is a Jewish Community Hero. And by association–as well as kedushin, children and an inspiring partnership–so is his wife, Rachel.

If you haven’t met the Booksteins, this description might sound like an exaggeration. So don’t trust my word alone. For proof of their ability to leap tall hurdles in a single bound, just look to the leaderboard in the Jewish Community Heroes contest. Team Bookstein is currently holding No. 1, with a staggering lead of almost 10 grand. Sure the site only names Rabbi Yonah, but those who have witnessed Rachel in action know the Booksteins thrive working in tandem.

An astounding number of votes have been cast on behalf of this dynamic duo: 17,258 at the time of this posting at the UJC site, JewishCommunityHeroes.org. And thanks to their many friends and supporters, they netted more than 2,000 votes alone in the last 24 hours. What makes these mere mortals so super? Check out this nomination written by one of their students. The Booksteins are “…one of the reasons that thousands of Jews in over ten countries, most recently on college campuses Southern California, are proud to be Jewish, whether it be religiously, culturally, or politically.” The Booksteins founded Jewlicious Festival, “the largest Jewish college student weekend gathering in the country. Jewlicious brings together over 1,000 students from the USA, Canada, and Israel.” They worked for years at Long Beach Hillel until recently relocating to lead JConnectLA. Previously, Rabbi Yonah and Rachel led a remarkable effort helping revitalize the Jewish community in Poland.

I personally have been among the many who have benefited from their heartfelt efforts. I first met the Booksteins while they were running a Warsaw summer camp, where they welcomed my father and me for a Shabbat. I’ll always remember the beautiful respite the Booksteins gave us in the midst of a terribly painful exploration of my family’s roots in Eastern Europe. My father, a survivor of Buchenwald, hadn’t been in Poland since his childhood–when his parents and two of his siblings were murdered and he was enslaved in forced labor by the Nazis. After tefillot, my father told Rachel, “I never thought I would one day stand in Poland leading davening for a group of Jewish children.” Those children, some of them exploring what it means to be Jewish for the first time, were there solely because of the Booksteins and the generosity of the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation, which funded their efforts.

Once they returned to the states, the Booksteins continued working to unite Jews of every stripe. They created “a place where they could come together – Jewlicious Festival. Jewish of all shapes and sizes, from bikinis to black hats, no matter their background, level of observance or affiliation, gather annually for three days of music, innovation, inspiration, connections and creativity. From jocks to hipsters, Ashkenazi to Sephardic Persians, Jews from all walks of life can network and connect with others who have also traversed continents and oceans for the Jewlicious Festival pilgrimage. Because he uniquely bridges the gap between modern and traditional paradigms, Rabbi Yonah has connected himself with Jews from every background, all of which who see him as “their” rabbi. Because he does not have his own synagogue, he is available to anyone and everyone, anytime, anywhere. In doing, so he has energized, inspired and empowered an entire generation of young Jewish leaders.”

Yesterday, in connection with the Heroes nomination, Rabbi Yonah expressed his desire to to continue the work that he and Rachel believe in. That’s because the single winner of the Jewish Community Heroes will receive $25,000 to support their projects. Here’s how he put it:

Dear Friends,

I hope that you and your loved ones are healthy and well!

A few weeks ago, I was nominated by my former students for the UJC Community Hero Award.

Thanks to amazing grassroots support – we are in first place.

Because of daily voting, caring and persuasive emails to friends and family, Tweets, Retweets and Facebook status posts and shares, we are leading the pack of over 150 candidates in the contest.

But the race is far from over, and I need a moment of your time today to capture 1000 votes in the next 12 hours. With your help we can really secure a steady lead.

Winning this award will build support for Jewlicious Festival and JconnectLA and some of our causes: Jewish unity, connectedness, and innovation.

