Month: December 2011

Red Hot Chili Peppers and Claire Danes Dig Tel Aviv

Post author By Rabbi Jason Miller
Post date December 7, 2011

Israel’s Ministry of Immigration and Absorption might have taken a hit following its ill conceived PR campaign to get Israeli expats to return to Israel, but Tel Aviv is doing great right now in the PR department.

Tel Aviv was on everyone’s mind yesterday as news circulated about a planned Red Hot Chili Peppers concert in Tel Aviv next fall and a ringing endorsement about Tel Aviv’s rockin’ party atmosphere from Claire Danes.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers recently signed a deal to perform in Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park in September to promote their tenth album. The concert will take place 11 years after the Chili Peppers canceled a performance in Tel Aviv at the last minute in September 2001. The band’s first guitarist, Hillel Slovak, was an Israeli who moved to the United States as a child. Slovak died of a heroin overdose in 1988 before the band became famous.

I had a chance to meet the Red Hot Chili Peppers in Palo Alto, California in July 1992 while I was a participant on the USY on Wheels summer youth tour and the Chili Peppers were performing in Lollapalooza. It so happened that my group was staying in the same hotel as all of the Lollapalooza bands including Pearl Jam. I spent a few minutes talking with Anthony Kiedis of the Chili Peppers while we were waiting for an elevator. Like Pearl Jam, the band has had a very successful run over the past two decades and I’m sure they won’t have a hard time selling out their Tel Aviv show.

While the Chili Peppers were signing their names to their Tel Aviv concert agreement, actress Claire Danes was singing Tel Aviv’s praises to Conan O’Brien. Talking to the late night host on “Conan,” Claire Danes remarked that Tel Aviv (where she filmed part of Showtime’s “Homeland”) is the most intense party town she’s ever been to. She theorized that the reason for this was that it’s a very stressful environment and its citizens need to blow off steam.

Most people took Claire Dane’s observations about Tel Aviv as a ringing endorsement, but David Abitbol, the founder of Jewlicious, called her theory of Tel Aviv being so stressful into question:

That’s a great observation Claire. It is indeed very stressful in Tel Aviv! Folks stress out over things on a daily basis like “should I get an Americano or a Capuccino?” or “When is that last bus to Holon!?” or “How will I convince the IDF draft office that I am a religious girl now that all those intense party photos of me are on Facebook?” Oh the humanity.

Personally, I think it was great to hear a celebrity saying positive things about Israel on late night TV. Maybe Claire Danes will return to Tel Aviv in September 2012 for the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert? I’m sure she’d have fun at the after parties.

American Jews Bar Mitzvah children Day Schools Teens

Bar and Bat Mitzvah Etiquette for Teens

Post author By Rabbi Jason Miller
Post date December 5, 2011

When I was twelve-years-old I took part in a Joe Cornell dance class with just about every other Jewish teen my age in Metro Detroit to prepare for the bar and bat mitzvah circuit. When my mother was twelve she also learned to dance from Joe Cornell. It’s something of a Detroit tradition.

While Joe Cornell has been retired for many years, the company is still around (after more than fifty years) and has actually grown immeasurably over the past decade under the leadership of owners Steve Jasgur and his sister Becca Jasgur Schlussel. In addition to providing DJ services and dancers for bar and bat mitzvah parties, Joe Cornell still runs its “Learn to Dance” dance studio for the pre-bar and bat mitzvah crowd.

My own children are still too young to even be thinking about attending bar and bat mitzvahs, but I read with interest an article about a new program that Joe Cornell is running at local Hebrew Schools and day schools. Patch.com reported on Joe Cornell’s Mitzvah Circuit 101 gatherings, which teach b’nai mitzvah etiquette to teens. Attending bar and bat mitzvah services and parties requires a lot of social cues that many twelve- and thirteen-year-olds don’t yet possess or at least haven’t yet had to draw upon. I remember my parents teaching me the etiquette for responding to a bar or bat mitzvah invitation before attending my first one, but there are still many other aspects of good manners that these children (and they are still children) must learn.

