didJEWknow?

Jewish Punk is Dead!

2010-04-12T16:38:00.000-07:00

Punk impresario McLaren dies

April 8, 2010

(JTA) -- Malcolm McLaren, the Jewish punk impresario who launched the Sex Pistols upon an unsuspecting world, has died.

McLaren, 64, died Thursday at a Swiss hospital of mesothelioma, a cancer, news media reported.

He was raised by his maternal grandmother, Rose Isaacs, a member of London's venerable Sephardic community. He often quoted her as saying "To be bad is good, and to be good is boring."

In the early 1970s, he and his then-partner, Vivienne Westwood, ran a clothing boutique and were part of that city's bleak, nihilistic arts scene.

In 1975, he brought together the Sex Pistols, a group that emphatically -- sometimes violently -- eschewed the forms and function of pop music. The group's songs and albums -- including "God Save the Queen," which savaged the monarch as a fascist -- were banned, which was the point.

The band broke up in 1978, and its members and McLaren spent the next decade mired in lawsuits over ownership of the music and the name.

McClaren backed other bands and recorded music himself, dabbling in early experiments with hip-hop and techno

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_McLaren

Jew Like Me, Jew Really Like Me!

2008-11-10T08:19:00.000-08:00

Due to overwhelming response I have decided to make some cameos to my blog site. Now that I am a minivan owner I am sure my entries will take a different tone. Which direction they may go I am not even sure. I might even make things less static and start a facebook page then I will know what type of person likes this site and information. Even without writing an entry in months 1,000 people a week still visit here.

I am still pumped to see Defiance which opens next week and I also wanted to report that the only living brother which the film was based on has been cleared on the criminal charges he and his wife incurred for taking an elderly woman from their living community and dropping her off in Poland (where she was from several years prior) at a senior home and leaving her there. Story below:

Kidnapping charge dropped against Aron, Henryka BellCourt allows couple to return to Palm Beach Towers condo
By MICHELE DARGANDaily News Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Leaving a 93-year-old Palm Beach woman in a Polish nursing home against her will was "horrible and disgusting," but it doesn't warrant a kidnapping charge, a prosecutor has decided.
In a letter to Palm Beach Police Detective Nicholas Caristo, Assistant State Attorney Michael Rachel wrote that, because Janina "Nina" Zaniewska went to Poland voluntarily before allegedly being abandoned there, any criminal act occurred in a foreign country.
Rachel wrote that charges of grand theft, organized scheme to defraud and exploitation of the elderly can be pursued against Aron Bell, 80, and his wife, Henryka Bell, 58.
Rachel's letter was among 200 pages of discovery documents related to the arrest and prosecution of the Bells, whom authorities accuse of draining Zaniewska's bank account of $250,000.
The Bells remain free on $120,000 bail each. One of the conditions of their pretrial release had been that they not live at the Palm Beach Towers, where the couple and Zaniewska all live. But a circuit judge ruled Monday that the couple can return to their Towers home.
The Bells have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Steven Gomberg, attorney for the Bells, said he doesn't see "any smoking gun" in the documents released Monday.
"The woman was all alone, had no family, and she needed a great deal of assistance and care," Gomberg said. "They had a long-standing relationship. Everything was arranged and immortalized by lawyers, doctors and accountants. This was not some sort of back-room deal. They just wanted to help her with her finances. Hindsight being 20/20, it would have been better if it had gone through the courts. It seemed prudent at the time."
Gomberg said the money has not been lost and that the Bells merely reinvested it for Zaniewska.
"Mrs. Zaniewska hasn't lost a penny," Gomberg said. "The money was placed where she wanted it to be. The money is all available. It's all going to be restored. It could have been at any time had this taken a different course."
Witnesses, however, suspected more than altruism was at work.
Rose Marie Felice, the receptionist at the Palm Beach Towers, remembers Zaniewska as "such a happy, cheerful lady, always stopping by the front desk to have a chat and socialize." That is, Felice said, until Zaniewska was befriended by the Bells.
After that, Zaniewska became "almost like a stranger to all of us at the front desk. The Bells seemed to take over every aspect of her life, not letting her even say hello to us," Felice said in a written statement.
Pamela Leikala, manager of the Regent Bank at Palm Beach Towers, called police after she became suspicious of the Bells' involvement in Zaniewska's financial affairs.
"Mrs. Bell did all the transactions," Leikala wrote in her statement. "I did not see Ms. Zaniewska, so I asked Mrs. Bell to bring her in as I had not seen her for a while. Ms. Bell gave me a hard time and did not want to bring her in."
After looking into Leikala's suspicions, police found Zaniewska in a nursing home in Poland, where she says the Bells left her against her will. Police say the Bells took her to Poland in May under the ruse that it was to be a vacation. Instead, they left her in the home and returned to Palm Beach, according to Zaniewska's testimony.
The State Attorney's Office declined to file kidnapping charges because there was not enough evidence to prove the charge since Zaniewska went to Poland voluntarily, Rachel wrote.
"Ms. Zaniewska has fervently stated throughout that the Bells, while in Poland, left her at a Polish assisted living facility ... against her will," Rachel wrote. "This act was horrible and disgusting. But because it was done in a foreign country, and because none of the elements were committed here, the charge of kidnapping is not legally tenable in Palm Beach County."
In an Oct. 5 interview with police, Zaniewska said the trip to Poland was to be a good time and an occasion to see friends.
"From the bank records provided, it appears that most, if not all, of Ms. Zaniewska's funds were either transferred or spent by the Bells well before this trip to Poland," Rachel wrote.
Zaniewska was returned to the United States Oct. 4, after a U.S. Embassy official visited her in the nursing home and determined that she'd been placed in the home against her will.
The paperwork released Monday included:
* A living will signed by Zaniewska on April 1, 2005, designating Henryka Bell her health-care surrogate in case Zaniewska is incapacitated.
* A last will and testament signed by Zaniewska on April 1, 2005, designating Henryka Bell as her beneficiary. Aron Bell is the beneficiary if Henryka dies first.
* A last will and testament signed by Zaniewska on Oct. 26, 2007, leaving all of her property and insurance policies to her friends Marcella DeMuth-Gintowt and Yaga Oshesici. If neither of them survives her, her property will go to St. Edward Catholic Church.

Jewish swimmers pace U.S. to relay gold

2008-08-11T21:55:00.000-07:00

Breaking News
Jewish swimmers pace U.S. to relay gold
Published: 08/11/2008
Jason Lezak's stirring anchor leg lifted the U.S. men’s 4x100-meter relay swimming team to the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics and a world record.Lezak and another Jewish swimmer, Garrett Weber-Gale, comprised half the U.S. squad with Michael Phelps and Cullen Jones. The Americans finished Monday's race in 3:08.24, erasing the world mark by about 4 seconds.
Lezak swam 46.06 seconds in managing to overtake world record-holder Alain Bernard of France. Lezak, who picked up his third career gold medal, trailed by nearly a second heading into the final lap. His time would have beaten his American record in the 100 freestyle.Weber-Gale followed Phelps’ opening leg with a time of 47.02.The U.S. team had beaten the world mark in the qualifying round with a team that did not include Lezak or Phelps but did have Ben Wildman-Tobriner, another Jewish swimmer.Phelps has now earned two gold medals in his bid to win eight and break the mark of seven set by Mark Spitz, also a Jewish swimmer, in the 1972 Games in Munich.
On Saturday night, 41-year-old Dara Torres made history by becoming the oldest swimmer to win an Olympic medal when she anchored the U.S. women's 4x100 freestyle relay team to a silver. The Netherlands won the race in a world record 3:33.76, with the Americans finishing in 3:34.33.
"As I’ve said from the beginning of this, age is just a number," Torres, a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, told The New York Times.
For Torres, the first American swimmer to compete in five Olympics, it was her 10th medal.

An Unintended Jewing Lucas got it half right

2008-05-31T09:33:00.000-07:00

Well I just got finished watching the 2004 update DVD of Star Wars VI with 2 of my kids. I had not seen it since it came out originally in the theater 25 years ago. Where did the time go? Anyway what started out as an ironic comment to Carrie Fisher being the daughter of Hayden Christiansen and Natalie Portman has as usual gone much further and may I say goes back a long time ago in a galaxy far far away...
I am sure it was not purposeful (hence the title of my blog) but isn't it ironic that Portman is 100% Jewish and Christiansen a gentile (wouldn't know it from the surname :) making the twins half Jewish (by blood, I know in orthodoxy it is the religion of the mother). So it works out that Carrie Fisher has a Jewish dad in real life and it would have worked out perfectly if Han Solo (Ford) was her twin as he has a Jewish mother in real life. But where our story goes into Jewish randomness (which is always the goal) is that Mark Hamill who played Luke (with no known Jewish ancestry) is that in Nov of 2003 he complained that he couldn't get his daughter into the A-List Bar/Bat Mitzvah parties in Hollywood (see below). Then just 3 days later he ends up voicing Luke Skywalker in an episode of the Family Guy in which the main character feels he needs to convert to Judaism to be successful (also added below). Finally I lifted a piece off the Internet comparing Star Wars to the Holocaust. But as we all know everything goes back to the Jews and you can challenge me on that in my game "Back to Jew". And yes, yes while we are talking about space and sci-fi I do know that the hand solute that Spoke (Jewish Leonard Nimoy) makes is the Jewish sign of the Kohen (ask your grandpa) which is one of the several ways that Star Trek goes Back to Jew. (If you are wondering what Nemoy is up to these days I have added a photo for your enjoyment from his latest picture book, see if you can spot it). So go forth and read..

November 06, 2003

LUKE ON THE OFFENSIVE

Mark Hamill, the actor who played "Luke Skywalker" in Star Wars, takes a subtle jab at Jewish Hollywood personalities.
"I don't mind the Hollywood caste system. I know the tenuous position I'm in on the entertainment food chain. I don't get invited to A-list affairs. Me? I'm listless," he says. "If anything, it hardens my resolve to say, 'Ah, you're wrong. I'm going to show you by doing this or that or the other."

"But when you do it to my children, that makes me go berserk. And she started being excluded from this one's birthday party or that one's bat mitzvah because I'm not A-list. It really burns my hide when it comes through because they're not in show business - I am."
I hope the ADL do not give him a hard time about this comment, which is clearly not anti-Semitic. Hamill is disappointed with Hollywood snobbery, and criticizes Hollywood players, Jewish and non-Jewish alike. He was probably not even thinking in terms of "Jewish" and "non-Jewish", but merely in terms of the types of events from which his children are excluded. And you can bet there are plenty of bat mitzvahs!

When You Wish Upon a Weinstein
Peter suggests that Chris convert to Judaism in order to become better at math.

Season: 3 Episode: 22
Total Episode Count: 50
Prod. no.: 2ACX05
First Aired: November 9, 2003

Guest Starring: Peter Riegert as Max Weinstein, Mark Hamill as Luke, Ed McMahon as himself, and Ben Stein as Rabbi Goldberg
Featuring: Peter, Chris, Max Weinstein
Also Appearing: Lois, Meg, Stewie, Brian, Jim Kaplan, Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Tony Robbins, Optimus Prime
Musical Numbers: "I Need A Jew"

Director: Dan Povenmire
Assistant Director: Sarah Frost
Writers: Ricky Blitt

Plot: Peter gives Lois’s “rainy day fund” to a scam artist selling volcano insurance. On that same night Stewie breaks Meg’s glasses, because he hates being watched while he sleeps, and so Lois tells Peter that he needs to recover the money to buy their daughter a new pair of glasses.

Max helping Peter with the salesmanDepressed by his financial woes, Peter is interested when Quagmire and Cleveland describe great financial successes attained after hiring men with Jewish-sounding names and decides that he needs a Jew to handle his money (though Cleveland pointedly tells Peter the mens' religion is not the point of the stories) in an elaborate musical number based on “When You Wish upon a Star.” When a Jewish man named Max Weinstein (Peter Riegert) has car trouble outside the Griffin house, Peter takes it as a sign and after a footchase, Peter pressures Max into helping him get the emergency money back. Max later recovers the money from the scammer. After accompanying Max to synagogue (“Temple Beth Thupporting Actor”) and inviting him over for dinner, Peter comes to the conclusion that Chris would get better grades and be more successful if he converted to Judaism.

He secretly drives Chris to Las Vegas, Nevada for a quick Bar Mitzvah after Lois displays objection to his idea, but she arrives just in time to stop the ceremony. A crowd, angry that Lois is apparently insulting their religion, chases the Griffins until they escape onto a bus which is full of nuns who are not happy about Peter’s straying from Catholicism.

AllFreeEssays.com
Star Wars in a Historical perspective
STAR WARS
A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
In the movie, written by George Lucas, Episode IV - A New Hope. There are many mythical, religious and spiritual symbols portrayed. The Jedi's believe in the Force, which is a religion of which they abide. The Force is the backbone of the Jedis and they turn to this when in trouble. The opposite of the Force is the "Dark Side of the Force." The Dark Side is lead by and evil Jedi named Darth Vador and his master, the emperor. The opposing side is looking to get rid of the entire Jedi population by using fierce actions by the emperors Storm Troopers.

In the movie the Jedis can be compared to the Jews in World War II. The similarities that both figures share deal with strength. The Jews today have been able to stick together and follow their religion even through the harshest times. Hitler's army, The SS and Gestapo during World War II were after the Jews to demolish their entire race. Hitler would put the Jews though hell. The Jews were forced to move from place to place. They would begin in the ghettos, then onto the concentration camps and worst of all, Hitler put them in death camps where the majority of the Jews died.

Hitler was the one of the biggest icons in World War II, as well as the cruelest, yet most powerful dictator who ever lived. Hitler's ambition was to be in charge of the entire world and he believed that the Jews were in his way. In episode IV Darth Vador and his master are set out to destroy the "good" side of the Force. For instance, in World War II, Hitler used the SS and Gestapo to help him succeed and to keep the Jews retained. Episode IV had Darth Vador using the Storm Troopers, an army which he created out of pure evil, to attempt to stop the Jedis' from ruing there plans.

Regardless of the challenges these groups faced, the force and the Jewish religion will always be strong. Despite the hardships they are faced with, it is important to keep in mind that the good will rise above. Lucas was very creative in using mythical, spiritual and religious symbols in the movie and it showed by all the extreme ratings it has obtained over the years. Episode IV showed a brilliant breakthrough in technology that helped to capture the storyline. Maybe Lucas created some of his ideas for the movie from the history of World War II.

by Anonymous Student

IDF - This is how we Jew it!

2008-05-30T10:19:00.001-07:00

Funny Jewish Cartoon...

2008-05-28T14:43:00.000-07:00

Click on cartoon to read

What Jew Harrison Ford and Shia LaBeouf Have in Common?

2008-05-27T13:52:00.000-07:00

Indian Jones Spoiler Alert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is really no surprise and an 8 year old could figure it out 10 mins into the film but LaBeouf who plays Mutt is reveled to the audience near the end that he is in fact Ford's (Jones) son. So what they have in common is that they are both half Jewish although the Adam Sandler song refers incorrectly to Ford as a quarter Jewish. The book Jews that Rock which he wrote a forward to is also in correct on several Jews and part Jews but that is for another blog rant. Also interesting weather done on purpose or not but River Phoenix who played Jones as a young man was also half Jewish (blood wise). Here are a few articles that comment on the half Jewishness of Ford and LaBeouf. LaBeouf joins the ranks of Joseph Gordon Levitt and Evan Rachel Wood in my "Jew Watch" Jewish stars of the future. Both Levitt and Wood are 100% Jewish thus the reason they get 3 names:). On another side note about 2 months ago I went to Ford's Filling Station (Owned and operated by his son) and wrote a note on a beer coaster to have Ford's son contact Sandler and half that corrected. On another side not I also passed 5 soldiers when I walked in and I turned around a shook the hand of the one closest to me and thanked him and the rest for their service. When we were seated I had the waitress bring them a round of drinks on me. It doesn't matter where you stand on the war at the end of the day it is these brave men and women that are putting their lives on the line so that the rest of us can sit around and write blogs like this one without having our eyes gouged out and our hands cut off. Now would be as good a time as ever to donate 5 or 10 bucks to Veterans of ForeignWars (http://www.vfw.org/) or Paralyzed Vets: (http://www.pva.org/site/PageServer?pagename=homepage)

Harrison Ford's mother was Jewish. His father was Catholic.
From: Matthew Berke, "Half-Jews: What do Gwyneth Paltrow, J. D. Salinger, and Paula Abdul have in common?", a review of The Half-Jewish Book: A Celebration, written by Daniel Klein and Freke Vuijst, on BeliefNet.com website (http://www.beliefnet.com/story/43/story_4373_1.html; viewed 6 November 2005):
Once upon a time, the half-Jew was regarded as a strange and lonely figure--an outsider both to society at large and to the Jewish people... But as the intermarriage trend has continued, being half-Jewish suddenly seems unremarkably common. Indeed, according to Daniel Klein and Freke Vuijst, authors of The Half-Jewish Book, "halfies" now outnumber full-blooded Jewish children under the age of 11, and they're gaining on the rest.
More important, Klein and Vuijst contend, half-Jewish is not a partial or fragmented identity to be lamented, but rather a "rich and elaborate" double identity to be celebrated. Unfortunately, the authors--a married couple with a half-Jewish daughter-can't decide whether to name-drop glitzy personalities with Jewish origins or to explore their distinct new cultural sensibility. They end up doing a bit of both.
In People magazine mode, Klein and Vuijst provide a catalog of stars who are half-Jewish, including actors Paul Newman, Harrison Ford, Michael Douglas, David Duchovny, and Matthew Broderick...
Relatively few of the halfies considered here live religiously serious Jewish lives... Indeed, many observe no religion, multiple religions, or are practicing Christians, who, despite their feelings of attachment, are simply not part of the Jewish community... few will reconnect with Judaism...