I hope that you will have a chance to bookmark the following link and use it every day until Oct 6. http://www.jewishcommunityheroes.org/nominees/profile/yonah-bookstein/

Feel free to forward this email on, vote well, and vote often!
Peace and blessings,

Rabbi Yonah Bookstein
Executive Rabbi, JconnectLA
Director, Jewlicious Festival

Without the Booksteins, this blog, our festival and quite frankly–because of their support of so many artists and Jewlicious presenters like myself–our shared experience of contemporary Jewish life, wouldn’t be the same. So please keep clicking, spread the word and vote here every 12 hours.

P.S. There are a lot of wonderful folks in this competition. And since you can vote for as many heroes as you like, I’d be doing myself a disservice if I also didn’t ask for your support. I don’t want to detract from their crowning moment, but it sure wouldn’t hurt to have more than two women leading the Top Ten. Please share the ‘voting love’ with yours truly here.

…even if it’s not particularly Jewlicious. One can have a reasonable fight over the healthcare plan proposed in the US (or one of the many proposed…) but this may be the greatest case of refusal to engage Muffti has ever seen, care of Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma:

I don’t have to read it, or know what’s in it. I’m going to oppose it anyways

Muffti is charitably assuming this was taken out of context. But it’s still funny.

Last night, I had a group date. It was a rough start, but had a satisfying ending. You could call it a win. Due to scheduling, it was the first time since we were introduced that I was able to see this guy. I had mixed emotions when I first heard about him: He had spent time in jail. He’s bankrupt. He can be a little sloppy.  But he can score. Did I mention, he’s not Jewish?

My mom doesn’t like him so much. My dad says, ‘we’ll see’. I’m still not sure how it’ll all turn out. I’ve been disappointed in the past.

No… not another Jdate fiasco. I’m talking about my relationship with The Eagles. And who is “he”? Michael Vick.  In last night’s preseason game, he went in for 6 plays in the first quarter, 4 for 4 completed passes for 19 yards.  He managed to get Akers in range for a field goal, but overall… kind of a disappointing start to his first season out of prison. And, I’m not sure if I’m proud or horrified that all 10 Eagles fans that showed up to the game actually gave Vick a standing ovation. He killed dogs for money and amusement. But is he a good Quarterback? He was. The rest remains to be seen. 

And this is the struggle of a Philadelphia fan – Animal Cruelty vs. Making Plays. Because without that first field goal, we might not have won 33-32. And what’s more important to a Philly fan than winning? Certainly not our dignity or compassion for other living things.  The questions that Vick’s signing has raised are valid – how much stock do we place in our Sports Heroes? Baseball players who use steroids; Basketball stars accused of rape; football players shooting themselves or others, getting arrested for DUIs, running dog fighting rings. What’s a nice Jewish kid to do? Maybe it’s time to put away the sports trading cards and return to Heroes of the Torah cards instead.  It’s a good thing we can now find and recognize our own Jewish heroes. But I digress…

So the date didn’t go exactly as I’d hoped. But a Win is a Win. I’m still nervous – is this another T.O.-like disaster in the making? Could be.  Might I end up disappointed? Possibly.  But will I see him again? Definitely.

Come to Israel for free with us!

Why indeed! The crew at IsraelOnTheHouse.com already enjoy a sterling reputation for great programing. Taglit-Birthright Israel has already sent over 215,000 young adults from around the world to Israel. So why should you want to go on a Jewlicious themed trip to Israel?

No matter what trip you’ll choose for your once in a lifetime Birthright Israel experience, you will benefit from Ministry of Tourism licensed tour guides, visits to key points of interest in Israel and an experienced infrastructure focused on making sure your trip is safe, informative and fun. So again, why add in a Jewlicious component?

Well. This is a Jewish site so allow me to use a food analogy. Are all doughnuts created equally? Why do you buy hamburgers from one place and not another? You know exactly what I mean. Jewlicious has been providing folks with co-branded trips for years and we accompany every single trip. We’re passionate about Israel and Jewish issues and we are just as cool and cosmopolitan as you are. Possibly cooler even. We’ll answer all your questions thoughtfully, even the ones you might think are dumb. We won’t just wake you up in the morning, we’ll also stay up at night sharing with you our perspectives on Israel and Jewish life in a way that’s not preachy or condescending. We’ll introduce you to our friends who include everyone from a Rabbi who hangs out at the Kotel every day to a dude that sells pitas at the market, from members of an Israeli indie band to a young journalist making her way. And we’ll plan special events that will allow you to have fun and really make the most out of your 10 days. Afterward, we’ll always be available to you should you need further information, a place to crash or a friendly ear.

