Category: Uncategorized

Kol Hakavod to Forward columnist Marjorie Ingall (my teacher Carol’s daughter) for taking on this antisemite. You can read more about Marc Moran here.

THE EAST VILLAGE MAMELE

By Marjorie Ingall

I always wanted an e-mail address to run with this column. I enjoy the immediacy of hearing from readers, without any filter. And I want to make contacting me as easy as possible — no need to find a stamp or bug those busy fellas at the “letters” page. I like knowing which topics strike a nerve, hearing other people’s stories about their kids and grandkids, sharing book and music recommendations, even getting snarled at by people who don’t agree with me. (Oy, when I said that most children’s books are vomitous, you should have heard the furious screams of the librarians.)

But occasionally I get an e-mail that brings me up short. Like this one, about my recent “Josie Bit Me” column:

Date: December 11, 2003 3:45:45 PM EST

To: mamele@forward.com

Subject: gnashing of teeth

— A Gentile size>

Give it a B minus. Nice faux Borscht Belt rhythms, but negative marks for poor command of the English language. (Our semiliterate correspondent needs to look up “rationalize.” Though I fear he doesn’t have a dictionary — no room on the TV shelf next to “Mein Kampf” and “Hooked on Phonics.”) To get feedback, I posted the e-mail to a professional writers’ forum online.

Very quickly, Wired magazine contributing editor Patrick Di Justo (his last name means “of justice” — nice touch!) posted a response. Conveniently for me, Patrick had just finished an article on identity theft for Wired. He’d researched how easy it is to find personal information online. And indeed, within half an hour, Patrick had found the guy’s real name, address, phone number and voter-registration number. He’d found the geographic coordinates of his house, as well as an aerial photograph of said house. He found the names and ages of his wife and child. And he found the fascinating fact that for nine days this summer, my correspondent was actually a local town councilman in New Jersey. He stepped down after the public found out that he was a member of the National Alliance — an organization that advocates “a thorough rooting out of Semitic and other non-Aryan values and customs everywhere.” (Tragically, it also advocates a boycott of Barry Manilow.) When the news of my correspondent’s affiliation broke, the gentleman first claimed he was no longer involved in Aryan organizations and insisted he wouldn’t resign, but after New Jersey Republicans and Democrats alike called for his ouster, he did.

According to PoliticsNJ.com, a respected political news site, my pen pal appeared on a local radio show during his brief tenure in office, denying being a bigot. He also denied authorship of articles bearing his byline on the Vanguard News Network, which has the charming slogan “No Jews. Just Right.” The articles are still online (gosh, you’d think that if they’d mistakenly used his byline, he’d have demanded that VNN delete them). In one, he says nobly: “I am not ashamed to put my name on what I write. I am not afraid of what others think of me or my opinions.” Then sign your e-mail, pumpkin. Unless you’re going to claim you didn’t write that, either?

I believe in freedom of speech (though I also believe people shouldn’t cower behind anonymous Hotmail accounts when sending hate speech). And this little adventure has been instructive. I’ve known for a long time that we have less anonymity than we think. But now I wonder whether this lack of online opacity isn’t a double-edged sword. Should I stop publishing my e-mail address, sacrificing the contact from readers that makes me a better columnist? On the other hand, if librarians can reach me directly, so can scum. And scum don’t play fair. When there was a petition calling for my buddy’s ouster from office, one of his white-supremacist friends stole a copy of the petition, posted the home addresses of its signers on another hate site and encouraged readers to put “political pressure” on them. Now, that’s where it gets scary. I’m a mother; I don’t want Josie to suffer for my principles. (My pen pal has a small kid too. I wonder if he feels the same way?) Haters have published online “wanted posters” with addresses of abortion providers. A federal appeals court ruled that this was not protected speech, but that’s scant consolation to the families of the murdered doctors. I hope Patrick’s forthcoming article tells us how to find a middle ground between freedom of information and freedom for potential criminals.