#17 Shia LaBeouf
April 13, 2008 by stuffjewishyoungadultslike
One of the more recent actors to emerge from the small screen to the megablockbusters, gaining the interest of Jewish Young Adults, is 21 year old Shia LaBeouf. Shia, who spent his early years cutting his acting chops on Disney’s Even Stevens, is now a bona fide meg-celeb, starring in the recent Transformers, and the upcoming new Indiana Jones movie. Even though he is only half Jewish, Shia was admittedly raised as a Member of the Tribe and was Bar Mitzva-ed with the best of them.
LaBeouf’s popularity with the JYA community is obvious, specifically pertaining to the female segment of the population. They see him as an ideal mix of qualities; part menschiness, part edginess. The menschiness means they can introduce him to Jewish Elders without fear of reproach, and the edginess gives him the much coveted title of being a Non-Stereotypical Jew. A Non-Stereotypical Jew is a JYA who exhibits qualities, either physical or mental, that are typically not associated with Jewry. Therefore, NSJs, both male and female, are rare and highly valued for potential mating.
Male JYAs have a unique relationship with Mr. LaBeouf. On one hand, they appreciate his good natured humor and see in him potential fraternization and kinship. On the other hand, Male JYAs seem to exhibit unspoken jealousy toward Mr. LaBeouf, possibly due to rivalry for the attention of females. It is not uncommon to hear a male JYA make a derisive remark about LaBeouf as an obvious show of one-upmanship, specifically when in the presence of a female counterpart.
Even though there is some seemingly negative reaction toward Mr. LaBeouf’s recent stardom, the overall reaction from the JYA community is positive and encouraging. Mr. LaBeouf should feel proud that he has become prominent masturbatory material at Stern College.

Jews are safer with Bush

2008-05-22T15:59:00.000-07:00

Taken from the Gateway Pundit Blog (http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2008/05/terrorist-attacks-decline-40-during.html)

I Blame Bush-- Terror Attacks Down 40% Since 2001
It's all Bush's fault.Terror attacks are down 40% since 2001.Andrew Bolt and The Canadian Press reported this recent study:
A group of researchers from Simon Fraser University says global terrorism is on the decline, despite previous data and public perceptions that suggest otherwise.The university's Human Security Report Project says fatalities from terrorist attacks around the world have, in fact, decreased by 40 per cent since 2001.But... Sadly, there are those who believe that even with Saddam Hussein and the Taliban gone that America is somehow less safe today than before 9-11.And... Total global terror attacks were down 40% late last year due to the 55% decrease in attacks in Iraq.Reuters reported:
A study released on Wednesday reports a decline in fatal attacks of terrorism worldwide and says U.S. think-tank data showing sharp increases were distorted due to the inclusion of killings in Iraq."Even if the Iraq 'terrorism' data are included, there has still been a substantial decline in the global terrorism toll," said the 2007 Human Security Brief, an annual report funded by the governments of Canada, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden and Britain.For example, global terrorism fatalities declined by 40 percent between July and September 2007, driven by a 55 percent decline in the "terrorism" death toll in Iraq after the so-called surge of new U.S. troops and a cease-fire by the Shi'ite militant Mehdi Army, the brief said.

Vegan Like Jew

2008-05-14T15:38:00.000-07:00

Being a chocolate chip vegan I have found myself almost leper even in liberal LA. I found this Jewish view on be a vegetarian and another article about how it feels to not eat meat in a carnivore's world.

Jewish Vegetarianism -- Theological Perspectives on Judaism and Vegetarianism
The Jewish Vegetarian Ideal
Jewish vegetarianism is a philosophy and lifestyle, based upon Jewish teachings and mandates, that prescribes a diet centered on grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds and that proscribes the consumption of all animal flesh, including that of fish and fowl. Many well known Jews have followed a Jewish vegetarian lifestyle. Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hakohen Kook, the first chief rabbi of modern Israel, considered vegetarianism to be the ideal, the ultimate peace between mankind and the rest of the animal kingdom. He felt that in the Messianic Age, as prophesied by Isaiah (XI:7), we would all be vegetarian again and the only sacrifices offered would be the mincha sacrifice, which was of vegetable origin. Although there is some debate regarding Rav Kook's consistency in following a vegetarian diet, Rabbi She'ar Yashuv Cohen, the current Chief Rabbi of Haifa, has written, "I myself, am a vegetarian, following in the footsteps of my late father, the saintly Nazir of Jerusalem [Rabbi David Cohen], and his teacher, the saintly first Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Avraham Isaac Hacohen Kook." Other well known Jewish vegetarians include Rabbi David Rosen, former Chief Rabbi of Ireland, the late Rabbi Shlomo Goren z"l, Chief Rabbi of Israel, and Avraham Burg (vegan - strict vegetarian), the youngest and only religious person ever to be elected Knesset Speaker, whose diet reflects his respect for the sanctity of all life. Thus, Jewish vegetarianism has had many prominent adherents.
In the ideal state of Gan Eden (the Garden of Eden), mankind is described as being vegetarian, and this state persisted until after the Flood in the time of Noach. In Bereishit, perek aleph, pasuk kaf"tet (Genesis I:29), God told Adam and Chava (Eve) that He had given them all of the seed-bearing plants and fruits as food. The Gemara (Sanhedrin 59b) declares, "Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav, 'Adam was not allowed to eat meat,'" citing the above pasuk (verse) from Bereishit. Almost all of the subsequent commentators agree with this assessment.
Vegetarianism can be considered the ideal from several perspectives. We will consider each of these in turn.
Health and Prevention
A plant-based diet is the ideal, as confirmed by medical scientists in recent years. A commentator has suggested that the prescription of a vegetarian diet in Gan Eden could not have been for health reasons because there are many poisonous plants that would be harmful if consumed. This objection does not make much sense, however. If a doctor tells a patient to eat more fruits and vegetables, he is giving a general recommendation for health reasons. Although there are some poisonous berries and plants, he assumes that the patient has the common sense to stay away from them. Similarly, the prescription of this type of diet by God can be considered a general recommendation for the healthiest type of diet.
Judaism stresses the importance of maintaining health and not harming oneself. We are commanded in Devarim, perek daled, pasuk tet"vav (Deuteronomy IV:15) "venishmartem me'od lenafshoteichem" --"you shall guard yourselves most diligently." This means that we must do everything possible to guard our health and not take unnecessary risks. We are also to "choose life above all" (Deuteronomy XXX:19). The well known talmudic principle "chamira sakkanta me'issura" (Chulin 10a) indicates that a danger to health takes precedence over ritual obligations, including Shabbat observance. The Torah also declares that prevention is the highest form of healing: "If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His eyes, and keep all of His commandments, I will put none of the diseases upon you that I have put upon the Egyptians, for I am the Lord your physician." God is saying here that He is preventing disease. Since, in preventing disease, we are emulating God, prevention is the highest form of healing. With regard to vegetarianism, Rashi's midrashic explanation of this verse is very interesting: he states that God in this context is like a physician who says to a patient, "Do not eat this food or it will make you sick." Modern research has shown that there is indeed a great sakkana (danger) to health from consuming meat, and this by itself provides sufficient reason to require a vegetarian diet from a halachic (Jewish legal) perspective.
Medical Evidence Supporting a Vegetarian Diet
We have learned that nutrition is the primary determinant of health. Virtually all of our chronic diseases are linked to diet (references available on request).
Heart disease is the number one killer in the United States. Risk factors include elevated blood cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, hypercoagulability of the blood, and presence of diabetes -- all of which can be prevented or alleviated by a high fiber, low fat vegetarian diet. The Lifestyle Heart Trial showed that adoption of a low fat vegetarian diet along with exercise and stress reduction can actually reverse the hardening of the arteries that leads to heart attacks. The implication is that 95% of all heart attacks are preventable. They are not something to be expected as a consequence of aging but rather are the result of an aberrant lifestyle.
All of the major causes of death due to cancer have been linked to diet. The risk of lung cancer, number one in both men and women because of the smoking epidemic, may be increased by animal fat consumption and is reduced by vegetable consumption. Meat consumption is a major risk factor for prostate cancer, number two in men, and fats increase its aggressiveness. Breast cancer, a hormonally dependent cancer, may be linked with higher estrogen levels in women and may reflect childhood dietary practices and even the diet of one's mother prenatally. Cancer of the colon and rectum, number three in both men and women, is strongly linked to both red and white meat consumption. Meat consumption is a risk factor for pancreatic cancer (number four in both men and women), whereas legumes and dried fruits appear to be protective. Ovarian cancer, number five in women, has been linked with dairy (including skim milk), egg, and meat consumption. Lymphoma, number five in men and six in women, has been linked with both beef and dairy consumption in various studies. And the risk of bladder cancer in non-vegetarians is twice that of vegetarians. The message is clear: we would prevent well over half of all deaths due to cancer if people increased their fruit and vegetable consumption and discarded the animal products.
The adult form of diabetes, common among overweight adults, can be prevented by a high fiber vegetarian diet. Seventh Day Adventists, about half of whom are vegetarian, have only half the death rate from diabetes as the rest of us. Vegetarian diets have also been found to lower blood pressure. Kidney stones occur in one out of every eight adults in the U.S., and meat consumption has been identified as a major risk factor. Gallstones are also much less prevalent in vegetarians. High intakes of animal protein increase the risk of osteoporosis. And obesity, which is an obvious sign of an inappropriate diet, speaks for itself.
Modern science has indeed confirmed the Torah's wisdom with regard to the ideal diet.
Ethics and Respect for Life
Judaism forbids the infliction of unnecessary pain and suffering, called tsa'ar ba'alei chayim, on nonhuman animals. This injunction is d'oreita, derived directly from the Torah. So strongly did Chazal (our Sages) feel about this matter that they included "eiver min hachai," the prohibition against removing the limb from a living animal (or more broadly, anything that causes unnecessary suffering to animals) among the seven Noachide commandments. These were the laws that they felt should be applicable to all of mankind and not just to Jews. Many of our commandments relate to the way animals should be treated.
Many traditional Jewish sources refer to nonhuman animals as creatures devoid of reasoning ability, imagination, and morality. Modern science has shown otherwise, and just as we disregard the medical remedies described by the Talmud, we should also discard these characterizations of animals because of their scientific invalidity. Anyone who has had companion animals is aware of their diverse personalities, their thinking abilities, and their capacity for unconditional love, a very positive trait. An article in the International Edition of the Jerusalem Post on August 10, 1996 described an amazing event. A British tourist was swimming in the Red Sea when he was attacked by sharks. He screamed and the water around him became stained with his own blood. As a crew in a boat sped to save him, they saw that he was being circled by three dolphins who had created a barrier between the sharks and him and had thereby saved his life. Similar incidents involving other animals have been recorded as well. Of course, even if animals were not capable of reasoning there would be no justification for exploiting them and causing them pain. Interestingly, in discussing the prohibition against killing an animal and its offspring on the same day, the Rambam (Maimonides) states in Moreh Nevuchim (Guide for the Perplexed) that "there is no difference in this situation between the pain of humans and the pain of other living creatures," and he points out that imagination exists not only in humans but also in most other animals. Judaism does not equate humans with nonhuman animals, but we must accept the scientific evidence that they are similar in many important ways. And even though they are dissimilar to humans in many ways, that does not give us the right to exploit them merely to satisfy our ta'avah (lust).
Unfortunately, animals today have become straw men for those who feel the need to justify their own actions. The concept of using the Torah to justify one's own gratification at the expense of others is not rooted in Judaism. According to the Torah, God placed man in the Garden of Eden l'ovda uleshomra, to work it and to serve it. In other words, we were placed here not for our own gratification but to serve God. Rather than using the Torah to justify what we do, we should be using it to ask how we can serve God better, by raising ourselves to higher moral and spiritual levels by emulating His mercy and compassion.
We've fallen a long way from the likes of Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch, who stated, "There are probably no creatures that require more the protective divine word against the presumption of people than the animals which, like human beings, have sensations and instincts, but whose body and powers are nevertheless subservient to people. In relation to them, human beings easily forget that injured animal muscle twitches just like human muscle, that the maltreated nerves of an animal sicken like human nerves, that the animal being is just as sensitive to cuts, blows, and beating as people" (Horeb, Soncino Press, New York, 1962).
Animals raised today under the factory farming system suffer greatly. Their lives epitomize tsa'ar ba'alei chayim. This was recognized by Reb Moshe Feinstein in the case of crate-raised veal calves, whose meat is usually treifah (nonkosher) anyway because of the sicknesses they suffer. Those who saw the movie "Shoah" will recall that the methods the Nazis used for herding Jews toward the gas chambers (a progressively narrowing corridor with the barbed wire covered with greenery) were based upon methods used on cattle. And as some have pointed out, if it's so terrible to treat people that way, then perhaps we shouldn't be treating nonhuman animals that way either.
Although the laws of shechita were designed to lessen suffering, there is no such thing as humane slaughter. In Moreh Nevuchim, the Rambam felt the need to justify shechita, which he did based upon his mistaken belief that meat was necessary for health. Now that we know that meat consumption is not only unnecessary for nutritional sufficiency but is actually harmful, we have to conclude that it represents tsa'ar ba'alei chayim and that a vegetarian diet should be required on this basis alone.
Environment
The statement in the Torah that mankind was placed in Gan Eden to take care of it (Genesis II:15) can be considered the first lesson in environmental responsibility. The concept of bal tashchit (you shall not waste) derived from the Torah serves as a reminder to conserve precious resources. The Talmud also gives us laws related to pollution.
Modern factory farming is creating major environmental problems that could be eliminated by a shift toward vegetarian diets. The raising of farm animals is extremely wasteful of resources, especially water. Pollution from animal waste runoff has created ecological havoc in some areas. Worsening of the greenhouse effect and global warming have also been attributed to livestock agriculture.
Clearly, the way animals are raised in the United States and in other countries is not consistent with the Jewish mandate to take care of the earth.