“We were asked to speak to a group of students about how to behave, respond to invitations and socialize successfully and we jumped at the chance,” Jasgur said. “It was great fun – and the kids really got into the discussion of do’s and don’ts. Then, of course, we had to add an element of fun to the night, so we gave the group a taste of the kind of Joe Cornell fun they’ll see at b’nai mitzvah parties this year.”

“In preparation for the 7th-grade social scene, our dance program teaches 6th-graders social interaction and social responsibility,” Schlussel said. “This Mitzvah Circuit program is simply an extension for that 21st century cotillion-style preparation we specialize in. We all want our children to be gracious guests, but sometimes the lessons hit home more readily when conveyed by someone new.”

When I was a twenty-year-old youth group adviser I was asked to be on a panel that discussed teens’ behavior at bar and bat mitzvahs in front of an audience of parents. I remember thinking how ironic that was since it was only seven years earlier that I was one of the misbehaving teens at these parties. In recent years, however, I have certainly noticed that teens are better behaved at both b’nai mitzvah services and the parties that follow. I think it’s imperative that these middle schoolers are learning about the etiquette required at bar and bat mitzvahs as it will improve the experience for everyone, and I’m glad that Joe Cornell Entertainment has taken the lead on this.

American Jews Diaspora Israel Palestine Public Relations

Israel Scraps "Don’t Marry an American" Ad Campaign

Post author By Rabbi Jason Miller
Post date December 2, 2011

Just as I was about to sit down and blog about Israel’s recent controversial ad campaign that (not-so-subtly) cautions Israelis living in the U.S. to not marry Americans, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to scrap the campaign.

News of the ad campaign was first broken by the Jewish Channel but it went viral after Jeffrey Goldberg blogged about it on the Atlantic’s website. In addition to billboards in five major U.S. cities, the campaign by the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption also featured short videos that warn Israelis that raising their children in America will lead to a loss of Israeli identity. In one video an American man cannot understand why his Israeli girlfriend is sad and lighting a candle in their apartment (he doesn’t “get” that it’s Yom Hazikaron — Israel’s memorial day). In another video a pair of Israeli grandparents sit in front of a menorah and video chat with their granddaughter in America. When they ask the granddaughter to name the holiday they’re celebrating, she says “Christmas.”

This Florida billboard is part of Israel’s recent ad campaign that the Prime Minister scrapped today.
Translation: Before “Abba” changes to “Daddy”… the time has come to return to Israel.

Many American Jews were offended at the ad campaign and the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) formally protested it with their colleagues in Israel. In a memo re-posted on Jeffrey Goldberg’s blog, JFNA officials wrote:

This is to follow up on an earlier note from the JFNA Israel office concerning a new Israeli Ministry of Immigrant Absorption ad campaign attempting to lure ex-Israeli citizens home.

While we recognize the motivations behind the ad campaign, we are strongly opposed to the messaging that American Jews do not understand Israel. We share the concerns many of you have expressed that this outrageous and insulting message could harm the Israel-Diaspora relationship.

For that reason, we have made our concerns known to Israeli officials in the United States, and are delivering a strong letter to the Prime Minister’s office asking the government to stop this initiative and to reconsider the strategy behind it. We have also offered to help play a role in rethinking this effort.

Not everyone had a problem with the ad campaign. Laura Ben-David, an American Jew living in Israel, thought the ad campaign was right on target. She blogged about it saying:

Goldberg indignantly claims one who says ‘a Jew who is concerned about the Jewish future should live in Israel,’ is ‘archaic, and also chutzpadik.’ Archaic? Chutzpadik? I’m sorry, Mr. Goldberg, for being an archaic, chutzpadik Jew. Personally, I believe our chutzpah has served us well over the years. But really, do I have to explain that one? Jewish future in a Jewish homeland vs. Jewish future in a vastly overwhelmingly non-Jewish country… Tough one.