The Jewlicious trip has always kicked ass. Be a part of it by signing up for the pre-trip mailing list and selecting Jewlicious as your referrer. This way you’ll be informed as soon as trip registration begins and you’ll give yourself a leg up on getting accepted into what will in all likelihood be a very in demand program!

OK? OK! See you this winter in Israel!!

Trader Joe’s in San Francisco being vandalized. Will TJ’s press charges? Should they draw more attention to these folks or should they let this fade away.

It is surprising that the store employees didn’t defend their products. These hooligans march into their store and the employees sit so passively as if it was normal. Can you imagine if these product progromists walked into a Chaldean owned 7/11 in Detroit and pulled this stunt? They would be crushed by baseball bats.

Can you imagine if they walked into a mom and pop store selling Israeli oranges in Koreatown in LA? They would be running for cover from shotgun blasts.

I guess in SF the store employees were alerted to be passive and not risk anything. Basically they were doing what they were told.

But why didn’t anyone else do anything? If they marched into our TJ’s first off they would have to deal with Dale, who would have punched out their lights. Then they would have had to deal with shopping carts whizzing in their direction being flung by angry grandmas. Perhaps a rack of cereal might have accidently fallen on their heads?

Not that I am in any way at all advocating any violence. I am just saying that this was a shocking assault and these product progromists picked their TJ target very well. If they had pulled this vandalism somewhere else, they would not have such pretty pictures, the camera would likely have been smashed.

Hat tip to Scott Jacobs

Yeah, yeah. Happy Birthday Gilad. I signed up for this thing on twitter called #Tweet4Shalit and I’ll be honest? I was hoping NOT to have to tweet for his release. It’s like I’d rather do ANYTHING than sit all day in front of my computer and compose plaintive messages in 140 fucking characters or less talking about how unjust it is that he’s been held in captivity for three years – boo hoo hoo – and the Hamas fuckers haven’t let anyone see him – waah waah waah – and he can’t contact anyone, and his captivity is incredibly cruel and a war crime and oh so terrible, waah fucking waah. I don’t want to “tweet 4 shalit.” Gilad Shalit is just a regular guy. He ought not merit all this attention. Shalit should be eating watermelon in Eilat. He should be coming back from his trip to India or Thailand or South America boring the shit out of everyone about the spiritual epiphanies he experienced at Machu Piccu or Ko Pi Pi or in some ashram somewhere. He should be butting in line at the bus station. He should be getting ready to begin his academic career in the pursuit of whatever Lil’ Bo Peep “toar rishon” diploma he’d be pursuing. He should be hanging out with his friends grilling way too much meat and camping out by the Kinneret and being way to fucking loud. If he was here I’d tell him to shut the fuck up and pour him another Arak limonada. But noooo. Instead I have to tweet about how tragic it is that he is spending yet another birthday in Hamas captivity.

Seriously. I’m sick of this. I don’t want to do this anymore. Bring Gilad home so I can give him a whack upside the head. It might also help if you tweet and use the #GiladShalit and #Tweet4Gilad hash tags so we can make sure it trends. If you don’t know what that means, well… I don’t know what to tell you. Do something else for Gilad today. Write a blog post, leave a comment, email your friends or find him, give him a whack upside the head from me and then bring him home to his Mom.