Meatless Like Me
I may be a vegetarian, but I still love the smell of bacon.By Taylor ClarkPosted Wednesday, May 7, 2008, at 11:51 AM ET

Every vegetarian remembers his first time. Not the unremarkable event of his first meal without meat, mind you. No, I mean the first time he casually lets slip that he's turned herbivore, prompting everyone in earshot to stare at him as if he just revealed plans to sail his carrot-powered plasma yacht to Neptune. For me, this first time came at an Elks scholarship luncheon in rural Oregon when I was 18. All day, I'd succeeded at seeming a promising and responsible young man, until that fateful moment when someone asked why I hadn't taken any meat from the buffet. After I offered my reluctant explanation—and the guy announced it to the entire room—30 people went eerily quiet, undoubtedly expecting me to launch into a speech on the virtues of hemp. In the corner, an elderly, suited man glared at me as he slowly raised a slice of bologna and executed the most menacing bite of cold cut in recorded history. I didn't get the scholarship.
I tell this story not to win your pity but to illustrate a point: I've been vegetarian for a decade, and when it comes up, I still get a look of confused horror that says, "But you seemed so … normal." The U.S. boasts more than 10 million herbivores today, yet most Americans assume that every last one is a loopy, self-satisfied health fanatic, hellbent on draining all the joy out of life. Those of us who want to avoid the social nightmare have to hide our vegetarianism like an Oxycontin addiction, because admit it, omnivores: You know nothing about us. Do we eat fish? Will we panic if confronted with a hamburger? Are we dying of malnutrition? You have no clue. So read on, my flesh-eating friends—I believe it's high time we cleared a few things up.
To demonstrate what a vegetarian really is, let's begin with a simple thought experiment. Imagine a completely normal person with completely normal food cravings, someone who has a broad range of friends, enjoys a good time, is carbon-based, and so on. Now remove from this person's diet anything that once had eyes, and, wham!, you have yourself a vegetarian. Normal person, no previously ocular food, end of story. Some people call themselves vegetarians and still eat chicken or fish, but unless we're talking about the kind of salmon that comes freshly plucked from the vine, this makes you an omnivore. A select few herbivores go one step further and avoid all animal products—milk, eggs, honey, leather—and they call themselves vegan, which rhymes with "tree men." These people are intense.
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Vegetarians give up meat for a variety of ethical, environmental, and health reasons that are secondary to this essay's goal of increasing brotherly understanding, so I'll mostly set them aside. Suffice it to say that one day, I suddenly realized that I could never look a cow in the eyes, press a knocking gun to her temple, and pull the trigger without feeling I'd done something cruel and unnecessary. (Sure, if it's kill the cow or starve, then say your prayers, my bovine friend—but for now, it's not quite a mortal struggle to subsist on the other five food groups.) I am well-aware that even telling you this makes me seem like the kind of person who wants to break into your house and liberate your pet hamster—that is, like a PETA activist. Most vegetarians, though, would tell you that they appreciate the intentions of groups like PETA but not the obnoxious tactics. It's like this: We're all rooting for the same team, but they're the ones in face paint, bellowing obscenities at the umpire and flipping over every car with a Yankees bumper sticker. I have no designs on your Camry or your hamster.
Now, when I say that vegetarians are normal people with normal food cravings, many omnivores will hoist a lamb shank in triumph and point out that you can hardly call yourself normal if the aroma of, say, sizzling bacon doesn't fill you with deepest yearning. To which I reply: We're not insane. We know meat tastes good; it's why there's a freezer case at your supermarket full of woefully inadequate meat substitutes. Believe me, if obtaining bacon didn't require slaughtering a pig, I'd have a BLT in each hand right now with a bacon layer cake waiting in the fridge for dessert. But, that said, I can also tell you that with some time away from the butcher's section, many meat products start to seem gross. Ground beef in particular now strikes me as absolutely revolting; I have a vague memory that hamburgers taste good, but the idea of taking a cow's leg, mulching it into a fatty pulp, and forming it into a pancake makes me gag. And hot dogs … I mean, hot dogs? You do know what that is, right?
As a consolation prize we get tofu, a treasure most omnivores are more than happy to do without. Well, this may stun you, but I'm not any more excited about a steaming heap of unseasoned tofu blobs than you are. Tofu is like fugu blowfish sushi : Prepared correctly, it's delicious; prepared incorrectly, it's lethal. Very early in my vegetarian career, I found myself famished and stuck in a mall, so I wandered over to the food court's Asian counter. When I asked the teenage chief culinary artisan what was in the tofu stir-fry, he snorted and replied, "Shit." Desperation made me order it anyway, and I can tell you that promises have rarely been more loyally kept than this guy's pledge that the tofu would taste like shit. So here's a tip: Unless you know you're in expert hands (Thai restaurants are a good bet), don't even try tofu. Otherwise, it's your funeral.

Israel Celebrates 60 years and didJEWknow 10,000 visits!

2008-05-13T14:19:00.000-07:00

Good job Israel, still not blown up by Iran! And great job to us for getting you to visit and re-visit. didJEWknow is still a baby at about 7mos old. Thanks to everyone who has stopped by and found something interesting to keep you occupied. If you have any random Jewish questions you can comment here or send an email to didjewknow@gmail.com Keep on keeping on. UJ

North LA Surfers Beware another surfing rabbi in the line up

2008-05-13T13:57:00.000-07:00

Many of you are probably familiar with "The Surfing Rabbi" Nachum Shifren but it looks as though another bearded one will be dropping in but don't worry he aint no Kook.

Surfing Rabbi Charges I.V. and Rincon
UCSB Alum Yom Tov Glaser Plays Music and Surfs at His Alma Matter
Thursday, February 14, 2008
By Ben Preston

Graduates from the University of California, Santa Barbara are known for all sorts of accomplishments. The list of alumni includes everyone from scientists to musicians, and everything in between. Once a party-focused surfer studying geology and the effects of global warming upon surf spots, Yom Tov Glaser is one of those UCSB graduates who joined the ranks of interesting alumni. Now a Hassidic Rabbi living in the Old City of Jerusalem, Israel, Glaser has not lost a bit of his Southern California appetite for surfing, skating, mountain biking and good music. Now, it's his way of connecting with students and friends.

Teaching the Torah though song.
Yesterday evening, Rabbi Glazer breezed into town a bit jet lagged, having just arrived from Israel, and played a little concert for students and community members at Hillel in Isla Vista. Invited by the UCSB Chapter of the Jewish Awareness Movement (JAM), he entertained and taught his audience with a unique blend of rabbinic wisdom, song, and funny stories from his raucous days as a UCSB undergrad. "UCSB is a weird scene," he said, "there are rich kids from SoCal who don't care about anything, and granola kids from NorCal who care about everything. During the Gulf war, UCSB was the hottest protest place in the country, and all the SoCal kids had to learn how to protest from the NorCal kids." Rabbi Glaser participated in many war protests in 1991, and noted that UCSB has a rich tradition of protest. "In Jerusalem, I had dinner with a lady who went to UCSB in the late 60s, and told her about the 'die-ins' we used to have on the lawns on campus. She was like, 'Oh, we burned a bank!'"

No foot pumps, he's skating though the crowd with that guitar.
The Kabbalah—which, literally translated means "receiving"—is the mystical aspect of Judaism which seeks to interpret the hidden meanings and inner secrets of the Torah. The Hasidic movement—began in Europe in the 18th Century under increasing repression of Judaism and as a response to charges that Judaism had become too academic and lost a degree of its spirituality—has been a major force in the popularity of Kabbalistic study. Hassidim believe that the largely esoteric Kabbalah can and should be understood by everyone. Rabbi Glaser's specialty is Kabbalah, and he uses his casual storytelling style and musical talents to teach bits of its wisdom. In addition to singing covers of Bob Marley songs, he has written a number of original tunes that are dedicated to Jewish life and teachings. He also sings reeling Israeli folk songs that get everyone up dancing. By the end the evening, almost all of the 40 or so people who showed up to see him at Hillel were dancing wildly in huge circles as Rabbi Glaser played guitar, sang, and weaved in and out of the crowd on a skateboard he borrowed from one of the students.
One might wonder how someone who was so into partying, surfing and mountain biking might have gotten involved in such a deeply religious life path. "In college, I gained a love for deep conversation," he said, "I remember one night, when I was supposed to be studying for a final, I got into a conversation with two other students in the study room in San Miguel, and ended up talking to them all night. After that, I was addicted to those deep conversations. Then, after graduation, on a trip to Israel, I realized that Jews are the nation of the conversation."

The Rabbi enjoys a few waves at Rincon.
Rabbi Glaser finished his talk by relating people in life to five surfers. The first surfer is the one who paddles shoreward to escape danger; the second, a safe, practical surfer who doesn't take unnecessary risks; the third, one who grabs the bull by the horns and paddles for the big waves, riding the wave of life; the fourth is the surf photographer—the voyeur who observes everything; and the fifth surfer is a guy who lives on Sabado Tarde. "If you've ever been on Sabado, if you didn't know where you were, you could be in Kansas," he said. "It's flat, there are cheesy apartments there…anyway, the fifth surfer doesn't even realize where he is—he's all spaced out."

A few lucky students were able to continue hanging out with Rabbi Glaser this morning, as he was amped to go surfing while in Santa Barbara—something he hadn't been able to do for a few years. Early this morning, after his morning prayers, he cruised down to Rincon with JAM's Rabbi Mitch Goldstein and a handful of UCSB students and managed to score a decent chest high swell. Not only that, but pulling into the parking lot, the group noticed that Kelly Slater was suiting up, getting ready to go out for a surf. Rabbi Glaser and the group of students took advantage of the opportunity, and spent a few minutes chatting with the friendly eight time world champion. Later on, Slater and Rabbi Glaser could be seen talking out in the lineup, in between a few rather impressive sets. The fun didn't stop there, because when Rabbi Glaser and the students came back up to the parking lot to leave, Jack Johnson was pulling surfboards from his truck. Rabbi Glaser couldn't resist chatting up a fellow musician and UCSB alum, much to the delight of the already-stoked group of students.

Rabbi Glaser will spend the rest of his U.S. stay performing a few lectures and concerts around the Greater Los Angeles area, and visiting his family. His parents still live in L.A., and are currently hanging out with the seven grandchildren he brought with him from Israel. Having met Rabbi Glaser in Israel in 2001, Rabbi Mitch Goldstein has been bringing his students to visit on JAM's Israel trips. Although he is a Hasidic rabbi, Glaser still knows how to party. "When I wasn't an observant Jew, I threw these huge parties," he said. "Now, when I have parties for Jewish holidays, I figure God's watching, so I don't want to disappoint." According to his description of these celebrations, busloads of people show up. "Tons of people come, but it's fun with more substance to it," said Rabbi Mitch, who has been to a few of Glaser's holiday parties. As Rabbi Glaser drove away from Rincon this morning, listening to Led Zeppelin's "Heartbreaker," everyone commented on how much fun it had been spending time with him. Whether or not you believe in everything he has to say, his genuine happiness at his chosen life path rubbed off on everyone.

Shiver Me Tuckas Pirate Jean Lafitte was Jewish

2008-05-12T15:11:00.000-07:00

Jewish pirates save Louisiana (Taken from the blog "Pratie Place")

Jean Lafitte's diary states he was born in Port-Au-Prince, Saint Domingue, in 1782. His mother died the next year, so Jean and his siblings were raised by their grandmother, the Sephardic Jew Zora Nadrimal. She told them of her flight from Spain to France with their mother to escape the Inquisition, which tortured and murdered their grandfather Abhorad. (The brothers later falsely claimed the Bordeaux region of France as their birthplace to snag French privateering credentials.)

The family lived a peaceful life in Santo Domingo until the Slave Insurrection of 1791. The Lafitte/Laffite brothers escaped to Martinique where they purchased a Letter of Marque (makes it kosher to seize and loot enemy vessels). Jean married a Danish Jewess, Cristiana Levine, and after four profitable years of privateering the family left for France with everything they owned. On the way their ship was taken by a Spanish Man of War. They were stripped and dumped on a sand cay; days later an American schooner picked them up and took them to New Orleans where Cristiana shortly died of exhaustion and fever.

Meanwhile Jean's brother Pierre, also a privateer, was busted for smuggling. The now indigent brothers briefly worked for U.S. Customs and then got back into pirating. Jean bought this blacksmith shop (built 1772) to front his evil businesses. Pierre and Jean were joined by their brothers René/Renato Béluche and Dominique You, former artillery gunner for Napoleon. They built a headquarters in Barataria Bay.

Captured Spanish vessels were maneuvered into the bay and, by 1811, Barataria was a thriving community with 32 armed warships, more ships than in the entire US navy. Businessmen from New Orleans arrived at night to buy pirates' loot. The operation was so huge, it affected the economy of the whole Gulf. "New Orleans banking declined and it was apparent that Laffite was monopolizing Louisiana's import trade and the commerce of the entire Mississippi Valley." (Jews on the Frontier)

In 1814 Great Britain dispatched an armada and 8,000 men to take Louisiana. Sure of success, they brought along a complete civil governmental staff to rule over the soon-to-be established Crown Colony. The officers offered Lafitte 30,000 pounds sterling and a commission in the British Navy if he would guide their troops through the maze of waterways to New Orleans. Lafitte had traveled the bayous for years and knew them better than anyone; he had even mapped the navigable waterways within 10,000 square miles of delta.

Lafitte pretended to accept the British offer but instead sent word to New Orleans that invasion was imminent. In exchange for a governor's pardon he and his buccaneers would help defend the city.

With more than two thousand men under his command, Lafitte could perhaps have turned back the British himself. But instead of accepting Jean's help, governor Claiborne let a Commodore Patterson attack Barataria. Patterson destroyed the settlement and stole loot worth half a million dollars, claiming it as spoils of war -- though none of it was ever seen by the government. He rounded up and imprisoned all the pirates he could find.

The governor's smugness was brief: reliable sources confirmed that the British were coming; within days their Armada arrived. Andrew Jackson, Commander in Chief of New Orleans, had almost no men or ships and so, amusingly, Claiborne was forced to free the imprisoned pirates (the "Hellish Banditi" as Jackson called them). He needed them desperately.

Jean and Pierre guided the American forces through the marshland maze. An assortment of 4,000 Tennesseans, Choctaw tribesmen, free blacks, Creoles and of course pirates defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans. Although James Madison gave presidential pardons to Jean Laffite and the buccaneers, their loot, surprisingly, was not returned. They were penniless yet again.

Some of the pirates began peaceful lives along the shores of Barataria Bay. The Lafittes, however, went back to piracy. Brother Dominique You was hired to rescue Napoleon from St. Helena and bring him to New Orleans, though Napoleon's death interfered with this plan substantially. Pierre and Jean sailed to Texas and established a colony of privateers off the coast of Galveston. Roger Kamenetz called it a "utopian pirate's den."

Later, Jean became a labor leader in St. Louis. In 1847 he met with Marx and Engels and, admiring their work, opened an escrow account in Paris to help them. There is evidence that Lafitte tried to introduce Marx to the young Abraham Lincoln.

Jean, who had substantially financed one of the earliest synagogues in Louisiana, is buried (perhaps) in a Jewish cemetery in Metairie. (More).

didjewknowwhen?

2008-05-08T07:25:00.000-07:00

Genealogy has always been a passion of mine and is very important for Jews as a whole. I read a statistic the other day that half-Jews now out number full Jews. Dershowitz in his book "The Vanishing American Jew: In Search of Jewish Identity for the Next Century" from 1997 said by the year 2067 that there would be no secular Jews left in America. I have found at the largely Christian elementary school that my son goes to that several of the practicing Christian parents are of Jewish ancestry. I guess my point is that the Jewish history and culture is a rich one and that Jews were involved in almost every significant action that has taken place in the past 400 years. There were Jews that fought and financed the Revolutionary War in America. An English Jew that fought to the death at the Alamo. 5 Jewish Generals that served in the Civil War on the Confederate side. Half a million that served for America during WWII. Several that sailed with Columbus at one time or another and he may even have been a Jew.
So going forward I will be adding Jewish genealogical links to this site starting with this one for those who may have had family serving in the Soviet Red Army:http://www.bfcollection.net/fast/knigapamyati.html

Here is some more info on that link:

Database of Red Army Jewish Soldiers Killed in Battles or Missing in Action in World War II

World War II was one of the most cataclysmic event in recent Jewish history. We mourn the six million innocent victims who perished at the hands of the German Nazis and their eager collaborators throughout Europe. We are proud that Jews resisted the Nazis whenever they had a chance–whether in ghettos, in the forests as partisans, or as soldiers in the armies of the Allied Forces. It has always been common knowledge that the Jews of the Soviet Union fought bravely in the Red Army in World War II, known as The Great Patriotic War to the Soviet people. Likewise, it has been known that the Soviet government denied Jews their battle awards and blacked out information about the Jewish participation in the war against the Nazis. The information, suppressed and hidden, nevertheless survived and outlived the "Evil Empire".
When the Soviet Union ceased to exist in 1991, its archives became much more accessible to researchers. One project that started in the early 1990's was to compile a list, from the former Soviet Army and Navy archives, of all Jewish soldiers listed as killed or missing in action. At least half a million Jewish men and women fought in the ranks of the Red Army and the Navy. Many thousands were killed or missing and presumed dead. The work of compiling their names was done by the staff of The Central Archives of The Ministry Of Defense and The Russian State Archives of the Navy, at the request of the Russian Union of Jewish War Invalids and Veterans. The results do not list all Jews known to have died in combat. For example, my father’s cousin Iosif Feldblyum, missing in action 1943, was not listed in the database, nor were a number of his friends and classmates such as Isaak Arbisman, David Datskovsky, Mark Gammer, Grigory Filler, Iosif Kilevsky, Zinovy Zinder. There could be many reasons that files for these and many other Jewish soldiers have not been found. Nonetheless, the database contains about 100,000 names - the most complete listing today. As more records are found and are collected from private individuals, it is possible that additional volumes will be published over and above the eight books available today.
FAST Genealogy Service is offering Jewish genealogists records from this enormous collection. The copyright considerations allow us to present only the English translation of the records (see examples below). The information, including the references to the actual archival files, will undoubtedly open new research venues for many a genealogist who looks for missing links with their families in the Soviet Union of 1920's-1940's.

guesswhosthejew

2008-05-07T16:54:00.000-07:00

Here is a fun little site I ran across during my daily Jewish web surfing. Even I missed a couple and scored in the 90s%. They say Steven Segal is not Jewish but from my research he is half Jewish.

http://www.guesswhosthejew.com/score.php

I Hart Bochner..

