By now everyone has seen the video footage of an Iraqi journalist throwing his shoes at President Bush. The public has treated it as an uproariously funny video clip perfect for YouTube. The president even laughed it off as something not unlike a heckler at a rally. However, the symbolism of the act is much…
Using web applications like Google Analytics and sitemeter, I can track the web searches that have referred visitors to my blog. Ever since the ’08 presidential election and President-Elect Obama’s nomination of Rahm Emanuel to be his chief of staff, there have been hundreds of searches for “Rahm Emanuel Kippah” that have landed web surfers…
Many homes have interesting histories and connections. I recall meeting Jewish professional baseball player Ryan Braun, the Milwaukee Brewers All-Star, who told me that his grandfather’s house once belonged to Jewish Hall-of-Famer Hank Greenberg (Braun lived in that house for a time during his youth). Now, the father of my former camper at Camp Ramah…
Back in April I wrote how Rahm Emanuel was theorized by Newsweek Magazine to be the one to urge Hillary Clinton to drop out of the race on behalf of Barack Obama. That Newsweek article connected the dots from Rahm Emanuel (known as “Rahmbo”) to Barack Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod by mentioning that Axelrod…
A congregant came up to me during a break in services on Yom Kippur to ask if I’d seen the picture being widely emailed of a synagogue marquee that instructed congregants to vote for Barack Obama. She explained that the sign said “Happy New Year! Please vote for the shvartzeh!” I could sense that she…
It’s been almost two months since my last post due to a combination of being too busy and not really wanting to blog about politics. It seems that everything is being overly-politicized right now. A simple rally to protest Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the United Nations has turned into a Democrat vs. Republican battle…
Newsweek’s second annual ranking of the top rabbis in the country has been posted to the Newsweek website. This year, the list is called “Top fifty influential rabbis in America” and the creators (media execs Michael Lynton, Gary Ginsberg, and Jay Sanderson) explain their point system (20 points for being “known,” 10 points for communal…
Lisa Flam, an Associated Press Writer, has brought fashionable kippah wearing to the fore with her recent article “Yarmulkes for the Fashionable Faithful”. In an article that could appear in a fashion magazine as much as it could in a religious publication, Flam explains that more stylish and offbeat options abound in addition to your…
Next Monday evening I am bringing my colleague Rabbi Or N. Rose (left) to Detroit to speak to Conservative Jewish teens about the important subjects of Tikkun Olam (social action) and Tzedek (justice). Rabbi Rose is the co-editor of “Righteous Indignation: A Jewish Call for Justice,” which was recently published by Jewish Lights. He is…
According to a Reuter’s article, Israel’s Asian restaurants went on a one-day spring roll strike Tuesday to protest the Knesset’s new plan to rid their kitchens of foreign chefs. “The restaurants are angry at government plans to purge Japanese, Chinese and Thai eateries of Asian cooks and replace them with Israelis as part of a…