Oh Jdate – you’ve failed me in so many ways…

As you may know, I am often frustrated by stereotypes… but I can’t help but note that I’ve met my first stereotypical American Self-Hating Jew.  Often, the term Self-Hating Jew is used to describe someone who disagrees with Israel, or alternately, an anti-Semitic Jew. In this case, it describes someone who speaks of other Jews/Judaism in a negative way. In particular, a young American Jew who bought me a drink but refused the opportunity to travel to Israel on a birthright trip, who hates Jews who love Israel more than America, who is proud of his designer accessories but shames American Jews who “all dress the same”…and the list of transgressions continues… (Who talks about this stuff on a first date!?)

When talking about the date experience with family and friends, we decided that he has some deep-seeded issues with Israel & Judaism. The only “positive” things he said included: I love the high holidays, but people who talk about other people instead of praying piss me off (please note- he doesn’t attend services any other time of the year) and I refuse to buy a BMW or a Ford because of their connection to the Holocaust.

The rest of the time, he spent complaining sometimes about particular stereotypical behaviors of different groups of Jews, sometimes about anything at all. For example, all young Jewish women watch a lot of TV, including Grey’s Anatomy, or comparing a “Jewish” tattoo (ie a Hamsah or your Hebrew name…) to getting numbers tattooed on one’s arm, about how Dirty a specific group of Sephardic Jews are, or about his fear of getting blown up in Israel.  All the while, he seemed to feel safe in his confessions.  And all the while, I argued, defending Israel, defending the diversity of “Jewish Ethnicity”, defending the right to Jewish self-expression, and ultimately defending my Jewish pride and identity.

In Judaism we ask questions – it’s in our faith, in our nature. But he never stopped to ask questions or to learn. He took only the time to make snap judgments, to take things at someone else’s perception of face value and never to delve deeper into his fears about visiting Israel, or his hatred of Jews who love Israel; even his tendencies to pigeon-hole his own people as Dirty, Materialistic & Shallow. I can only hope that my reaction to his comments push him to take a serious look at himself. I know his words have driven me. And I’ll screen more carefully next time.

Everything I know about hospitality I learned from my Dad. We always had big holiday dinners. Actually, we still have big holiday dinners… and they’re great! Mom puts out a spread that seems to include every conceivable kosher animal available as well as multiple veggie/vegan options for my sister Tiff and me. All the family is there, my other sisters, their significant others, cousins, nephews, aunts uncles and assorted guests. We get back from the synagogue and sit at the beautifully set dinner table, and when it’s a full house, I look over at my Dad and I swear this usually stoic man is verily glowing as he surveys the scene. Glowing!

See, polite guests generally thank us for our hospitality, but really? That’s nonsense. What I learned from my Dad was that when guests come to our home, they are honoring us by deeming us worthy of hosting them. Our table, food and company are all good enough for them to partake of. And that’s what makes my dad glow with joy and pride. Guests are never made to feel like they are imposing – it’s never an imposition, it’s an honor.

I’m sharing this with you because lately I’ve been thinking of the notion of hospitality and what it means to the Jews. This thanks to a contest, Tweet Yourself to the WeekEnd of Your Dreams In Trieste, Italy, that we are helping promote that asks you to think and tweet about hospitality – and the prize? A free trip to the Italian city of Trieste, Italy where the winner will be the VIP guest of the local Jewish community for three days. Pretty much all expenses paid! Sweet right? And so easy! More info after the bump!

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Featuring: MGMT, Faith No More, Dinosaur Jr. James Murphy & Pat Mahoney from LCD Soundsystem, The Dallas Guild and The Monotonix

From the press release:

For the first time ever, Israel will host an international music conference – “Heineken Music Conference”. The conference will take place on Tuesday – Wednesday, 1-2 of September 2009 in the Israel Trade Fairs Center in Tel-Aviv, under the initiative of the Heineken brand… The Heineken Music Conference will host senior and key personalities from the international music industry that will arrive especially to Israel in order to participate in the conference, as well as local representatives from the Israeli music scene, among them: record company representatives, artist managers, international agents, media personalities and producers… An indie festival will take place in the evening, with preferences by MGMT, Faith No More, Dinosaur jr., LCD Soundsystem in a special Disco set, The Dallas Guild and the Monotonix.