2008-05-07T14:55:00.000-07:00

Well I mean I really like him and in a very hetero way from when I first noticed him in Apartment Zero. He was in Breaking Away and a few other films prior but Apartment Zero is where he really seemed like a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately he didn't go the way of a Jewish Jason Patric and instead became a director. If you are a Patric fan and like his film noir roles then I highly recommend Apartment Zero.

Interesting Jewish tidbit; in The TV Version of "The Sun Also Rises" (1984) Hart Bocher plays the lead as gentile Jake Barnes while gentile Robert Carradine plays Jew Robert Cohn. Other Jews in the film playing non Jews include Jane Seymour (Born: Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg) as Brett Ashley and Leonard Nimoy as Count Mippipopolous.

Here is his bio:

Hart Bochner is a handsome, dark-haired supporting actor who has worked in several major theatrical and television movies. He is the son of Lloyd Bochner, a film and TV actor himself, and was born in Canada. As a teenager, he made his film debut in Franklin Schaffner's 1975 film Islands in the Stream. Before deciding to become an actor like his father, Bochner earned a graduate degree in English literature at a university in San Diego. Following college, he appeared in a supporting role in the 1979 sleeper Breaking Away. It was a promising start to his career and he next went on to appear in George Cukor's final film, Rich and Famous (1981). Though he appeared in many subsequent films, Bochner unfortunately has not become a well-known cinema actor though he did turn in a memorable performance as a sleazy yuppie businessman in 1988's Die Hard. With television, he has done a little better starring in adaptations such as East of Eden, The Sun Also Rises, and most notably the TV mini-series War and Remembrance. Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

I am Iron Jew Man!

2008-05-07T14:11:00.000-07:00

One might think since the creators of the comic Iron Man are Jewish that maybe Iron Man is as well. Walk with me here, Iron Man is very similar to the original Jewish superhero the Golem (See Jewish folklore story below). Also Producer, Director and many of the stars in the movie are Jewish or of Jewish ancestory:

From The Jewish News Weekly
Friday May 2, 2008
Celebrities by nate bloom - Downey a superhero
No question — Robert Downey Jr. is a great actor who can be absolutely riveting. That’s why I think “Iron Man” might stand out among the overabundance of big-screen adaptations of comic book heroes.
Downey stars as Tony Stark, a rich industrialist who is captured by terrorists in Afghanistan. Ordered to build a missile for them, Stark instead builds a power armor suit and escapes to America. He improves his suit to the point that he emerges as the tech superhero “Iron Man.” Gwyneth Paltrow plays Stark’s secretary. Shaun Toub, a Persian Jewish actor highly acclaimed for his role as the Iranian shopkeeper in the 2004 Oscar winner “Crash,” has a supporting role as a doctor who aids Stark.
The Iron Man character was created by Marvel Comics’ founder Stan Lee, his brother Larry Lieber (Stan Lee was born Stan Lieber) and the late graphic artist Jack Kirby.
Opening Friday, May 2, “Iron Man,” is directed by Jon Favreau (“Elf”), who is married to Dr. Joy Tillem, a Sonoma native. He says he cast Downey because of Downey’s past history of drug abuse: “The best and worst moments of Robert’s life have been in the public eye,” Favreau said. “He had to find an inner balance to overcome obstacles that went far beyond his career. That’s Tony Stark. Robert brings a depth that goes beyond a comic book character who is having trouble in high school or can’t get the girl.”
Downey, whose paternal grandfather was Jewish, wed film producer Susan Levin in 2005 in a Jewish ceremony and now describes himself as a “Jew-Bu” (a Jew who practices forms of Buddhist meditation and spirituality). He credits Levin as being critical to his personal and career recovery.

From: D. L. Ashliman's index of folklore and mythology electronic texts
The Golem - A Jewish Legend
In the town of Worms [in Germany] there once lived a pious man of the name of Bezalel to
whom a son was born on the first night of Passover. This happened in the year 5273 after the creation of the world [1579 common era], at a time when the Jews all over Europe were suffering from cruel persecutions.
The nations in whose midst the children of Israel were dwelling constantly accused them of ritual murder. The Jews, their enemies pretended, used the blood of Christian children in the preparation of their Passover bread; but the arrival of the son of Rabbi Bezalel soon proved to be the occasion of frustrating the evil intentions of two miscreants who sought to show to Christendom that the Jews were actually guilty of ritual murder.
In the night, when the wife of Rabbi Bezalel was seized with labor pains, the servants who had rushed out of the house in search of a midwife luckily prevented two men, who were just going to throw a sack containing the body of a dead child into the Jew-street, with a view to proving the murderous practice of the Jews, from carrying out their evil intention. Rabbi Bezalel then prophesied that his newborn son was destined to bring consolation to Israel and to save his people from the accusation of ritual murder.
"The name of my son in Israel," said Rabbi Bezalel "shall be Judah Arya, even as the Patriarch Jacob said when he blessed his children: 'Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, thou art gone up.'" (Genesis 49:9)
Rabbi Bezalel's son grew up and increased in strength and knowledge; he became a great scholar, well versed in the Holy Law, but also a master of all branches of knowledge and familiar with many foreign languages. In time he was elected Rabbi of Posen [in Poland], but later received a call to the city of Prague, where he was appointed chief judge of the Jewish community.
All his thoughts and actions were devoted to the welfare of his suffering people and his great aim in life was to clear Israel of the monstrous accusation of ritual murder which like a sword of Damocles was perpetually suspended over the head of the unhappy race. Fervently did the rabbi pray to Heaven to teach him in a vision by what means he could best bring to naught the false accusations of the miscreant priests who were spreading the cruel rumors.
And one night he heard a mysterious voice calling to him, "Make a human image of clay and thus you will succeed in frustrating the evil intentions of the enemies of Israel."
On the following morning the master called his son-in-law and his favorite pupil and acquainted them with the instruction he had received from Heaven. He also asked the two to help him in the work he was about to undertake.
"Four elements," he said, "are required for the creation of the golem or homunculus, namely, earth, water, fire and air."
"I myself," thought the holy man, "possess the power of the wind; my son-in-law embodies fire, while my favorite pupil is the symbol of water, and between the three of us we are bound to succeed in our work." He urged on his companions the necessity of great secrecy and asked them to spend seven days in preparing for the work.
On the twentieth day of the month of Adar, in the year five thousand three hundred and forty after the creation of the world, in the fourth hour after midnight, the three men betook themselves to a river on the outskirts of the city on the banks of which they found a loam pit. Here they kneaded the soft clay and fashioned the figure of a man three ells high. They fashioned the features, hands and feet, and then placed the figure of clay on its back upon the ground.
The three learned men then stood at the feet of the image which they had created and the rabbi commanded his son-in-law to walk round the figure seven times, while reciting a cabalistic formula he had himself composed. And as soon as the son-in-law had completed the seven rounds and recited the formula, the figure of clay grew red like a gleaming coal. Thereupon the rabbi commanded his pupil to perform the same action, namely, walk round the lifeless figure seven times while reciting another formula. The effect of the performance was this time an abatement of the heat. The figure grew moist and vapors emanated from it, while nails sprouted on the tips of its fingers and its head was suddenly covered with hair. The face of the figure of clay looked like that of a man of about thirty.
At last the rabbi himself walked seven times round the figure, and the three men recited the following sentence from the history of creation in Genesis: "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." (Genesis 2:7)
As soon as the three pious men had spoken these words, the eyes of the Golem opened and he gazed upon the rabbi and his pupils with eyes full of wonder. Rabbi Loew [also spelled Löw] thereupon spoke aloud to the man of clay and commanded him to rise from the ground. The Golem at once obeyed and stood erect on his feet. The three men then arrayed the figure in the clothes they had brought with them, clothes worn by the beadles of the synagogues, and put shoes on his feet.
And the rabbi once more addressed the newly fashioned image of clay and thus he spoke, "Know you, clod of clay, that we have fashioned you from the dust of the earth that you may protect the people of Israel against its enemies and shelter it from the misery and suffering to which our nation is subjected. Your name shall be Joseph, and you shall dwell in my courtroom and perform the work of a servant. You shall obey my commands and do all that I may require of you, go through fire, jump into water or throw yourself down from a high tower."
The Golem only nodded his head as if to give his consent to the words spoken by the rabbi. His conduct was in every respect that of a human being; he could hear and understand all that was said to him, but he lacked the power of speech. And thus it happened on that memorable night that while only three men had left the house of the rabbi, four returned home in the sixth hour after midnight.
The rabbi kept the matter secret, informing his household that on his way in the morning to the ritual bathing establishment he had met a beggar, and, finding him honest and innocent, had brought him home. He had the intention of engaging him as a servant to attend to the work in his schoolroom, but he forbade his household to make the man perform any other domestic work.
And the Golem thenceforth remained in a corner of the schoolroom, his head upon his two hands, sitting motionless. He gave the impression of a creature bereft of reason, neither understanding nor taking any notice of what was happening around him. Rabbi Loew said of him that neither fire nor water had the power of harming him, nor could any sword wound him. He had called the man of clay Joseph, in memory of Joseph Sheda mentioned in the Talmud who is said to have been half human and half spirit, and who had served the rabbis and frequently saved them from great trouble.
Rabbi Loew, the miracle worker, availed himself of the services of the Golem only on occasions when it was a question of defending his people against the blood accusations from which the Jews of Prague had to suffer greatly in those days.
Whenever the miracle-working Rabbi Loew sent out the Golem and was anxious that he should not be seen, he used to suspend on his neck an amulet written on the skin of a hart, a talisman which rendered the man of clay invisible, while he himself was able to see everything. During the week preceding the feast of Passover the Golem wandered about in the streets of the city stopping everybody who happened to be carrying some burden on his back. It frequently occurred that the bundle contained a dead child which the miscreant intended to deposit in the Jew-street; the Golem at once tied up the man and the body with a rope which he carried in his pocket, and, leading the mischief maker to the town hall, handed him over to the authorities. The Golem's power was quite supernatural and he performed many good deeds.
A day came when a law was finally promulgated declaring the blood accusation to be groundless, and the Jews breathed a sigh of relief when all further persecutions on account of alleged ritual murder were forbidden. Rabbi Loew now decided to take away the breath of life from the Golem, the figure of clay which his hands had once fashioned. He placed Joseph upon a bed and commanded his disciples once more to walk round the Golem seven times and repeat the words they had spoken when the figure was created, but this time in reverse order. When the seventh round was finished, the Golem was once more a lifeless piece of clay. They divested him of his clothes, and wrapping him in two old praying shawls, hid the clod of clay under a heap of old books in the rabbi's garret.
Rabbi Loew afterwards related many incidents connected with the creation of the Golem. When he was on the point of blowing the breath of life into the nostrils of the figure of clay he had created, two spirits had appeared to him; that of Joseph the demon and that of Jonathan the demon. He chose the former, the spirit of Joseph, because he had already revealed himself as the protector of the rabbis of the Talmud, but he could not endow the figure of clay with the power of speech because the living spirit inhabiting the Golem was only a sort of animal vitality and not a soul. He possessed only small powers of discernment, being unable to grasp anything belonging to the domain of real intelligence and higher wisdom.
And yet, although the Golem was not possessed of a soul, one could not fail to notice that on the Sabbath there was something peculiar in his bearing, for his face bore a friendlier and more amiable expression than it did on weekdays. It was afterwards related that every Friday Rabbi Loew used to remove the tablet on which he had written the Ineffable Name from under the Golem's tongue, as he was afraid lest the Sabbath should make the Golem immortal and men might be induced to worship him as an idol. The Golem had no inclinations, either good or bad. Whatever action he performed he did under compulsion and out of fear lest he should be turned again into dust and reduced to naught once more. Whatever was situated within ten ells above the ground or under it he could reach easily and nothing would stop him in the execution of anything that he had undertaken.

On a side note here is a great article on whether the song "Iron Man" was inspired by the comic book of the same name.

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/04/03/what-does-black-sabb.html

Hogan's Jewish Heros

2008-05-05T15:57:00.000-07:00

John Banner(Schultz), Werner Klemperer(Klink), Leon Askin(Burkhalter), Howard Caine(Hochstetter), and Robert Clary(LeBeau).

I found this trivia question on: http://confessionsofalibertine.blog-city.com/tv_trivia__hogans_heroes.htm

Yes if you go to his site you will see he supports Obama so please dont hold that against me for using his info.

Werner Klemperer, Col. Klink in TV's 'Hogan's Heroes,' Dies at 80

By Bernard Weintraub,, December 8, 2000
Werner Klemperer, an Emmy Award-winning actor in television, film and theater whose role as the bumbling Nazi Col. Wilhelm Klink on "Hogan's Heroes" dominated an eclectic career, died on Wednesday at his home in New York. He was 80.
The cause was cancer, said John A. Anderson, his manager.
A love of music dominated the life of Mr. Klemperer, the son of the conductor Otto Klemperer, who was the music director for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The younger Mr. Klemperer performed in many opera productions and, in the last two decades, served as narrator with virtually every symphony orchestra in the United States. His narration of Mozart's "Impresario" with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra was broadcast by PBS on "Live From Lincoln Center."
But what stamped his career, and made him famous, was his role in the lowbrow "Hogan's Heroes," the successful and unlikely sitcom set in a German prisoner-of-war camp during World War II. The show, which ran on CBS from 1965 to 1971, starred Mr. Klemperer as the monocled and inept Nazi commandant of the camp in which the American prisoners, led by Col. Robert Hogan (played by Bob Crane), actually controlled the camp.
Mr. Klemperer, whose Jewish family had escaped Germany in the 1930's for Los Angeles, found the role a double-edged sword. "He sometimes felt he was too identified with that character," his wife, Kim Hamilton Klemperer, said. "But it had such a major impact on his career. He loved it when people stopped him on the street. The fan mail he still gets is unbelievable." (The series has been rebroadcast on TV Land).
Mr. Klemperer was nominated for Emmys for each of the six years he appeared on the show, and won twice, in 1968 and 1969, in the category of best supporting actor.
What plainly dogged Mr. Klemperer was the criticism that a show based on the concept of bumbling Germans running a prisoner-of-war camp was simply not funny given the actual events of World War II.
When the idea of a movie version of "Hogan's Heroes" was discussed two years ago, and then dropped, a writer in The Boston Globe, Renee Graham, wrote: "Call this political correctness if you like, but under no circumstances should a film of `Hogan's Heroes' be made. For those who don't remember, this was the 1960's World War II comedy starring Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer and John Banner that presented the Nazis as the biggest cutups since the Keystone Kops. Let's be clear here: Nazis are never, ever funny. Ever. So it's with great joy that I report that the film version of `Hogan' is on ice, at least for now."
Such criticisms through the years bothered Mr. Klemperer. "The show was never intended to be viewed in a serious light," he said in 1999. "Whenever anyone tries to overanalyze `Hogan's Heroes' I merely tell them that it was a funny show, a wonderful show, and I'm very proud of it. And that's the end of that."
But Mr. Klemperer also had early misgivings about the series. He was offered the role as the Nazi commandant by CBS but his agent failed to tell him that it was humorous. When Mr. Klemperer learned that the show was a comedy, he said he was stunned.
"I had one qualification when I took the job: if they ever wrote a segment whereby Colonel Klink would come out the hero, I would leave the show."
Mr. Klemperer played other Germans in two of his more memorable films. He was a Nazi on trial for war atrocities in "Judgment at Nuremberg" (1961) and Adolf Eichmann in "Operation Eichmann" (also 1961).