This is contempt for America? No, it is reality. We love America. Yes, I left, but I love and appreciate everything America stands for and what it has given to several generations of my family. It was my home. But it is not our Home. There is no place in the world that can replace Israel in the heart of the Jewish nation. But if one stays long enough it can replace Israel in one’s soul. Isn’t that worth placing a few ads and commercials?

In the end it turns out that Prime Minister Netanyahu decided this PR campaign was, well, bad PR for Israel so he had the Ministry of Immigration Absorption scrap it. Here is the statement coming out of Israel:

“The Ministry of Immigrant Absorption’s campaign clearly did not take into account American Jewish sensibilities, and we regret any offense it caused. The campaign, which aimed to encourage Israelis living abroad to return home, was a laudable one, and it was not meant to cause insult. The campaign was conducted without the knowledge or approval of the prime minister’s office or of the Israeli embassy in Washington. Prime Minister Netanyahu, once made aware of the campaign, ordered the videos immediately removed from YouTube, and he ordered that the billboards be removed as well. The prime minister deeply values the American Jewish community and is committed to deepening ties between it and the State of Israel.”

Unfortunately there is another story coming out of Israel that’s going to make for negative PR. Writing on the Daily Rabbi blog, Rabbi Reuven Hammer of Jerusalem explains that “Two different groups have recently begun to gather lists of stores and employers in Jerusalem who declare that they do not and will not hire Arabs. Their plan is to post and distribute these lists so that people will know which stores to patronize and which to avoid.”

This is clearly a form of racism and it cannot and should not be tolerated in Israel (or anywhere). I hope that Jewish groups like the JFNA work just as hard (or harder) to ensure that these groups cease and desist with their plan. Rabbi Hammer correctly points to a text from the Torah in Exodus that states, “message of the Torah is that “You shall not wrong a stranger [ger] or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”

Israel gets attacked in the media enough without having to cause her own PR nightmares. Let’s hope that this ill conceived plan ends immediately since it is in direct contradiction with Israel’s democratic ideals as well as the values of Judaism.

Curb Your Enthusiasm Israel Kosher Larry David Middle East Peace Politicians Television

Alan Dershowitz Sees Potential in "Curb" Episode

Post author By Rabbi Jason Miller
Post date December 2, 2011

When I blogged about Larry David’s brilliant “Palestinian Chicken” episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, I focused on the role that the yarmulke played in that episode and didn’t really get into the meatier (get it?) issue that chicken can potentially play in Israeli-Palestinian relations. I figured someone would find value in that comical episode and try to use it to bring the two sides in the Mid-East crisis together for dialogue. I was just surprised when I heard it was Alan Dershowitz.

Speaking with Prof. Alan Dershowitz in my office at the
University of Michigan Hillel Foundation in 2005.

In an interview with the Columbia Current, Dershowitz explained his role in making sure Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu saw the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode:

“I recently sent a copy of ‘Palestinian Chicken,’ that Larry David gave me, to Prime Minister Netanyahu — with the suggestion that he invite Abbas over to watch it together,” he said, referring to the episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” centered around the heated competition between a kosher deli and a Palestinian chicken joint in Los Angeles. “And maybe if they both get a good laugh, they can begin a negotiating process … So it may be that Larry David will not only win Emmys, but he may even qualify for the Nobel Peace Prize, if his episode could bring together Netanyahu and Abbas, and bring Abbas to the negotiating table.”

Was it a coincidence that Larry David named the Palestinian Chicken restaurant
Al-Abbas or was it a wink at Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian National Authority?

Wow! I really think it would be fun to watch Abbas and Netanyahu viewing that episode of Curb together. The only thing that would top that would be if Larry David, Jeff Garlin and Bob Einstein were there in the room too. What would they all be eating during the viewing? Obviously, (kosher) Palestinian chicken!

Basketball Black-Jewish Relations Celebrities Hebrew Sports

Farmar in Israel, LeBron and Kobe at the JCC, and Hebrew with Amare Stoudem

Post author By Rabbi Jason Miller
Post date December 1, 2011

NBA basketball players got a much longer summer vacation than they expected because of the lockout. It feels odd to have gone through the entire month of November without any professional basketball games to watch.