It all begs the question: At what point do we enforce limits on online freedom? A few weeks ago, Congress passed an anti-spam bill, establishing that many kinds of unsolicited mail violate people’s rights to privacy and protection. Basically, the new law, which took effect January 1, says commercial communication needs to be two-way; using fake e-mail addresses, as well as forging or hacking real e-mail addresses to send spam, is now illegal. But should hate speech be held to similar standards? My correspondent didn’t actually hide behind anonymity; he left an online trail, intentionally or not. (You could say he hides behind pseudonymity.) It’s nasty — but should it be illegal?

Getting back to the issues of identity and invisibility: I’ve just learned how to find people’s Social Security numbers online. Again, a double-edged sword. How scary — but in some sad way, how reassuring. If anyone tried to put “political pressure” on me and my 2-year-old, I’d definitely have some leverage. Okay, pen pal? To quote the Hebrew Hammer (as much as he can be quoted in a family newspaper): “Shabbat Shalom….”

E-mail Marjorie at mamele@forward.com.

By Dennis Prager size>

If you want to understand the Middle East conflict, Iran has just provided all you need to know.

A massive earthquake kills between 20,000 and 40,000 Iranians, and the government of

Iran announces that help is welcome from every country in the world . . . except Israel.

This little-reported news item is of great significance. It begs commentary.

Israel not only has the world’s most experienced crews in quickly finding survivors in bombed

out buildings, it is also a mere two-hour flight from Iran. In other words, no country

in the world would come close to Israel in its ability to save Iranian lives quickly.

But none of this means anything to the rulers of Iran. The Islamic government of Iran has

announced to the world that it is better for fellow countrymen and fellow Muslims — men,

women and children — to die buried under rubble than to be saved by a Jew from Israel.

That is how deep the hatred of Israel and Jews is in much of the Muslim world.

Hundreds of millions of Muslims — Arab and non-Arab, Sunni and Shi’a — hate Israel more

than they love life. Leaders of the Palestinian terror organization Hamas repeatedly state,

“We love death more than the Jews love life.” And now, Iran announces that it is better for

a Muslim to asphyxiate under the earth than be rescued by a Jew from Israel.

Naive Westerners — which includes most academics, intellectuals, members of the

international news media, and nearly all others on the Left — refuse to acknowledge

the uniqueness of the Arab/Muslim hatred of Israel and Jews. Yet, there is no hatred in

the world analogous to it. Not since the Nazi hatred of Jews has humanity witnessed

such hate.

That is why finding survivors from earthquakes, creating a Palestinian state and life itself are

all far less important in much of the Islamic and Arab worlds than killing Jews and

destroying the little Jewish state.

That is why Arab newspapers run articles by Arab professors describing how Jews

butcher non-Jewish children to use their blood for holiday meals.

That is why Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad could get a standing

ovation from the heads of every Muslim country when he told them “the Jews rule

the world by proxy.”

That is why Palestinian parents celebrate the suicide terror of their sons — the joy of

killing Israeli families far outweighs the pain of the death of their child.

Western naifs like to believe platitudes such as “Deep down, all people are really the same,”

“All people want peace,” and the great untruth of multiculturalism that no culture is morally

superior to another. That is why they choose not to face the truth about the Nazi-like hatred

that permeates the Arab/Muslim world and the consequent moral gulf that exists between it

and Israel. It shatters too many of their illusions.

Surely the Iranian refusal of rescuers from the Jewish state ought to help all these people

acknowledge the unique hatred that is at the root of the Arab-Israeli dispute and recognize

that it is therefore a conflict unlike any other on earth.

So, too, the immediate and sincere Israeli offer of rescuers to Iran should make the moral gulf

between Israel and its enemies as clear as day. Despite the fact that Iran is the greatest

backer of anti-Israel (and anti-American) terror and despite the fact that Iran repeatedly

declares that Israel must be annihilated (in other words, seeks a second Jewish

Holocaust), Israel offered to send its people to save Iranian lives.