John Banner
Birth:

Jan. 28, 1910ViennaWien, Austria
Death:

Jan. 28, 1973ViennaWien, Austria
Actor. Fondly remembered for his role of 'Sergeant Schultz' in the classic 1960s television sitcom "Hogan's Heroes" (1965 - 1971). An Austrian actor of Jewish descent in his hometown of Vienna, he was forced to leave when Germany and Austria unified in 1938, at the age of 28, during the Anschluss (union) between the two countries. There are reports that he spent time in a German Concentration Camp, but these are unconfirmed. At the time of the Anschluss, he was touring Switzerland with an acting company, and with Hitler's anti-semitic policies, he decided to immigrate to the United States. Rapidly picking up English, he obtained work in the early 1940s in Hollywood, oddly enough playing Nazis or Germans in war films, often uncredited. His trim Nordic look and accent typecast him in the roles of the very villains who would murder his family that had been left behind in Austria - all of whom perished in the Holocaust. His first Hollywood role was in the 1941 film, "Accent on Love," but he more often than not was uncredited in his roles. He regularly found work in such films as "Desperate Journey" (1942), "Immortal Sergeant" (1943), "Tonight we Raid Calais" (1943), "Tangier" (1946), "Rendezvous 24" (1946), "My Girl" (1948), "King Solomon's Mines" (1950), "The Beast of Budapest" (1958), "Operation Eichmann" (1961), "The Interns" (1961), and "Bedtime Story" (1964). He would also play guest star roles on television, finding steady work in such shows as The Lone Ranger, Fireside Theatre, Hallmark Hall of Fame, Father Knows Best, and The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin. By 1965, he had gained an additional 100 pounds, weighing 280 pounds, and had won the role of Sergeant Georg Schultz, on the comedy series "Hogan's Heroes." In a 1965 interview with TV Guide Magazine, he viewed his Schultz role as "the representative of some kind of goodness that is in every generation." Portraying Schultz as an inept guard, he would become known for his character's ignoring of the shenanigans going on in the camp with his signature "I know nothing! I see nothing!" After "Hogan's Heroes" was cancelled in 1971, he signed on for another television sitcom, "The Chicago Teddy-Bears" (1971), set in the 1930s Chicago of Prohibition, with his character, Uncle Latzi," becoming a lovable bumbling gangster similar to the earlier Sgt. Schultz character. However, the "Chicago Teddy-Bears" flopped and was cancelled in the middle of the first season. After that, he retired to his hometown of Vienna, Austria, where he died from an abdominal hemorrhage on his 63rd birthday, in 1973. The grave shown in the photo is the original site of the Banner grave, but since grave space in Germany and Austria is tightly controlled, the space was rented to the Hübner family. The small grave sign translates as: "Here is the last resting place of the actor, John Banner, known as 'Sergeant First Class Georg Schultz' in the comedy show, 'A Cage Full of Heroes' (in English, 'Hogan's Heroes'). You have provided us with many rememberable hours; you will live forever in our hearts. We, your family, will never forget you."

Robert Clary

Date of Birth1 March 1926, Paris, France
Birth NameRobert Max Widerman
Mini Biography
Born in France, Robert Clary early suffered the pangs of war, being interned in a Nazi concentration camp as a child. After WWII he became a singing star in France, and in 1949 came to the United States to promote his career. He appeared on "The Ed Wynn Show" (1949); still learning English he performed in a French language comedy skit. His comedic skills were recognized by Broadway, where he appeared in several revues, including one which moved from theater to film, New Faces (1954). In the 1950's he was a game show regular, and then in 1965 he became Corporal Louis LeBeau in "Hogan's Heroes" (1965). Later film roles were based around WWII, such as Remembra nce of Love (1982) (TV) about Holocaust survivors. More recently he returned to television series, joining "Days of Our Lives" (1965) and appearing in "The Young and the Restless" (1973).IMDb Mini Biography By: Bruce Cameron
Spouse
Natalie Cantor Metzger
(1965 - 1997) (her death)
Trivia
Son-in-law of Eddie Cantor and Ida Tobias Cantor
Has a tattoo on his left foream, "A5714," from his time in a German concentration camp during WWII.
Was the youngest of 14 children; most of whom died in the Nazi concentration camps.
Began singing professionally at the age of 12.
He moved to the US in 1949 and found work in nightclubs, then made a name for himself in the Broadway show "New Faces of 1952."
Brother-in-law of Marjorie Cantor, Edna Cantor McHugh, Marilyn Cantor Baker and Janet Cantor Gari
Best remembered by the public for his role as "Corperal LeBeau" in the television series "Hogan's Heroes" (1965).
Was portrayed by Christopher Neiman in the film Auto Focus (2002) about Hogan's Heroes co-star Bob Crane's life.

Leon Askin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Leon Askin (September 18, 1907 – June 3, 2005) was an Austrian actor.
Askin was born Leon Aschkenasy into a Jewish family in Vienna, the son of Malvine (Susman) and Samuel Aschkenazy.[1] Askin already wanted to be an actor as a child. His dream came true, and in the 1930s he worked as a cabaret artist and director at the "ABC Theatre" in Vienna: in this position he also helped the career of the writer Jura Soyfer get off the ground in 1935. As a highly versatile stage actor, he was well-known as "the man of a thousand faces."
Persecuted by the Nazis, Askin escaped to the U nited States via France, arriving in New York in 1940 with no money and less than a basic knowledge of English. When the U.S. entered the Second World War Askin joined the U.S. Army. While serving in the military he learned that his parents had been killed at Treblinka extermination camp.
After the war, Askin went to Hollywood, invariably portraying foreign characters who speak English with a strong accent. Fans of the TV series Adventures of Superman recall his portrayals of an eastern European diamond smuggler in a black-and-white episode, and as a South American prime minister in a color episode. He gained wide recognition and popularity by appearing as the stern General Albert Burkhalter in the sitcom Hogan's Heroes in the late 1960s.
Though known to audiences primarily for his film and television work, Askin was extremely active in theater, both as an actor and a director.
As opposed to some other exiled Austrians, Askin never refused to work again in his home country. In fact, in 1994 he permanently took up residence in Vienna, where he remained active until his death, in cabaret as well as the Volksoper and Festwochen. He was awarded Vienna's Gold Medal of Honor.
Askin died on June 3, 2005 in Vienna. He was 97.

Howard Caine- Mini-Biography
Born - January 2, 1926
Died - December 28, 1993
At the age of thirteen Howard moved with his family from his home town of Nashville, Tennessee to New York City where he began studying acting. Learning to erase a Southern accent, he went on to became a master of 32 foreign and American dialects. After service in the Navy during WWII, Caine continued his studies at The School of Drama, Columbia University, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude. Howard was featured on Broadway in WONDERFUL TOWN, INHERIT THE WIND, LUNATICS & LOVERS and TIGER AT THE GATES. He replaced Ray Walston, as "Mr. Applegate" the star of Broadway's DAMN YANKEES. Featured in FROM THE TERRACE, PAY OR DIE, JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG, THE MAN FROM THE DINER'S CLUB, PRESSURE POINT and ALVAREZ KELLY, Howard co-starred with Godfrey Cambridge and Estelle Parsons in WATERMELON MAN. Mr. Caine played a featured role as "Lewis Morris" of New York in Jack Warner's Columbia Pictures production, "1776." He was a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. Howard Caine acted in over 750 live and film TV shows. He is perhaps best remembered as "Major Hochstetter" of the Gestapo on HOGAN'S HEROES, a role he played for the six year run of the series. He was featured as "Everett Scovill" (Irving Kanarek), Manson's attorney, on the CBS two-part TV Movie of the Week, HELTER SKELTER. Mr. Caine, always fascinated with the Appalachian five-string Banjo, began mastering it in the mid 1960s. Since the summer of 1970 until his untimely death in 1993, he had taken trophies at 29 prominent Banjo and Fiddle Contests in the Southland for both Best Traditional Banjo and Traditional Singing. He was also a popular "folk-singer" and appeared at a number of prominent Folk Clubs and Folk Festivals. Howard's widow communes with him spiritually yet misses his physical presence deeply. LOVE CONQUERS ALL BUT DEATH
From the Internet Movie Database - mini-biography by Actress, Valerie Webber Caine

Dennis Prager not so obsevant Jew - Update

2008-05-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

After further research didjewknow needs to apologize to Dennis Prager for calling him an observant Jew. Apparently according to his online bio he does not follow the Jewish dietary laws. "Prager identifies himself as a Reform Jew, the most liberal of Judaism's four main denominations. Prager does not observe the Jewish Sabbath (he drives in a car on that day) or keep the Jewish dietary laws (he eats chicken with milk, which is forbidden under Jewish law). He grew up Orthodox but abandoned Orthodoxy when it conflicted with his Republican lifestyle."

Last week during Passover Mr. Prager mentioned on air that he was enjoying a Belgium waffle. Imagine my surprise as I (a Vegan) was in starvation mode without my usual daily staples such as oatmeal and rice, etc. hearing Prager (who is well known as an observant Jew) take delight in this untouchable piece of leavening. I sent him an email immediately to see if the show had some how been taped. But when he replied to it with a "Huh?" just a few hours later I realized that he was still working. Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of his program but since he is all about moral clarity I would like him to please clarify especially to his Jewish listeners what the deal was.

Here is the link to the Wed April 23rd podcast when he made the offending comment. It is 13:11 into the cast.
http://dennisprager.townhall.com/MediaPlayer/AudioPlayer.aspx?ContentGuid=d034d149-3409-4408-be91-6f1e9202ae1a

Let not the world forget the name William Bernstein

2008-05-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

A few nights ago I went our Temple and watched a screening of the 1997 documentary; "Exodus 1947" which told the story of the ship of the same name and how its' ill fated voyage from the East Coast of America to Europe with a final destination of Palestine turned the tide of world opinion and helped to create the Jewish state of Israel. Something I did not know was that William Bernstein (Pictured) an American Jew that was part of the ship's crew lost his life when he refused to give of the wheel of the Exodus 1947. English marines pumbled him with clubs into a coma which he never awoke from. He is buried, wrapped in an American flag, in Martyr's Row in Haifa cemetery. 20,000 mourners attended his Memorial service in Madison Square Park on 25th July 1947

Exodus 1947 was a ship carrying Jewish emigrants, that left France on July 11, 1947, with the intent of taking its passengers to Palestine, then controlled by the British. Most of the emigrants were Holocaust survivor refugees, who had no legal immigration certificates to Palestine. Following wide media coverage, the British Royal Navy seized the ship, and deported all its passengers back to Europe.
Early history
The ship was built in 1928 by Pussey and Jones Corp., Wilmington, Delaware, for the Baltimore Steam Packet Co.. Initially named President Warfield, it was intended to carry freight and passengers. On 12 June 1942 the ship was acquired by the War Shipping Administration, converted to transport and on 21 September transferred to the United Kingdom. After return to the US, it was commissioned by the US Navy as USS President Warfield (IX-169) on 21 May 1944. On 11 October 1945 President Warfield was removed from the Naval Vessel Register and on 14 November returned to the War Shipping Administration.[1]
Voyage history
On 9 November 1946 the ship was purchased from the War Shipping Administration by Potomac Shipwrecking Co. of Washington, D.C., eventually ending up with Hamossad Le'aliyah Bet — the underground Jewish organization in Palestine intent on helping underground Jewish immigrants enter Palestine. It was renamed Exodus 1947 after the biblical Jewish exodus from Egypt to Canaan.
The ship, with Yossi Harel (Hamburger) in command, sailed with 4,515 passengers from a small port outside Marseille on July 11, 1947, and arrived at Palestine shores on July 18. The British Royal Navy trailed the ship from very early in its voyage, and finally boarded it some 20 nautical miles (40 km) from shore. The boarding was challenged by the passengers (the ship was in international waters where the Royal Navy had no jurisdiction), and so the British soldiers used force. Three shipmates, including 1st mate William Bernstein, a U.S. sailor from San Francisco, died as a result of bludgeoning and several dozen others were injured before the ship was taken over.
Due to the high profile of the Exodus 1947 emigration ship, it was decided by the British government that the emigrants were to be deported back to France. Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin suggested this, and the request was relayed to General Sir Alan Cunningham, High Commissioner for Palestine,[2] who agreed with the plan after consulting the Navy.[3] Before then, captured immigrants were placed in internment camps on Cyprus. This new policy was meant to be a signal to both the Jewish community and the European countries which assisted immigration that whatever they sent to Palestine would be sent back to them.
Not only should it clearly establish the principle of REFOULEMENT as applies to a complete shipload of immigrants, but it will be most discouraging to the organisers of this traffic if the immigrants... end up by returning whence they came.[2]
The British sailed the commandeered ship into Haifa port, where its passengers were transferred to three more seaworthy deportation ships. The event was witnessed by members of UNSCOP. These ships, and the President Warfield, left Haifa harbour on July 19 for Port-de-Bouc. Foreign Secretary Bevin insisted that the French get their ship back as well as its passengers.[2]
When the deportation ships arrived at Port-de-Bouc near Marseilles on August 2, the emigrants refused to disembark, and the French refused to cooperate with British attempts at forced disembarkation. Realizing that they were not bound for Cyprus, the emigrants conducted a 24-hour hunger strike, refusing to cooperate with the British authorities.
While this was going on two British sergeants were hanged by the Irgun in retaliation for the British execution by hanging of a number of Irgun activists. The executed Irgun members were minor activists with no crimminal record with the exception of Dov Gruner.[4] That night an anti-Jewish riot broke out in Liverpool in which Jewish-owned shops were smashed and there were random attacks on Jews. Over the next few evenings attacks spread from Liverpool to Manchester and London with the authorities forced to place police guards in Jewish areas across Britain. Within a few days The Times reported that attacks on Jews were now taking place in daylight as well as at night. The Mayor of Liverpool appealed for calm, claiming that "not only property owned by Jews is being damaged...".[5]
During this time, media coverage of the human ordeal intensified and the British became pressed to find a solution. The matter also got the attention of the UNSCOP members who had been deliberating in Geneva. After three weeks, during which the prisoners on the ships held steady in difficult conditions rejecting offers of alternative destinations, the ships were sailed to Hamburg, Germany, which was then in the British occupation zone and where the emigrants could be forced off the ships and back to DP camps in Lübeck-Pöppendorf. Although most of the women and children disembarked voluntarily, the men had to be carried off by force.
Within a year, over half of the original Exodus 1947 passengers had made another attempt at emigrating to Palestine and were detained without trial in prison camps on Cyprus. Britain continued to hold the prisoners in Cyprus until January 1949 when it formally recognized the State of Israel and all surviving passengers made aliyah.
Historical importance
The ship's ordeals were widely covered by international media, and caused the British government much public embarrassment, especially after the refugees were forced to disembark in Germany. It is said that the events convinced the US government that the British mandate of Palestine was incapable of handling the Jewish refugees problem, and that a United Nations-brokered solution needed to be found. The US government then intensified its pressures on the British government to return its mandate to the UN, and the British in turn were willing to accept this.
The United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) also covered the events. Some of its members were even present at Haifa port when the emigrants were removed from their ship onto the deportation ships, and later commented that this strong image helped them press for an immediate solution for Jewish immigration and the question of Palestine.
Cultural impact
In 1958, the book Exodus by Leon Uris, based partly on the story of the ship, was published, though the ship Exodus in the book is not the same but a smaller one and the "real" Exodus has been renamed.
In 1960, the film Exodus directed by Otto Preminger and starring Paul Newman, based on the above novel, was screened. It was filmed mostly in Israel and increased Israel's popularity worldwide.
In 1997, the documentary film, Exodus 1947, directed by Elizabeth Rodgers and Robby Henson and narrated by Morley Safer, was broadcast nationally in the USA on PBS television.

On the south side of chicago are the baddest Jews of all

2008-04-22T13:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Passover - Hai!