Usually I’d throw in some clever commentary but all I can think is wow! I am impressed that this was pulled off. And that it’s going to happen. It’s not just a kick ass show, but also an industry meetup that will help get Israel on the international music map. Well, hopefully anyway. The list of Industry bigwigs is impressive and program sounds pretty good! So.. for more information, check out www.heineken.co.il and for press inquiries call Hani Levi, Gil-Ad Branding P.R. 03-6448050 / 054-6644677.

Hat tip to Jeremy at Israel Artist Agency

Avigdor Lieberman goes all the way to crazy and then added a few kilometers some with this beauty:

It’s a shame that the Swedish Foreign Ministry fails to intervene in a case of blood libels against Jews…This is reminiscent of Sweden’s stand during World War II, when [it] had failed to intervene as well.

One might find Swedish neutrality over the organ stealing article offensive and with that they had not sold iron to the Nazis while staying neutral during the war. Still, the Swedes, Muffti might remind you, accepted and protected nearly all of the Danish jews and many Norwegian Jews during that same war (not including the famous individual heroism of Swede Raoul Wallenberg).

By Jamie Kirchick
Published in Tablet Magazine

When Zvi Bellin, a gay Washingtonian, heard that a vigil was being organized by members of the gay and Jewish communities in the Capitol to memorialize the victims of the Tel Aviv gay youth center shooting, he decided to invite Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld. Herzfeld, who leads the modern Orthodox Ohev Sholom synagogue in Shepherd Park, is a member of the only movement of mainstream American Judaism that views homosexuality as issur d’oraita, something that is proscribed by the Torah. Thousands of years after the Jewish holy text was transmitted from God’s mouth to man’s ears, Orthodox Judaism’s classification of sexual relations between people of the same gender remains unerring: “an abomination.” But whatever the conservative doctrines of his faith, Herzfeld recognized an important Jewish value at stake in the Tel Aviv massacre: that some Jews would take halakhic prohibitions against homosexuality to mean that homosexuals are themselves an abomination and thus unworthy in the eyes of God.

“I said it would be my honor,” Herzfeld told me about the invitation offered by Bellin, who is gay and attends Ohev Sholom. Herzfeld turned what would have been a somber commemoration of a tragedy into an inspiring, even newsworthy, event. In his brief speech, he called upon Orthodox congregations to take a “communal pledge declaring that we will not create a climate of gay-bashing,” wowing his mostly gay, Dupont Circle audience.

Read the rest of the article in Tablet Magazine

There has been speculation since the dawn of the rise in popularity of the hit show Mad Men, that the show’s resident heart throb and protagonist, Don Draper is in fact Jewish. Since not much is known about Draper’s past, the rumors continue to ebb and flow. Season 1 had Don paired in a rather serious dalliance with a Jewish heiress to a successful retail chain. While the jokes and cultural bites ensued, it didn’t seem to get us any closer in revealing Draper’s potentially semitic routes.

So in this vein, I’d like to scribe a ditty on the theme of “What If…” In this case, relating to Don Draper being a Jew (Read the title of this post, people!). Hey, if Beyonce can make everyone in the universe question  if [she] was a boy and sprout herself a new identity practically overnight, Don Draper can sit at the Shabbos table, say the motzi, and break bread over Manischewitz. Don’t see the correlation? Reinvention! That, and I think these bullet points would be far more effective if sung to the theme of “If I Were a Boy.”