So what have these NBA stars been doing with their newly found free time? NBA player Jordan Farmar has been playing in Israel for Maccabi Tel Aviv. Farmar, whose mother is Jewish and step-father is a Jewish Israeli, has spent the NBA lockout playing in front of sellout crowds at Yad Eliyahu Arena. He is the first Jewish player in the NBA since Danny Schayes, son of NBA Hall-of-Famer Dolph Schayes, retired in 1999.

A number of other NBA stars have been hooping it up at local Jewish Community Centers. TMZ.com reported that LeBron James was a last minute fill-in for a team at the Mandel Jewish Community Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The second he stepped on the court LeBron “instantly became the best player to ever compete in the Herbert S. Diamond league.” Apparently, the former Cleveland Cavaliers player got a call from some of his friends who had a 7:30 PM game at the JCC and King James was happy to oblige. He led his squad to a ten point victory.

The NBA Lockout led superstars like Kobe Bryant and Lebron James
to play at their local Jewish Community Center (JCC)

After the game, LeBron James tweeted “Just got done hooping in the JCC league. So funny but good run @RichPaul4 had a few 3’s #basketballneverstops.” Here’s a video clip of LeBron playing at the Mandel Jewish Community Center in Cleveland:

While LeBron was playing in the gym of the Cleveland JCC, his nemesis Kobe Bryant was having a private training session at a Jewish Community Center in Irvine, California. Once again it was TMZ.com that broke the story (that means some 12-year-old kid at the JCC called it in). JTA reports, “the Los Angeles Lakers’ star guard, according to the TMZ website, brought a trainer to the Southern California JCC to work on shooting drills and cardio training as spectators watched.

Here’s the video of Kobe Bryant at the JCC in Irvine:

video platform video management video solutions video player

And if Kobe and LeBron are becoming regulars at the JCC that means that the New York Knicks’ Amar’e Stoudemire has to do something even more Jewish than that after discovering there was Jewish heritage on his mother’s side last year. Don’t worry, the 6-foot-10 superstar who visited Israel for the first time last year now says he’s interested in opening a Hebrew school, according to the New York Daily News. “An unnamed source told the newspaper that Stoudemire has discussed opening a school that would focus on teaching the Hebrew language and Jewish history, though no school is actually in the works.”

But who will teach at the Hebrew School Amar’e Stoudemire opens? He will of course. Here’s Stoudemire’s first Hebrew lesson:

Well, that was Tov Meod!

Celebrities Ethics Parenting Rabbis

In Response to Rabbi Shmuley and the Tiger Mom

Post author By Rabbi Jason Miller
Post date December 1, 2011

I’m a rabbi and a parent. I try to be successful at both. I like to think that, in both endeavors, I strike a good balance between sticking to my principles and making compromises. When I make compromises, I try not to compromise my beliefs or standards, although it’s necessary to choose battles (in both parenting and rabbi’ing).

Two notable figures have been in the spotlight recently because of the advice they dished out — one to rabbis and the other to parents.

The ever-opinionated Shmuley Boteach, a celebrity rabbi, gave his advice to rabbis in a column originally written in the Jerusalem Post. In t

Dan Hotchkiss, writing for the Alban Institute in an article about authority and leadership, writes, “In olden times, we like to think, society accorded great authority to clergy. Whether or not this rosy generalization stands up to scrutiny (it does not), we mainstream clergy certainly have lost some of the cachet our counterparts enjoyed from 1945 to 1965 or so… I believe our loss of authority presents clergy with a great opportunity. Authority, appealing as it is, can also be confining.”

The opportunity for us lies in developing a new capacity for leadership. Ron Heifetz, in Leadership without Easy Answers, sheds light on the differences between authority and leadership, and suggests how by depending on authority less and learning to lead better, we can redevelop a more varied, robust, and disease-resistant strain of congregations in America.

Tiger Mom
A seminar leader in rabbinical school said something that has remained with me ever since. He said, “It’s important for rabbis to have principles, but it’s more important to know when to not be too principled.”