2008-04-22T13:47:00.000-07:00

The Jew Also Rises

2008-04-22T09:51:00.000-07:00

Even though Hemingway wrote "Death in the Afternoon" specifically about Bullfighting and Sidney Franklin (The Jewish American matador) the matador (Pedro Romero) was loosely based on him and was played by a Jew as well (Robert Evans)

Sidney Franklin
Bullfighter from Flatbush (Taken from Jews in Sports)

"Of course I like bullfighting immensely, and feel a kind of voluptuous pleasure in fighting quietly, seeing the danger close at hand. I would not change that for any other sensation in life."
The speaker was Sidney Franklin, a thin, studious Jewish boy from Brooklyn, who became one of the topflight athletes in one of the most dangerous, spectacular and cruel sports in the world - bullfighting.
Always considered a Latin sport, bullfighting is curiously un-American. It is a colorful sport, the national pastime of Spain and Mexico. Champion bullfights in these lands are worshipped by excitable and noisy fans. Men like Juan Belmonte become legends and their feats are related in song and story. They make fortunes. Belmonte used to get $7,000 for a single performance in the bull ring and a smart bullfighter, if he promoted his own shows, sometimes made as much as $40,000 in a single afternoon. For example, Belmonte, about whom lyrical books of praise have been written, made more money in his career than Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney combined. Rodolfo Gaona, the star matador in Mexico, made four million dollars in six years. This is enough to indicate the hold of the sport on millions of people. But bullfighting has fascinated many Americans as well. Ernest Hemingway, the famous novelist, has written a book called Death in the Afternoon, which is actually a handbook of bullfighting. And in many of his novels and short stories his heroes are bullfighters.
Writing in Death in the Afternoon on Sidney Franklin, Hemingway said, "Franklin is brave with a cold, serene and intelligent valor but instead of being awkward and ignorant he is one of the most skillful, graceful and slow manipulators of a cape fighting today . . . He is a better, more scientific, more intelligent, and more finished matador than all but about six of the full matadors in Spain today and the bullfighters know it and have the utmost respect for him."
Why is the sport so fascinating? For one thing it offers sudden death in the ring. It is said that a matador has a six-year career. For two years he is on his way up to the top ranks. For two more years he is at his peak and then he goes downhill. This process also takes about two years, and often the end is death. The bulls are rough and tough and they play for keeps. In America auto racing is the only sport which offers death as one of its possible thrills. And the major races are always jampacked with people. It seems that danger in sport is always attractive to an audience which remains out of peril while watching daring men play for high stakes with their lives in balance.
Sidney Franklin attended Columbia University and studied commercial art. He went to Mexico to study Mayan history and managed to see his first bullfight in the land south of the border. He was drawn to it and the attraction never ceased. He decided to make the sport his life work. His Brooklyn family must have been amazed, but apparently they got used to it, all six brothers and his two sisters. In his own autobiography, Bullfighter from Brooklyn, Franklin wrote, "I have often been asked how I came to be a bullfighter; what there was in my background that led me into such a unique profession. Frankly, when I try to review my early life I am puzzled to find an answer to that riddle."
But this is how Franklin explained it elsewhere:
"Bullfighting is just as dangerous as prize-fighting, but more interesting and more honest. There can be no crooked work in the bull ring, because you can't talk to the bull. You can't tell him to lie down, and you will divide the purse with him. You either get him or he gets you."
Before one can appreciate the feats of Sidney Franklin in the bull ring, one must know something about the sport itself. Here is how Sidney told it to an American correspondent, in the years when he was the sensation of the sports pages of the world:
"Armed only with the capote de brege, or large working cape, made of silk, lined with heavy duck, the matador attracts the attention of the bull, which charges. The matador waits until the bull is only a few feet away. Then he slowly extends the cape to one side and draws the bull by with it. Man and cape have been as one object to the bull at the beginning of the charge, but here is something moving, and that is the thing to be destroyed. So suddenly that the eye can hardly follow the change, the bull's charge is deflected toward the cape.
"Then comes a series of charges back and forth, on either side of the matador. A bull can turn more quickly than a race horse, so the matador must be ready for the reverse attack. But there must be no undue hurry on his part. Misjudgment of the speed of the bull's charge, or of distance
between man and animal, may translate itself into disaster for the matador."
This is only a brief statement. The corrida, or bullfight, is much more complicated. Because the sport is traditional, Latin and full of the breath of death, it is loaded with superstitions and with customs. The critics and writers of the sport indulge in fancy words and write of bullfighting as though it were an art. Some of them consider the corrida a religion. And if you would stop to study all the terms in the sport and were to watch how things were done, with the marching and strutting of the athletes before the huge crowds, you would think that there is a very strong tie-up between religion and bullfighting.
Sidney Franklin, whose background is so different from the background which gave birth to bullfighting, overcame all obstacles and became a top man in the sport, after years of training. He made his big-time debut at Chapultepec, Mexico. This was like starting a baseball game at the Yankee Stadium. The break came to him after tedious years of fighting in small towns throughout Mexico. And then he fought in Spain, the big league of the corrida. He paid a heavy price, for he nearly was killed in his attempt to prove that a Yankee could make good at the Latin sport.
He faced a big, black wicked bull and after a few parries and thrusts, the bull's horn caught his gold-trimmed cape. In a few moments Franklin lay wounded on the sandy floor of the ring. The bull snorted and attempted to finish off the beaten man, but a swarm of men rushed in and saved Sidney. This, however, was only the beginning of the show. A short while later Sidney Franklin reappeared, bandaged up, woozy and hurt, but eager to fight again.
With a new sword and the cheers of the crowd ringing in his ears, he killed a bull and revealed that he had the kind of guts appreciated all over the world.
Although this was a bloody performance, Sidney did better later on, even if he was not cut up and wounded. In his first appearance in Seville, 10,000 fans idolized him and, when the fighting was over, carried him through the main gate. This is the sort of an honor paid only to great matadors and the performance which preceded the honor was indeed a great one.
Sidney knew that he faced a cynical audience, a crowd which had to be shown. After all, you can't easily convince a Spanish crowd at a bullfight that an American, a North American that is, can compete with Latins at an age-old Latin sport. But Sidney dispatched his first bull with a single stroke. That showed courage and skill and the audience sat back in their seats to see what else the young American had to offer. And Sidney showed them. He gave them a real performance with the second bull. He parried and sidestepped and generally displayed enormous knowledge of the game. A critic wrote, after the fight:

"It is astounding the way he tackles the bulls, calling them
with phlegmatic serenity, letting them rush into his cloak
and- pass along his body, without the slightest concern.
This mastery he demonstrated, putting his cape behind his
back when playing with the bulls with an art unequalled."

But this judgment came in the heat of excitement. It took many more years before Sidney Franklin became a real star, a fellow who could rank with the few top bullfighters. After many years of hard fighting all over the bull rings of the world, Franklin made his debut as alternativo, or main attraction, in 1945 in Seville. He killed two bulls with artistry, with coolness and with courage.
The spectators roared their approval in the Spanish manner. They called "Viva tu madre (Long live your mother!). Viva America!"
This must have been music to the ears of the long-legged Brooklyn boy who had come a long way to reach this point in a rough career. For Franklin learned, as all bullfighters must, that killing the bull is not the really important thing: it is that the killing must be done in style. It is not important to the general reader to know the difference between matadors, picadors and banderilleros, except that a picador fights the bull from a seated position on a horse and that banderilleros put harpoon-tipped shafts into a bull's neck to infuriate him and make him a more formidable foe. To Americans the sight of killing a bull, or the sight of seeing an angry bull gore to death a helpless horse is no fun. The fine points of the bullfight (like knowing if a bull favors using its left horn or its right horn, or observing if a bull rushes in a straight line or swerves while rushing at the cape) don't mean much to the North American who knows only that bullfighting is an odd sport which seems not only dangerous but cruel.
The preliminaries, the colorful trappings all seem like part of an ancient ritual which has outlived its day. Sidney Franklin often said that he hoped that the sport would become as popular as baseball in America. But it never will, for its elements are too basic and too cruel to win many Americans. It is interesting, however, that even in such a sport, which is a closed circle insofar as Americans are concerned, a Jew had become outstanding. It is difficult to understand why a Brooklynite who studied at Columbia should become a bullfighter. But he has, and his story is one of the oddest in sports history and certainly one of the most peculiar tales in this book. The Kid from Brooklyn is now the Kid from Spain and the history of the bull ring is enriched with a new and strange legend.

Craig back playing a Jew in the Dec release of "Defiance"

2008-04-12T11:13:00.000-07:00

During the previews for Stop Loss yesterday (didjewknow favorite 100% Jew Joseph Gordon Levitt stars) I was thrilled to see that in December "Defiance" is due out. The film is based on the true story of the Bielski partisans, covered by author Nechama Tec in the book of the same name. Defiance stars Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, and Jamie Bell as three Jewish brothers from West Belarus who escape from the Nazis and fight back to rescue fellow Jews. I have always been a huge fan of the Jews that fought back during the Holocaust and if you look at my movie links you can see several of those films. This is similar to the book "The Adventures" based on the true story of Vilna Poland Jews that fight as Partisians in the forrest with the Polish Home Army. I am pretty sure I wrote a review of that book on my blog several months back. If I didn't I highly recommend it. Also "The Bravest Battle" about the 28 days that the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto held off the German Army (It only took 21 days for Germany to take all of Poland). I know it was not Craig's decision but in Munich a great true story was made into a weak meladrama after Spielberg had it rewritten to not be so hard on the Palestinian Terrorists that killed the Isralie athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. See the documentary "A Day in September" for more background on that. Of the 3 stars in Defiance only Liev Schreiber is of Jewish decent (his father is Jewish).

BTW it seems I am way behind Jewlicious on breaking this story:

Let My People Go Dani el Craig!May 17th, 2007 by beth
What is it with Brit Daniel Craig aka the new James Bond with the most sculpted abs ever and the Jews? First, Craig goes undercover as a Mossad agent in Spielberg’s “Munich” and now the actor has signed on in Edward Zwick’s (”Blood Diamon”) latest production about WWII Jewish Resistance fighters, “Defiance.”
Storyline follows four Jewish brothers living in Nazi occupied Poland who escape into the forest, where they join up with Russian resistance fighters in battling the Nazis and trying to save the lives of other Jews.

I actually started writing my own screen play based on both the Vilna Partisians and the Warsaw Ghetto fighters around 2000 but then I found out that the TV movie "Uprising" was on its way and that kind of killed it. I was going to call it "A Tale of Two Ghettos" and who knows I still might but I need to see how Defiance plays out. My goal would be to only cast those of Jewish ancestory in my film. Edward Zwick who directs Defiance is the only person I know of attached to the film who is 100% Jewish.

Here is some info on the real story of Defiance:
(Taken from: /www.jewishpartisans.org)
Partisans activity marked in yellow as indicated by Aaron Bell.
Tuvia Bielski was born in Stankiewicze, in western Belorussia in 1906. When Germany invaded Russia in June of 1941, Tuvia and his younger brother Zus vowed never to be caught by the Germans. Tuvia’s extensive knowledge of the area saved his life, allowing him to move around frequently to avoid being captured by the Germans, who had a warrant for his arrest.In early 1942, Tuvia began hearing rumors about partisans, and decided that if he and his fellow Jews were to survive, he must acquire arms and organize all-Jewish resistance groups. Along with two of his brothers, Zus, and Asael, Tuvia began organizing Jews. By May of 1942, Tuvia was in command of a small group, which by the end of the war had grown to 1200 people, and was known as the Bielski otriad. Tuvia had focused on saving as many Jews as possible, and would accept any Jew into his group. Many came through the family of Konstantin Kozlovski, a non-Jew, who provided shelter for Jews escaping from the Novogrudok Ghetto and worked with the partisans to free hundreds of Jews from the ghetto.The Bielski otriad carried out food raids, killed German collaborators, and sometimes joined with a Russian partisan group in anti-Nazi missions, such as burning the ripe wheat crop so the German soldiers couldn’t collect and eat the wheat. Additionally, the Bielski otriad would seek out Jews in the ghetto willing to risk escape to the forest, and send in guides to help them.
By the summer of 1943, Tuvia was the leader of 700 people. In the Nalibocka forest, Tuvia set up a functioning community, with everyone working to support the community in a variety of ways. There was a hospital, classrooms for the children, a soap factory, a Turkish bath, tailors, butchers, and even a group of musicians who played at festivals. Beyond meeting the needs of its own members, the Bielski otriad was able to provide services to other partisan groups in exchange for food and arms. By the summer of 1944, the group had grown to 1200. The group consisted mainly of the elderly, women, and children. Tuvia’s group was the largest of the Jewish partisan groups, and a high percentage of those he led survived, due to Tuvia’s strong and effective leadership, and his determination to save as many Jews as possible.
After the war, Tuvia moved first to Israel and later to the United States, where he died at age 81.

Here is a funky change of events I just found:
Jewish hero who rescued Jews from Nazis charged with conning Holocaust survivorLast updated at 15:16pm on 21st November 2007
Comments Aron Bielski has been hailed as a hero along with his three brothers for saving thousands of Jews from the Nazis and helping found a resistance network after Germany
invaded the Soviet Union in 1941.
His exploits were chronicled in books - and Hollywood even plans to release a film based on the Bielski brothers' wartime heroics next year.
But in an extraordinary twist Aron, the sole surviving brother, has now been arrested on charges of swindling a 93-year-old woman who was a survivor of the Holocaust.
Scroll down for more ...

Accused: Henryka Bell with her husband Aron
Now 80 and known as Aron Bell, he and his wife Henryka, 58, are accused of tricking Janina Zaniewska into giving them control of more than $250,000 in various bank accounts.
According to police, the couple took the woman to her native Poland after telling her she was going on holiday, but instead dumped her in a nursing home there before returning to Florida and spending virtually all her money.
The charges against the couple carry up to 90 years in prison but Mr Bell's legal team insist he strongly denies the allegations and said the old woman was going senile.
Scroll dowj for more ...

Aron Bielski is shown front centre in this undated photo from the Yad Vashem Archives of a group of wartime resistance fighters
The arrest threatens to seriously tarnished the reputation of a man was widely regarded as a Jewish wartime hero. After the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, killing or imprisoning Jews by the thousands, the Bielski brothers fled their home near Stankiewicze - in what is now Belarus - and hid out in the forest, determined to fight back against the brutal onslaught.
The brothers' encampment grew to include hundreds of armed fighters, families, children and elderly. No Jew was turned away and their partisan movement ultimately rescued some 1,200 Jews.
"To save a Jew is much more important than to kill Germans," Tuvia Bielski, one of Aron's brothers, would tell his followers.
Most other partisan groups focused solely on hunting Nazis, killing collaborators and seeking revenge, said Christian Gerlach, a history professor at the University of Pittsburgh who has studied the Holocaust extensively.
"In a way, that's what makes the Bielski unit different," Gerlach said.
Tuvia Bielski was in overall command of the encampment. Asael Bielski mostly guided the brothers' armed unit, Zus Bielski was head of reconnaissance while Aron largely played the role of messenger as he knew the forest best.
"There are thousands of people who are walking the Earth because of the decisions that him and his older brothers made," said Tuvia's son Michael Bielski, 55.
The Bielski brothers managed to improvise a resistance network and some 360 Jews who found refuge with them took up arms against the Nazis. The brothers also managed to create a whole partisan community, complete with synagogues, bakeries and even an airstrip which the Soviets used to fly in supplies and fly out the wounded.
Asael was killed in 1944 fighting for the Red Army as it moved into Germany. The remaining brothers emigrated to the U.S. in the 1950s, settling down in the New York area and working in the taxi and trucking industries. Aron retired to Florida in the 1990s.
Mr Bell's relatives said they are shocked at the charges against him.
"I don't believe it," said Zvi Bielski, 56, of New York City, Zus' son. "It's totally out of character. I love him dearly. He's been very close to me. My dad was like his father during the war. I can't imagine what happened."
Authorities claim the Bells befriended the elderly Janina Zaniewska, who was once imprisoned by the Nazis alongside Jews in Poland. She lived in the same Florida apartment complex as the Bells.
The couple persuaded her to give them power of attorney over her bank accounts, investigators said.
In May, the Bells flew with Zaniewska to Poland under the guise of taking her to visit old friends, police said. The Bells dropped her at a nursing home and returned to Palm Beach.
Police were contacted in August by a bank manager who wondered why the Bells were withdrawing Zaniewska's money. Police eventually found Zaniewska at the nursing home.
"Thank God you found me," she told authorities, according to police.
Zaniewska returned to the US on October 4. Prosecutors charged the couple with scheming to defraud Zaniewska, exploitation of the elderly and theft.
"This whole notion that the Bells sent this poor lady to Poland so they could steal her money is just preposterous," said their lawyer, Steven Gomberg.
He said the Bells were financially comfortable and were simply helping Zaniewska with her finances as her mental capacity diminished.
"We have people here, elderly people, in their 90s who are losing their faculties and have financial assets that need to be preserved and unfortunately have nobody else," Gomberg said. He added: "There was nothing stolen. She's not lost a penny."
Ewa Chyra, director of the nursing home in Poland, said Zaniewska "was aware of where she was, what was going on, who brought her here."
"Zaniewska told various stories, so one could doubt some of what she said," Chyra said. "Her moods changed a lot, from euphoria to depression, and her behavior depended a lot on her mood. She can be a very friendly, talkative, witty person ... while she can also swing to the complete opposite, and be aggressive and suspicious."
Zaniewska's attorney, Robert Montgomery, said she "has all her faculties" but fell victim to the Bells. "They stole money from her, there's no question about that, pretty much cleaned her out," Montgomery said. "She was taken advantage of."
Peter Duffy, who spent many hours interviewing Aron Bell for the 2003 book "The Bielski Brothers," said: "I'm just not willing to concede that this is actually what happened. It doesn't make any sense."