If Don Draper were a Jew…

• He’d still be married to his shiksa wife, Betty. Let’s face it. She’s every Jewish boy’s wet dream. And yes, it makes us Jewish girls a bit verklempt to say that.
• He’d feel a bit guiltier about his infidelities and go kvetch to his rabbi and unload his guilt more often. In fact, he’d be so wrought with guilt, there’s a potential he might not be able to get it up. In which case, they’d have had to rewrite all of the show and come up with at least 20 minutes of new material, per episode.
• He’d go to such great lengths to hide his Jewishness that he might be guilty of making the worst anti-semitic slurs at his ad agency, Sterling Cooper, just to overcompensate. Well, that, and he wouldn’t be having the extra-marital affairs to offset all his angst, just fueling the fire.
• He’d fantasize about Joan more often – She’s the comely, fiery broad in the office with all the right curves and just the right amount of cynicism to make her razor-sharp retorts that much more stinging. Of course, some of Don’s fantasies would involve her telling him what to do and a strap-on.
• He’d drink far less alcohol and spend less time inebriated but he might still act drunk just to keep up appearances with his work buddies. He’d keep an extra fridge in his office under his desk for the extra hummus that he illegally imports. This is the 60s after all. Hummus is his secret vice…and something he could never readily explain away to his pedantic peers. This also helps to explain why he often smells of garlic and chickpeas.

Lastly, can someone from FunnyorDie.com contact me about my idea to do a video short on this theme? I have some pretty bitchin’ ideas about this. And it’s gotta be better than the Alicia Silverstone – Alanis Morissette short, however cute they both may be.

Mad Men airs on AMC at 10 PM ET on Sundays. For a teaser of the Mad Men Season 3 premiere, go here.

You know traditional Judaism has entered a new milieu when tzniut ends up on TLC. Mayim Bialik starred in NBC’s “Blossom” from 1990 to 1994. More recently, she appeared on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Saving Grace” and, this fall, will have a recurring role on “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.” At the new Tablet magazine, Mayim dished about her recent appearance on “What Not To Wear.”

Earlier this year, producers from the TLC make-over show “What Not to Wear” chose me to “fix.” It was eight months after I had given birth to my second son (my first was three years old ), and I had just completed a doctorate in neuroscience.

I had been wearing slouchy clothes since long before I had kids. I favored men’s oversized garments that hung loosely from my body and had never much cared for fashion or trends. For the most part, I spent little to no time on my appearance. From the time I was 19 until I turned 32, I devoted my time to studying, writing a thesis, and starting a family. But the acting itch never completely abated and I had decided to pursue it again rather than stay in academia. The actor’s life I want to pursue gives me more time to raise my children, rather than hand them over to a nanny. Getting a makeover seemed like a great opportunity to put together a new look that I could use on future auditions.

The WNTW producers asked if I have any clothing restrictions. Deep breath. “I don’t wear pants,” I told them. “I prefer skirts.” You see, I am what I guess you’d call a Conservadox Jew. I started embracing certain aspects of Jewish modesty, or tzniut, before my second son was born, and although I know many Orthodox women who don’t observe tzniut, the boundaries and framework of privacy it provides appealed to me.

(more…)

I guess in a few weeks we’ll write the obligatory “it’s nonsense” post about the Goldstone Commission’s report on the Gaza War for the UN “Human Rights Commission.” Irwin Cotler, international jurist and former Justice Minister of Canada, pretty well covers the significant problems with Goldstone’s assignment and commission in two articles for the Jerusalem Post. They are a must read, but also hard to read.

Goldstone admits that he also refused the appointment – at least initially. “More than hesitate, I initially refused to become involved in any way [with the inquiry], on the basis of what seemed to me to be a biased, uneven-handed resolution of the UN Human Rights Council,” he explained. But he felt comfortable enough to proceed when the then-president of the Council, Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi, purportedly expanded the mission’s mandate for him, even though the enabling resolution behind the inquiry would remain unchanged, and though he would still be accountable to the Council that passed this resolution.

HOW GOLDSTONE could have considered his personal conversation with Uhomoibhi sufficient to quell his fears is surprising to say the least. One-sided or not, the mandate in the enabling Human Rights Council resolution is the one that determined the scope and tenor of the “fact-finding” mission. Uhomoibhi could no more have altered that mandate unilaterally than Goldstone could have himself, in defiance of the Council.

Indeed, any faith Goldstone possessed in the re-definition of his mandate should have dissipated when Uhomoibhi publicly stated on the day the inquiry was announced: “I am confident that the mission will be in a position to assess in an independent and impartial manner all human rights and humanitarian law violations committed in the context of the conflict which took place between 27 December 2008 and 18 January 2009.”