The two reactions — Iran’s preference for Iranian deaths to Israeli help and the Jewish

state’s instinctive offer to help save Iranian lives ought to be enough anyone needs to

understand the source of the Middle East conflict. But they won’t. Because those who

are anti-Israel or “evenhanded” are not so because of the facts, but despite them.

By Associated Press

January 6, 2004, 8:44 PM ESTsize>

DES MOINES, Iowa — Federal spending was the topic and Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich came prepared with a pie chart to argue his point about a bloated Pentagon budget.

But although many listened to Tuesday’s presidential debate, few could see the Ohio congressman’s prop.

The debate was broadcast only on National Public Radio.

As Kucinich challenged Democratic front-runner Howard Dean for refusing to acknowledge that the Pentagon budget needs to be cut, debate moderator Neal Conan of NPR interrupted.

“Congressman Kucinich is holding up a pie chart, which is not truly effective on radio,” Conan told his listeners.

Kucinich was not deterred.

“Well, it’s effective if Howard can see it,” he replied.

Tug McGraw succumbed to brain cancer today. He pitched for the Miracle Mets’ team that won the 1969 World Series. In 1973, McGraw helped the Mets climb from last place to first in the National League’s Eastern Division, then reach the World Series and come within one game of winning the championship. It was in that season that McGraw coined the Mets’ war cry: “You Gotta Believe.”

He was a great player and a great role model. Ironic that the same day he dies, Pete Rose finally admits that he bet on baseball (and on his own team). In my opinion, Rose should be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but only as one of the best players to ever play the game — certainly not as a mensch!

Condolences to the Birnholtz family on Kenny’s death. Kenny was one of my USYers and High School students at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Michigan. He was a USY chapter board member and a participant in Nativ (USY’s Year-In-Israel program) during his freshman year of college (1998-99) before attending the University of Michigan. He was a mensch and will be sorely missed.

May 2004 bring health, happiness, and peace to everyone.

Afgani: Saale Nao Mubbarak – Afrikaans: Gelukkige nuwe jaar – Albanian: Gezuar Vitin e Ri – Arabic: Antum salimoun – Bengali: Shuvo Nabo Barsho – Bulgarian: Chestita Nova Godina – Chinese: Chu Shen Tan – Corsican : Pace e Salute – Croatian: Sretna Nova godina! – Cymraeg (Welsh): Blwyddyn Newydd Dda – Czechoslovakian: Scastny Novy Rok – Danish: Godt Nytår – Dutch: Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! – English: Happy New Year – Eskimo: Kiortame pivdluaritlo – Estonians: Head uut aastat! – Finnish: Onnellista Uutta Vuotta – French: Bonne Année – Gaelic: Bliadhna mhath ur – German: Prosit Neujahr – Greek: Kenourios Chronos – Hawaiian: Hauoli Makahiki Hou – Hebrew: L’Shannah Tovah – Hindi: Nahi varsh ka shub kamna – Hungarian: Boldog £j vet k¡v nok! – Indonesian: Selamat Tahun Baru – Iraqi: Sanah Jadidah – Irish: Bliain nua fe mhaise dhuit – Italian: Felice anno nuovo – Nepal: Nawa Barsha ko Shuvakamana – Norwegian: Godt Nyttår – Papua New Guinea: Nupela yia i go long yu – Polish: Szczesliwego Nowego Roku – Portuguese: Feliz Ano Novo – Romanian: An Nou Fericit – Russian: S Novim Godom – Serbo-Croatian: Sretna nova godina – Singhalese: Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa – Slovak: A stastlivy Novy Rok – Somali: Iyo Sanad Cusub Oo Fiican! – Spanish: Feliz Ano Nuevo – Swahili Heri Za Mwaka Mpyå – Swedish: Gott nytt år! – Sudanese: Warsa Enggal – Tamil: Eniya Puthandu Nalvazhthukkal – Thai: Sawadee Pee Mai – Turkish: Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun – Ukrainian: Shchastlyvoho Novoho Roku – Vietnamese: Chuc Mung Tan Nien

Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, few items have gained as much notoriety or aroused as much suspicion as box cutters. And other previously mundane objects, from crop dusters to the little knives attached to nail clippers, have drawn the concerns of those trying to keep the U.S. safe and inured a wary public to a new way of looking at things. But the latest warning sent to police nationwide by the FBI is nonetheless bound to raise some eyebrows. The Feds issued a Christmas Eve bulletin to about 18,000 law enforcement organizations telling them to be on the lookout for … almanacs, the catch-all reference books most often consulted for weather trends and the trivia of daily life.

The FBI said members of al Qaeda may use almanacs “to assist with target selection and pre-operational planning.” It urged officers to watch during searches, traffic stops and other investigations for anyone carrying almanacs, especially if the books are annotated in suspicious ways, according to the Associated Press, which obtained a copy of the bulletin. The FBI noted that use of almanacs or maps may be innocent, but that when combined with suspicious behavior, a person with an almanac “may point to possible terrorist planning.”

Really officer, it’s not an almanac… it’s just a book on how to make bombs!

I just learned about this write up in the USA Today about the Torah From Terror website.

We Hate Spam, Congress Says (Except When It’s Sent by Us)

“Even as Congress was unanimously approving a law aimed at reducing the flow of junk e-mail, members were sending out hundreds of thousands of unsolicited messages to constituents.”

-Since Jon Stewart is on vacation, allow me to rub my eyes and say “huuuuuuuh?!?!?”

From the Forwardsize>

Card-Carrying Members of the Tribe Enjoy ‘Kosher Advantage’ By MAX GROSS

Do you know Teddy Kahn? Probably not.

That’s why he carries the Kosher Advantage card. Kahn never leaves home without it. The Kosher Advantage card occupies its own special place in Kahn’s wallet, and it is always with him when he eats out.

Now two months old, the Kosher Advantage card works a bit like a kosher incarnation of a Diners Club card. Individuals pay an annual membership fee of $24.95, and then receive a discount of roughly 10% at a growing number — now around 50 — of kosher restaurants, butchers and Judaica shops in New York and New Jersey, as well as a smattering of restaurants in Washington, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

“It seemed to me a no-brainer once I found out about it,” said Kahn, an undergraduate at Columbia University who keeps kosher. “If people keep kosher and they’re working, or families go out to dinner, over the course of 25 meals… you’ll get your money back. That was my rationale.”

The card — a small, white plastic rectangle with the words “Kosher Advantage” emblazoned across the front in blue — is the brainchild of Michael Frankel, who graduated last spring with a degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

“I keep kosher, so it was already in my mindset,” Frankel said. Frankel began thinking about the idea of a kosher discount card over the summer. “There are programs for other [dining discounts] like Diners Club; there aren’t such things for kosher places.”

So, why not start his own?

In August, Frankel, who is toying with the idea of hiring a staff, began drawing up business plans and contacting establishments as well as schools and synagogues to help promote Kosher Advantage. “Some are very open to the idea…. [They] think it’s great,” Frankel said.

Key among Frankel’s plans was getting places outside New York agree to participate. “The New York person traveling in Washington has a place to get lunch,” Frankel said. Currently, all of the card’s holders are New Yorkers, but Frankel hopes to change that. Frankel said that the card has gotten off to a good start.

“People are coming in and showing the card,” said Murray Weltz, who runs Park East Kosher Butcher on Second Avenue. “Not as many as I [initially] thought, but people are starting to” use the card.

But Frankel’s aspiration is not just to save people money or help out restaurant owners. His driving goal is to encourage members to be better Jews. “There’s a whole group of people who eat [nonkosher] dairy out,” Frankel said. “This will be the incentive to keep kosher. They’ll go to place X over place Y.”

The Kosher Advantage card: It’s everywhere Jews want to be.