How Hot are Jew? Tel Aviv co will let you know

2008-04-08T11:57:00.001-07:00

Software Helps Computers Find Attractive Women
Software that ranks the attractiveness of women's faces has been developed by an Israeli research team. This software has been developed by Amit Kagian, a Tel Aviv University (TAU) student, for his master's thesis in computer science. He has been supervised by Gideon Dror, an associate professor in computer science at the Academic College of Tel-Aviv-Yaffo and Eytan Ruppin, a TAU professor who manages the Complex Network Systems Lab.
"Facial coordinates with hair and skin sample regions as represented by the facial feature extractor. Coordinates are used for calculating geometric features and asymmetry. Sample regions are used for extracting color values and smoothness."
The picture below shows the initial calibration step.
At the start of the study, thirty people were asked to rate the relative good looks of several dozen pictures; the 'judges' rated from 1-7. The pictures were then processed; the researchers came up with 98 numbers representing the geometric shape of the face and other characteristics.
Once this was accomplished, it was time to test the system; faces were fed into the computer for rating. The computer's ratings were compared to those of human judges. In particular, the computer was able to determine a standard of beauty that is similar to that developed by people.
How much longer before we have lovestruck computers?
In the 1984 film Electric Dreams, a "Pinecone" brand home computer falls in love with the same woman as his owner.

Farewell to the most Goy looking actor to play Jews

2008-04-08T11:05:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was a sad time for me when I learned of the death of a man I grew up watching in several of my favorite quoted films including Ben Hur, Planet of the Apes and Soylent Green (It's people you know). He had a lot of chutzpa to play Jews in the days in which that was not popular. He was Ben-Hur a Jew in the epic by the same name. As a side note in the documentary The Celluloid Closet the actor (Stephen Boyd) playing opposite a Roman who was his childhood best friend was told to play his character as if he was in love with Ben-Hur. No one told Heston this and it was one of the little pieces of business that made this film a classic (Look it up)How great would it have been if he were really Jewish. Don't answer that question if you are one of the crazy far left liberals that think he was evil for being the speaker of the NRA. For all you Jews this is the guy you wish your ancestors had who lived in Europe during the Pogroms, Holocaust or any of the other fun activities that the gentiles put together. If they had the opportunity to legally protect themselves and property with fire arms that would have changed the face of all of the former. When you trust govt too much especially with what the demos are offering up you end with nothing but pain. In terms of Jews from the 50s and 60s we did have Kirk Douglas and Paul Newman (Jewish on his father's side). Of course he played Moses as well. I am curious if their were any Jewish apes from Planet of the Apes and who can forget, "Take your filthy hands off me you damn dirty ape"! I hope now that you are in heaven Chuck that you are well taken care of. You were truly one of the greats and Hollywood just doesn't make them like you anymore. You made it hip to play Jews. Russell Crowe who was in Gladiator that wishes he could clean your Ben-Hur loin cloth played a Jewish cop just recently in the true story called "American Gangster".

A Belated Happy Purim to You!

2008-04-05T09:18:00.000-07:00

It has been 3 years today since American Hero passed on

2008-04-01T13:22:00.000-07:00

My grandfather was the son of Jewish Ukrainian immigrants and a proud patriot. He was almost 27yrs old married with a 2 year old when he decided to sign up and fight for America in the Navy. He could have gotten a deferment for having a child or for being past the mandatory draft age but he knew he could never live with himself when the time would come for his children and grandchildren to ask him"What did you do during the war"? He was fighting as an American and as a Jew. Those were his cousins being murdered in concentration camps and his countrymen in the South Pacific. He sacrificed the formative years of his first born and returned from war with migraine headaches and a nicotine addiction. He was huge fan of the "Bard" and could quote sections of his plays in French. He also had greater than a 140IQ which gave him membership into Mensa. As the family historian he gave me a picture of his Navy Airman's' graduation class with all their names and addresses written on the back. He would have been happy to know that a few months back I tracked down one of those airmen. It was bittersweet as I had no one to share this information with and the man didn't recall my grandfather. He died at age 91 where these other men were still in their early to mid 80s. He had a great life and even though my grandmother died at age 60 in 1975 he was able to remarry a vegetarian who helped him to stop smoking and got him focused on living a healthier life. He probably would have died years earlier had he not met her. He loved talking to street people and taking their pictures but he was not your average voyeur. Once he developed the pictures he would try to track down the street performer or bag lady and give them a copy of it. My brother father and I never could tell the when he was sharing a joke with us or if he was being serious. You see he had such a dry sense of humor and was so erudite that he didn't even realize when his jokes went over people's heads. he lost track of his Judaism when he was a teenager part in fact to having such Orthodox parents with "Shtetl mentalities". As he got older as most people do he became very close to his Judaism and would often tell me how it brought him closer to his parents who had died 50 and 65 earlier. In fact on his death bed when my father in law a rabbi came to visit him he resisted the Kaddish. That may not seem strange except he came out of a coma to recite something in a language he had not used in 75 years. He was a member of the Jewish War Vets and was at their meetings every month and a scholarship fund in his name was created and given out to high school achievers in community leadership. I could only imagine his thoughts on someone like Obama being this close to the presidency. he is probably turning over in his grave which will forever be on April Fool's Day. He thought that the democrats were detestable and the republicans despicable. I guess he was more of a libertarian and would probably like McCain for his many years of service to our country. He was all class and will forever be known in our family as a true American Patriot. I am curious what he has been talking to his first wife and parents about for the last 3yrs..not that curious.

Alan Rickman you are a Douche Bag!

2008-03-31T12:51:00.000-07:00

I was watching Sweeney Todd the other night when Alan Rickman came on the screen. I recall reading somewhere that he was Jewish and went to the net to confirm that memory and what i found was not only was he not Jewish but he brought the play My Name Is Rachel Corrie to the stage. And those idiots at Jew Watch have Rickman listed as being Jewish. Here is someone that is totally on Jew Watch's side in spreading this garbage of a concept to the stage. It came out in late 2005 and was co-written by a self hating Jew Katharine Viner. Here is an interesting article I found online about some other Rachels who also happen to have been killed..but not by Jews.

BTW you might remember the uproar over a cartoon by Daniel J. Friedman in The Diamondback, the student newspaper of the University of Maryland (College Park), which is in Wynn's district. The cartoonist had penned a panel critical of Rachel Corrie, the 23-year-old peace activist from Olympia, Wash., who was run over and killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in the Gaza Strip while trying to block the dozer from leveling a house belonging to a Palestinian physician. The cartoonist pictured Corrie in front of the bulldozer with a mock dictionary citation underneath her reading, "Stupidity: Sitting in front of a bulldozer to protect a gang of terrorists." The cartoon prompted a student sit-in. Wynn offered a mild lecture to The Diamondback that the paper "has a responsibility to act responsibly." Anyone who has that cartoon please email it my way and I will post it. Rachel Corrie is what I would classify as a S.D.A.B.W.T.M.T.O.H.H (Spoiled dumb ass bitch with too much time on her hands)

Dead Jews aren’t news
Dead Jews aren’t news
By Tom Gross at The Spectator:
Rachel Thaler, aged 16, was blown up at a pizzeria in an Israeli shopping mall. She died after an 11-day struggle for life following a suicide bomb attack on a crowd of teenagers on 16 February 2002.
Even though Thaler was a British citizen, born in London, where her grandparents still live, her death has never been mentioned in a British newspaper.
Rachel Corrie, on the other hand, an American radical who died in 2003 while acting as a human shield during an Israeli anti-terror operation in Gaza, has been widely featured in the British press. According to the Guardian website, she has been written about or referred to on 57 separate occasions in the Guardian alone, including three articles the Saturday before last.
The cult of Rachel Corrie doesn’t stop there. Last week the play, My Name is Rachel Corrie, reopened at the larger downstairs auditorium at the Royal Court Theatre (a venue which the New York Times recently described as ‘the most important theatre in Europe’). It previously played to sold-out audiences at the upstairs theatre when it opened in April. (It is very rare to revive a play so quickly.)
On 1 November the ‘Cantata concert for Rachel Corrie’ — co-sponsored by the Arts Council — has its world premiere at the Hackney Empire.
But Rachel Thaler, unlike Rachel Corrie, was Jewish. And unlike Corrie, Jewish victims of Middle East violence have not become a cause célèbre in Britain. This lack of response is all the more disturbing at a time when an increasing number of British Jews feel that there has been a sharp rise in anti-Semitism.
Thaler is by no means the only Jewish Rachel whose violent death has been entirely ignored by the British media. Other victims of the Intifada include Rachel Levy (aged 17, blown up in a grocery store), Rachel Levi (19, shot while waiting for the bus), Rachel Gavish (killed with her husband, son and father while at home celebrating a Passover meal), Rachel Charhi (blown up while sitting in a Tel Aviv cafe, leaving three young children), Rachel Shabo (murdered with her three sons aged 5, 13 and 16 while at home) and Rachel Kol, 53, who worked at a Jerusalem hospital and was killed with her husband in a Palestinian terrorist attack in July a few days after the London bombs.
Corrie’s death was undoubtedly tragic but, unlike the death of these other Rachels, it was almost certainly an accident. She was killed when she was hit by an Israeli army bulldozer she was trying to stop from demolishing a structure suspected of concealing tunnels used for smuggling weapons.
Unfortunately for those who have sought to portray Corrie as a peaceful protester, photos of her burning a mock American flag and stirring up crowds in Gaza at a pro-Hamas rally were published by the Associated Press and on Yahoo News on 15 February 2003, a month before she died. (Those photos were not used in the British press.)
While Thaler’s parents, after donating their murdered daughter’s organs for transplant surgery, grieved quietly, Corrie’s parents embarked on a major publicity campaign with strong political overtones. They travelled to Ramallah to accept a plaque from Yasser Arafat on behalf of their daughter. They circulated her emails and diary entries to a world media eager to publicise them. They have written op-ed pieces, including a recent one in the Guardian.
The International Solidarity Movement (ISM), the group with which Corrie was affiliated, is routinely described as a ‘peace group’ in the media. Few make any mention of the ISM’s meeting with the British suicide bombers Omar Khan Sharif and Asif Muhammad Hanif who, a few days later, blew up Mike’s Place, a Tel Aviv pub, killing three and injuring dozens, including British citizens. Or of the ISM’s sheltering in its office of Shadi Sukiya, a leading member of Islamic Jihad. Or of the fact that in its mission statement the ISM said ‘armed struggle’ is a Palestinian ‘right’.
According to the ‘media co-ordinator’ of the ISM, Flo Rosovski, ‘“Israel” is an illegal entity that should not exist’ — which at any rate clarifies the ISM’s idea of peace.
Indeed, partly because of the efforts of Corrie’s fellow activists in the ISM, the Israeli army was unable to stop the flow of weapons through the tunnels near where she was demonstrating. Those weapons were later used to kill Israeli children in the town of Sderot in southern Israel, and elsewhere.
However, in many hundreds of articles on Corrie published in the last two years, most papers have been careful to omit such details. So have actor Alan Rickman and Guardian journalist Katharine Viner, co-creators of My Name is Rachel Corrie, leaving almost all the critics who reviewed the play completely ignorant about the background to the events with which it deals.
So in April, when reviewers first wrote about the play, they tended to take it completely at face value. ‘Corrie was murdered after joining a non-violent Palestinian resistance organisation,’ wrote Emma Gosnell in the Sunday Telegraph. The Evening Standard, for example, described it as a ‘true-life tragedy’ in which Corrie’s ‘unselfish goodness shines through’.
Only one critic (Clive Davis in the Times) saw the play for the propaganda it is. At one point Corrie declares, ‘The vast majority of Palestinians right now, as far as I can tell, are engaging in Gandhian non-violent resistance.’ As Davis notes, ‘Even the late Yasser Arafat might have blushed at that one.’
But ultimately the play, and many of the articles about Corrie that have appeared, are not really about the young American activist who died in such tragic circumstances. They are about promoting a hate-filled and glaringly one-sided view of Israel.
Posted by Tim Dormain at October 20, 2005 04:50 PM

Germany is Israel's #2 importer after the US

2008-03-18T16:58:00.000-07:00

Merkel tells Israelis of German 'shame'
By Isabel Kershner
Published: March 18, 2008

JERUSALEM: Angela Merkel on Tuesday became the first German chancellor to address the Israeli Parliament, crowning a three-day visit intended to upgrade ties between the two countries.
The Merkel visit was seen as highly symbolic by both sides, as the Jewish state prepares to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its establishment against the background of the Holocaust.
Paying tribute to the "special relationship" between Israel and Germany, Merkel said that the Nazi genocide filled Germans "with shame."
High on the agenda was what Israel sees as Germany's crucial role in the international campaign against the development of an Iranian nuclear bomb. Germany, an important trading partner for Iran, has significantly reduced its commercial ties with the Islamic Republic in the last year. But the feeling in Israel is that more could be done.
"The chancellor is fully aware they have to do more to reduce the volume of trade," said Shimon Stein, a former Israeli ambassador to Germany.

Merkel told the Knesset that it was up to Iran to convince the world that it is not building a nuclear weapon, and that Iran's acquisition of one would have "disastrous consequences" and "must be prevented."
Germany, she said, "is setting its sights on a diplomatic solution, together with its partners," and if necessary would support additional sanctions against Iran.
"It's an uphill battle," Stein said of Merkel's commitment. "She's taken it upon herself. Let's hope she can live up to it."
Eight ministers of the German government accompanied Merkel on her visit and held a joint session with the Israeli cabinet Monday, agreeing to future cooperation in a variety of spheres. The Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, called the meeting "a unique event, perhaps even unprecedented, in the political history" of Israel.
Earlier Monday, Olmert had accompanied Merkel on her visit to Yad Vashem, Israel's official Holocaust memorial, a move that Merkel described as an "exceptional gesture."
As a head of government, Merkel's request to speak to the Parliament had to be approved by a committee of legislators; the honor is usually reserved for kings, presidents and heads of state.
Seven of the 120 legislators boycotted her address, objecting to the use of the German language in the chamber because of associations with the Holocaust. Others, including Holocaust survivors and the children of survivors, gave the chancellor a standing ovation.
Two German presidents have addressed the Israeli Parliament in their native tongue in the past: Johannes Rau in 2000 and Horst Köhler in 2005. Both times, some legislators stayed away.