The alleged expansion of the mandate’s timeframe that Goldstone apparently fought for, to include reference to Hamas’s provocation (apparently from June 2008), was nowhere to be found in the description of his mandate.

and

Yet despite the fog of war immediately covering the on-going hostilities, the international community was rife with “experts” who were ready to convict Israel of war crimes.

Among those supposed experts was Christine Chinkin, a law professor in England. As events would turn out, Chinkin would become both a member of, and an apt metaphor for, the seriously-flawed Goldstone Commission that would be called upon by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to investigate the conflict.

and

None of this is intended to suggest, nor would I wish to have it inferred, that Israel is somehow above the law, or that Israel is not to be held accountable for any violations of law. On the contrary, Israel is accountable for any violations of international law or human rights like any other state. The Jewish people are not entitled to any privileged protection or preference because of the particularity of Jewish suffering.

But the problem is not that Israel seeks to be above the law; it is that Israel has been systematically denied equality before the law in the international arena. The issue is not whether Israel must respect human rights, but that the human rights of Israel and its people have not been respected. The discrimination emerges not from suggesting that human rights standards should be applied to Israel – which they must be – but from the fact that these standards have not been applied equally to anyone else.

IT IS on this basis that the Goldstone Commission should be opposed: not because it represents an objective inquiry into Israel – because independent and impartial inquiries should be welcomed by democracies – but precisely because it does not represent such an objective inquiry.

Consistently applying discriminatory standards has the effect not only of demonizing Israel, but of undermining the integrity of the UN and the edifice of international law. Decades from now, historians looking back at the meetings of the council will be led to believe that more Palestinians died at the hands of Israelis than Darfurians at the hands of Sudan; that discrimination was institutionalized in Israel to a larger extent than in apartheid South Africa; and that Israel – the lone democracy in the Middle East – was a greater threat to international peace and security than any other state since its inception.

Read it all and consider that Israel entered this war after patiently avoiding war on Gaza for years. We live in a surreal world.

Hat tip to Charles Ettinson.

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Yo! It’s that time of the year again. Time to start thinking about going on a free Birthright Israel Trip next winter. If you are between 18-26, Jewish and have never been on a peer-based trip to Israel before, start thinking about floating in the Dead Sea, visiting the Kotel in Jerusalem, sipping a cappuccino in Tel Aviv and hiking and touring the width and breadth of Israel. For free. Registration is going to begin in September but you can give yourself a leg up by pre-registering at IsraelOnTheHouse.com. Don’t think about it. Just do it. It doesn’t cost anything and signing up does not obligate you in any way. Now here’s the fun part. Ready?

Select “Jewlicious” as your referrer and you will be able to go on a co-branded Jewlicious trip. What does that mean? Well, you will get all the usual good stuff mandated by Taglit-Birthright Israel, all the remarkable creative programming and planning skills of the team at IsraelOnTheHouse.com AND further enhancements introduced by the witty, knowledgeable and irreverent folks that you know and love here at Jewlicious.

How has that manifested itself in the past? Unplanned excursions to less frequented locales, special live music events by local indie acts, a variety of hip, interesting speakers, the ongoing commentary of people passionate about Israel, all kinds of awesome stuff and really, really good hummus. Seriously, it’s that good. So… yeah. Sign up now, select “Jewlicious” and by all means feel free to contact us with any questions you might have.

this trip is a gift from Taglit-Birthright Israel.

I bet you’ve been wondering where I was.  Well, I’ll give you a hint.

No.  Not with Amy Winehouse.   I was at a Russian Jew wedding.  Eight hours away.  So, I’ve been all discombobulated, especially since we are leaving next week for Eretz Nehederet.  So, I’m cheating a little bit.

Here’s a post about Ukraine or something.

But we love him all the same. Here’s the new work from EV, in Gawker. In this one, some chimps represent people doing stuff that he thinks satires something relevant. You can figure out the rest yourself.