Jews at West Point

2008-03-17T16:57:00.000-07:00

Taken from: Jewish Cadets Find Friendly Environment at West Point
June 07, 2005Comments (6) Add E-mail this to a friend
By Jennifer SiegelThe ForwardWEST POINT, N.Y. - When Adam Sasso arrived at the U.S. Military Academy in the summer of 2001, he expected to find intense challenges, close friendships and rigorous academics. But he was pleasantly surprised to also find at the army's elite college a Jewish community he describes as "very committed."There are fewer than 90 Jews in West Point's 4,000-person student body, but they constitute a particularly tight-knit and active group: Jewish cadets gather for Friday night services, perform with a Hebrew choir and attend parties sponsored by the campus Hillel chapter. Moreover, students, alumni and Jewish staff say that they, as Jews, feel supported and embraced by the broader West Point community.The flourishing of Jewish life at many private and public universities across the country has long been taken for granted. But recently, West Point's sister institution - the U.S. Air Force Academy - has become embroiled in a growing scandal over alleged religious coercion after Jewish cadets there complained of Christian proselytizing. West Point's Jewish cadets and personnel have said that their experiences at a military academy could not be more different."West Point makes sure that the Jewish community is taken care of," said Bruce Bublick, a rabbi, captain and Air Force chaplain stationed at Stewart Air National Guard Base, 10 miles north of West Point. Bublick filled in as West Point's Jewish chaplain in 2003, when the academy's permanent rabbi was called to Iraq. He credits the administration with proactively seeking a replacement, noting that "rather than just sitting back and saying, 'You know, they're aren't enough chaplains to go around,' they said, 'We must have a Jewish chaplain at this academy.'"Last week, West Point's 18 graduating Jewish cadets - joined by classmates, family, alumni and several non-Jewish administrators - gathered in the Jewish chapel for a baccalaureate service before commencement. The choir sang, each graduate received a kiddush cup or candlesticks from the Jewish War Veterans, and Ari Fleischer, former White House press secretary to President Bush, addressed the crowd. "You provide a double mitzvah," he told the cadets. "The epaulets on our shoulders tell the world you are Americans; the faith in your hearts tells the world you are Jews." After the ceremony, the crowd milled around tables piled high with cold cuts and salads.West Point insiders offered a range of explanations for the college's Jewish-friendly environment. Some noted that the school is located about 50 miles north of New York City, home to the country's largest Jewish community. In contrast, the Air Force Academy is located Colorado Springs, Colo., a city that has become a hotbed of evangelical Christian activism.Others credited the more team-oriented nature of army life and combat, or the active network of Jewish alumni.Whatever the reason, West Point's tradition of accepting Jews is as old as the institution itself: Simon Levy was one of two students in the academy's inaugural class of 1802. Throughout the 1800s, West Point typically had one or two Jewish students per decade; by the 1940s, the average had jumped to five to 10 per year. In total, the academy has nearly 820 Jewish alumni, about three-quarters of whom are living.Those alumni have supported Jewish life on campus. "I have a love for these cadets as if they were my grandchildren," said Lewis Zickel, class of 1949, who currently serves as the president of the West Point Jewish Community Council, which supports Jewish life at the academy. Alumni attend Friday night services regularly, donate food for parties and holidays, and sponsor off-campus trips for the cadets, which this year included community service in Baltimore and white-water rafting in South Carolina.The backbone of Jewish life on campus is the West Point Jewish Chapel, a modern mix of soaring skylights and natural materials that was designed by architect Max Abramovitz, who also created Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall. Alumni raised the $7.5 million needed to construct the building, which was completed in 1984 and donated to the school. Currently, West Point is the only service academy to have a specifically Jewish house of worship; the Air Force Academy has a Jewish sanctuary in its main chapel, while a synagogue at the Naval Academy is slated to open next fall.The chapel is invaluable as a home away from home, according to the Jewish cadets who go there for choir practice, Hebrew classes or just to watch football on the big screen television. It is also one of the few places on campus where they are not bound by a strict code of behavior. In addition, said Benjamin Diamond, 20, who will be a junior next year, "I come here for my bagel-and-lox fix."As for life outside the walls of the Jewish-only space, both students and alumni credit the West Point administration with fostering a tolerant atmosphere. Out of nearly 200 graduates, from the classes of 1936 through 2008, only 16% surveyed indicated any level of antisemitism at the academy, said Zickel, who is conducting research for a book about Jews at West Point.When abuses do occur, they are taken seriously by the administration, said Sasso, one of 19 graduating cadets selected to go to medical school next year. He recalled a Sunday during his first year at West Point, when an upperclassman told the assembled formation that those "not going to church were heathens and our blatant lack of religiosity disgusted him." After Sasso, prodded by his roommates, complained to the administration, the offending cadet was forced to make a formal apology to the entire company. "I was just so moved that someone cared so much about making sure that I felt accepted," Sasso said. During the remainder of his time at the academy, Sasso has participated in the Respect program, which was started in the early 1990s to ensure that incidents of sexism, racism and religious intolerance at the academy are recognized and dealt with. The program includes values-education training that is mandatory for all cadets. In addition, student representatives are responsible for reporting problems to the administration. In contrast, the Air Force Academy unveiled its first religious sensitivity training program last year; so far, it includes no formal component of student officers.Carlos Huerta, a captain and the academy's permanent rabbi, now back from Iraq, acknowledged that Jews at West Point are a minority that is sometimes going "down the stairs in the subway right when everyone is going" out, but said that interfaith tolerance "is almost the air we breathe over here." Huerta is regularly invited to a Bible study led by the head chaplain Scott McChrystal, who is an Assemblies of God minister. This summer, a rabbi will serve as the head chaplain at the academy's training camp. And next year, the musical director of the Hebrew choir will be a Muslim cadet. Several members of West Point's Jewish community said that army life is itself a major inculcator of tolerance. "I lived with my soldiers for three months on the battlefield [in Iraq] and we knew how each other smelled in the dark," Huerta said. "The major weapons system in the Air Force is what? It's a very expensive airplane. In the army, our primary weapons system is the individual soldier. So our whole moral ethic is directed to taking care of people. If a soldier is under enemy fire, you'll risk 10 other soldiers to bring him back."

He could have been America's first Jewish president

2008-03-13T15:42:00.000-07:00

Eliot's waste land
Michael Tomasky
March 10, 2008 8:30 PM

He could have been America's first Jewish president. Instead, the career of New York's crime-fighting governor is being ended by a sex scandal

When the news first broke earlier today, it was vague enough - Spitzer "involved in" prostitution ring - that maybe it was possible that New York governor Eliot Spitzer could skate through.

But now, an updated version of the story on the New York Times' website - a version that adds the co-byline of the Times' great police and crime reporter Bill Rashbaum, who has crazy sources on this kind of thing - indicates that Spitzer was caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet with a prostitute in Washington DC last month. Last month!

He's finished. He did not say outright in his brief statement, issued at around 3pm east coast time, that he'll resign. But he'll resign. No governor can survive this. Especially not one who has so few friends and allies willing to go to the mat for him. I would expect he'll be gone by tomorrow.

This is just one of the most unbelievable political stories of the last couple years, and it caps (and ends) a pitiful gubernatorial term for a man who, just two years ago, was being touted as the guy who could one day become America's first Jewish president.

As attorney general of New York state, Spitzer could do no wrong. He sued and prosecuted all sorts of white-collar bad guys, won and relished his reputation as a white knight (even if some think he ultimately went too easy on Merrill Lynch, the deal he cut with Merrill didn't undercut the media's basic white-knight narrative). When Republican George Pataki announced that he would not seek re-election in 2006, it was a fait accompli that Spitzer would win the governor's race. He rolled.

The problems started very early on last year, with the so-called Troopergate scandal, in which he tried to destroy the Republican leader of the state senate. Within weeks of taking office, Spitzer's approval ratings were in the toilet. That was a worse-than-average political scandal, but the kind from which politicians who have three years until they face the voters again routinely come back from.

They don't come back from this.

What could he possibly have been thinking? (Yes, he's married, with three kids.) It just leaves one speechless. "OK, let's see. I'm the governor of New York, one of the highest-profile governors in the country. I have a reputation for self-righteousness. I'm already screwing up my job. I have loads of people out to get me. What should I do? Yeah, I know - go see a hooker!" Jesus H Christ.

I've known Spitzer since 1994. He ran a first race for attorney general, a race most of New York subsequently forgot completely about, when he finished fourth out of four candidates in the Democratic primary. He ran then as a centrist New Democrat and was a lousy candidate.

Four years later, he moved a little to the left to make himself more attractive to New York's Democratic voters. He won easily that time around. Then, he got to work. I remember interviewing him a few months into his term in office. He had assembled a great team of lawyers and investigators. He, I thought to myself, will be making a lot of noise over the next four years.

Well, his career is over. The next governor of New York will be David Paterson, an African American former state senator from Harlem who is now lieutenant governor (an office that serves the same function as vice-president nationally). Paterson is legally blind. He's the son of a historic figure in New York state black politics, Basil Paterson, who was a major leader in the first generation of really powerful black politicians in New York. I've known David for a long time too and have had a mostly good opinion of him, but lieutenant governors are basically there to balance the ticket and cut ribbons. Whether he's ready for this assignment is a very open question.

This is one of the most operatic political flame-outs in recent American history. Will even one male politician learn anything from this? I think we all know the answer to that.

A Brit speaks out again Muslimania..You dont hear this to often

2008-03-04T08:06:00.000-08:00

CHSAA Commissioner tells basketball players to just Jew it and forget the Sabbath

2008-02-27T16:41:00.000-08:00

Taken from SI.com
Sabbath conflict may end playoff run
Jewish boys hoops team won't play on Saturday
Posted: Wednesday February 27, 2008 6:48PM; Updated: Wednesday February 27, 2008 6:48PM

DENVER (AP) -- State senators have taken up the cause of a Jewish boys basketball team whose playoff run may be halted because its players can't play on the Jewish Sabbath.
The Herzl/Rocky Mountain Hebrew Academy team could be headed for a regional championship on Saturday, March 8, if it wins one more game. But the Denver team's religious beliefs prohibit students from playing on the Jewish Sabbath between sundown Friday and sundown Saturday.

If Herzl/RMHA makes it to the regional championship and refuses to play a Saturday game, another school would be chosen to take its place, CHSAA commissioner Bill Reader said.
Earlier this month, the Colorado High School Activities Association, which governs sports and other high school activities, rejected the team's request for a schedule change.
At the end of morning debate in the state Senate on Wednesday, Majority Leader Ken Gordon, D-Denver, called on the CHSAA to be more flexible.
Senate President Peter Groff, D-Denver, said the CHSAA's decision was ironic because it has a rule barring games from being played on Sunday for religious reasons.
Sen. Tom Wiens, R-Sedalia, said there must be a way for the CHSAA to accommodate the team.
"It just seems like the bureaucracy has run amok here," Wiens said.
Bruce H. DeBoskey, mountain states regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, said the group was disappointed by CHSAA's decision.

More on the history of Jewish Basketballers:

by Jon Entine (From Aish.com)
As the Maccabiah Games open in Israel, we are reminded of the days when -- believe it or not -- Jewish players dominated pro basketball.

It was a hilarious moment in the 1980 comedy movie classic "Airplane!"
Flight attendant: "Would you like something to read?"
Passenger: "Do you have something light?"
Flight attendant: "How about this short leaflet -- Jewish Sports Legends."
With the once-threatened quadrennial Maccabiah Games -- the Jewish Olympics -- now scheduled to begin on July 16, the idea of an elite Jewish sports tradition hearkens back to the first half of the 20th century, when Jews actually dominated one sport, basketball. The Philadelphia team had a pint-sized but flashy star shooter. Its old school coach was more teacher than tough disciplinarian. References to the Biblical David abounded in the media.
Sounds like the Philadelphia 76ers, who captured the hearts of much of America with their gritty determination in this year's NBA playoffs?
Nope. It's a team of Jews -- the South Philadelphia Hebrew Association SPHAs (pronounced "spas") -- who dominated basketball in the 1920s and '30s.
The flashy shooter was set-shot expert Inky Lautman and the Biblical David was the six-pointed star on the early SPHA's jerseys. The "Hebrews," as they were called, eventually morphed into the NBA's first champion, the 1946-47 Philadelphia Warriors.
"The reason, I suspect, that basketball appeals to the Hebrew with his Oriental background," wrote Paul Gallico, sports editor of the New York Daily News in the 1930s, "is that the game places a premium on an alert, scheming mind, flashy trickiness, artful dodging and general smart aleckness."
Writers opined that Jews had an advantage in basketball because short men have better balance and more foot speed. They were also thought to have sharper eyes, which of course cut against the stereotype that Jewish men were myopic and had to wear glasses. But who says stereotypes have to be consistent?
OUT OF THE GHETTO
Basketball has always been a game of the inner city. At the turn of the century, European Jews flooded off immigrant ships into the ghettos of the booming Eastern metropolises. New York and Philadelphia were the epicenters of the basketball world, with the dominant team, the Hebrews, ensconced in South Philly.
"Basketball is a city game," notes Sonny Hill, an executive adviser with the Philadelphia 76ers. "If you trace basketball back to the 1920s, '30s, and '40s, that's when the Jewish people were very dominant in the inner city. And they dominated basketball."
The St. John's University team was dubbed the Wonder Five, and four Jews started on the 1929 team. After winning college basketball championships and amassing a 70-4 record in three seasons, the team moved intact into the American Basketball League as the New York Jewels.
"Every Jewish boy was playing basketball," said Harry Litwack, a SPHAs star in the 1930s and coach at Temple University for 21 years. "Every phone pole had a peach basket on it. And every one of those Jewish kids dreamed of playing for the SPHAs."
"It was absolutely a way out of the ghetto," said Dave Dabrow, a guard with the original Hebrews. "It was where the young Jewish boy would never have been able to go to college if it wasn't for the amount of basketball playing and for the scholarship."
In the early days, Jewish players earned $5 a game each -- big bucks for city kids.
ROUGH 'N TUMBLE
Basketball had a notorious reputation back then. The rules provided for few fouls, making the game a barely-controlled melee. In instances where the basket had a backboard, it was to keep spectators from interfering with the ball. There was no out-of-bounds on many courts, which were often ringed with steel mesh.
It was common practice to drive an opponent into the fence, and pile-ups were as frequent as at hockey games today. Players paraded on and off the court with bandaged legs and bleeding heads. This offended the Victorian sensibilities of the Protestant ruling class in many cities, leading to a temporary ban on the game at local YMCAs.
The Jews introduced a different style of play.
"It was a quick-passing running game, as opposed to the bullying and fighting way which was popular other places," explained Litwack.
Although New York turned out, in pure numbers, more stars that were Jewish, the Philadelphia SPHAs were basketball's best known and most successful all-Jewish team. From 1918 onward, the "Hebrews" barnstormed across the East and Midwest, playing in a variety of semi-pro leagues that were precursors to the NBA. In an incredible 22-season stretch, they played in 18 championship series, winning 13.
Playing 80 or more games a year and with no home court to call their own, they were sometimes called "The Wandering Jews." Then, with the emergence of National Socialism in Germany and an escalation of anti-Semitism in the U.S., the Jewish players faced incessant racial slurs and biased officials in the small towns in which they played.
"Half the fans would come to see the Jews get killed, and the other half were Jews coming to see our boys win," said Gottlieb. "...Whenever something would happen down on the court that those Brooklyn fans didn't like, they'd send [beer] bottles down at us."
The Jewish heyday lasted until the late 1940s, when dominion over the urban basketball courts passed to blacks, the fastest-growing group of urban dwellers who were migrating north from dying Southern farms in search of opportunity. The new generation of Jews began moving on to other pursuits -- into teaching, off to dental school, and out to the suburbs.
MODERN STARS
In the modern era, a handful of Jews attained basketball stardom. The Syracuse Nats (later Philadelphia) were led by Dolph Schayes, considered by some to be the greatest Jewish player in the history of basketball. NBA rookie of the year in 1949 after starring at New York University, Schayes led the Nats to the NBA title in 1955. He was also named to 12 consecutive All Star Games.
Schayes took over as coach of the 76ers in 1964, leading them to their first ever title the next season. He coached the Buffalo Braves during their inaugural 1970 season. Schayes was voted into the NBA Hall of Fame, and was recently selected as one of the game's top 50 all-time players.
After the war, the Jewish legacy in basketball focused mostly on the coaching ranks, frequently manned by former players. Nat Holman capped off his remarkable career in 1949-50, when his City College of New York squad became the first and last team to win the "grand slam" of American college basketball -- championships of both the NCAA and NIT tournaments in the same season. Arnold "Red" Auerbach joined the Boston Celtics in 1950 and led them to 9 titles in 10 seasons. William "Red" Holtzman took the reigns of the New York Knicks, where he won two championships. All of these coaches were elected to the Hall of Fame.
The gritty Philadelphia 76ers are coached today by Larry Brown, who starred on the 1961 U.S. gold medal team at the Maccabiah Games.
ISRAELI BALL
In Israel, the quadrennial Maccabiah Games showcases the continued Jewish love of basketball. Ernie Grunfeld and Dolph's son Danny Schayes are among the NBA players who have competed in recent Maccabiah Games.
The most revered player in Israeli basketball history is the legendary Tal Brody, who led the U.S. team to the gold medal in the 1965Maccabiah Games. A star at the University of Illinois, and the 13th player selected in that year's NBA draft, Brody returned to the U.S. to pursue his pro career. But he was courted and wooed by Israel's top officials, including Moshe Dayan himself, to return and help promote the sport in Israel. The next year, Brody made aliyah.
The highlight of Brody's career came in 1977, when Maccabi Tel Aviv, Israel's perennial basketball champions, defeated the Russian Army team, CSKA Moscow. The victory was a stepping-stone to Maccabi's clinching of the European Champion's Cup, and a symbolic event for the country. "We are on the map, and we are staying on the map," Brody said at the time. Brody was awarded the Israeli Prize in 1979 for his devotion to youth sports, which continues today.
Another Israeli basketball star, Micky Berkovitz, led Maccabi Tel Aviv to the European Cup in 1981, and was recently voted Israel's greatest sportsman in its first 50 years.
What's in store for this year's Maccabiah Games? The main attraction is a swimmer, American/Jewish/Soviet-born Lenny Krayzelburg, who won three gold medals in the Sydney Olympics. In basketball, the U.S. team are favored to win the gold medal -- coached by Clemson's Larry Shyatt, and led by USC star forward David Blumenthal.
Though it's a long way from the Philadelphia SPHAs, the Jewish love of basketball burns on.