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May 31, 2009
Obama: High School Geopolitics
Barack Hussein Obama grovels to the Saudi tyrant.
Barry Rubin, an astute analyst of Middle Eastern politics, takes a look at Obama's approach to the despotic Muslim world and predicts an unhappy outcome.
Yup, first was Obama's apology tour in Europe, which accomplished zero for America, and no doubt, next up is Obama's grovel tour to the Arab Muslim world.
What could possibly go wrong?
Here's one of many questions that should be asked everywhere but you might only see it here:
If President Barack Obama actually succeeds in making himself more popular among Arabs and Muslims, what material advantage would it give the United States?
The answer shouldn't be taken for granted. Consider the following points:
--All of these regimes are dictatorships and so popular opinion is of very limited importance.
--Publics are very hostile to America and the West and will not be easily moved by the charm of an American president unless he does things far beyond any possible policy he might follow. Bashing Israel won't transform this opinion.
--The impressions of U.S. policies and leaders among these groups are mediated by state-controlled media which are hostile for reasons of national or regime interests, and intellectual elites which tend to be carriers of either Arab nationalism or Islamism, world views that have a systematic antagonism to the United States.
--Islamists and radicals such as Iran, Syria, Hamas, Hizballah, and the Muslim Brotherhoods view America in all its varieties and guises as an enemy. No matter what Obama says or does they will deem it a trick.
Unless, of course, he gives them concessions in which case they will take them, see him as weak, and give nothing back. That isn't popularity; that's contempt.
--Middle East leaders emphasize a realist, power-oriented model of politics. Obama wanting to be popular is simply incomprehensible to them. At best, they will attribute this to naivete and weakness. Doubting that he will be strong in protecting them they will actually do less for the United States. That isn't popularity; that's fear that you're on the losing side.
So no matter how high Obama gets his popularity in polls-which will be celebrated in the American media and in Washington DC as a great victory-nobody in the region will do more to help him or give him more as a result.
If you need a test experiment for this assertion, think about Europe. Europeans love Obama; Europe is an American ally. European societies are democracies close to America in culture and world view. And yet when Obama asked European countries for cooperation on various issues ranging from economic revival to Afghanistan they gave him nothing.
Being popular is actually an American policy deformation. Bill Clinton thought he'd be popular by bringing a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict and saying he felt other's pain. George W. Bush thought he'd be popular by getting rid of repressive dictators and bringing in democracy.
Now Obama thinks he'll be popular by using his color, semi-Islamic background, Third World experiences, and combination of engagement and respect.
International politics isn't high school. Popularity doesn't matter. Or, to put it another way, being able to hit people upside the head can make you seem very popular indeed. Sad perhaps but true indeed.
Head on over to Gloria Center for more of Barry's fine articles.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 01:13 PM | Comments (4)
May 28, 2009
Obama Takes Hard Line—Against Jewish Babies
Coming soon to your neighborhood.
The notion that so-called settlements in the land of Israel are the obstacle to peace in the Middle East, is one of many big lies perpetrated by the Arab Muslim world, subsequently taken up with uncritical acceptance by Western liberals.
Seraphic Secret believes that Jews have the right to live anywhere.
Especially in the Jewish homeland.
Once the world accepts and becomes comfortable with the notion that there are geographical zones that are legitimately free of Jews, well, you are creating a world-view whereby Jews become something less than human, a religion to be confined to ghettos and forbidden normal geographical patterns.
In short, Jew-hatred is institutionalized.
This is not surprising coming from a man who sat at the feet of Jeremiah Wright for over 20-years.
And so, as Iran races towards nuclear capabilities, as the Taliban march to Kabul in Afghanistan, as Pakistan devolves into savage tribal warfare, as North Korea threatens Japan and South Korea, President Obama decides that Israel is the real danger.
Israel, more than ever, stands alone.
Most of the Arab world is already Judenrein, the Arab Jews expelled and their property stolen by brutal, Jew-hating regimes.
The world accepts this as normal.
But this racism, this Jew-hatred is not enough.
Now, the Arab Muslim world and the administration of President Barack Hussein Obama demands that Jews living in the land of Israel stop having children.
Yes, that's what it means when Hillary Clinton demands an end to "natural growth" of the so-called settlements.
Natural growth = children.
This is social engineering on a scale only imagined by the likes of Mao.
H/T Aussie Dave at Israellycool.
Gaza is Judenrein—not one single Jew in Gaza—and it is now a terrorist front dedicated to Israel's destruction. It is also a hell on earth for the remaining Christians.
Apparently President Obama finds this acceptable for his demand would turn Judea and Samaria into another Arab Muslim reichlet.
There are already neighborhoods in France and England where Jews dare not appear.
I guarantee that soon, in every major western capital where Muslims reach a critical mass, we will witness the same phenomenon: Jews will become forbidden citizens, and no one will raise a voice in protect for fear of, ahem, igniting Muslim anger.
And after Jews are targeted for exclusion you can be sure that Christians will be next on the Muslim hit list.
So watch your neighborhoods, watch your streets. Soon, if you are not careful, if you are not ready for battle, the soil beneath your feet will turn into a sea of flames.
Soccer Dad covers the Unsettling issue in depth.
Tonight begins the holiday of Shavuot, where we celebrate G-d giving us the Torah. Seraphic Secret will be offline until Sunday. We wish all our friends and relatives a joyous and meaningful festival.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 08:33 AM | Comments (9)
May 27, 2009
Hey Kids, We Got Rid of the Jews, Time to Slaughter Christians
H/T Aussie Dave from Israellycool.
First Hamas insisted that Gaza be made Judenrein. The Jewish State agreed to this infamous and racist demand. Naturally, the first actions taken by the good citizens of Gaza were to burn the synagogues and rip apart the state of the art greenhouses that were purchased by some dopey American liberal Jews and handed over to Hamas.
As if Hamas are interested in economic gains.
Look, if there's a choice between killing Jews or building a better life, well, there is no choice if you're an Islamist.
Now, the peace loving Muslim citizens of Gaza are making war on Arab Christians.
I suppose this bit of murder and ethnic cleansing is because of, y'know, Israeli settlements.
Whatever.
I have no doubt that the terrorist enablers on the left will dream up something in order to absolve the Islamists for their endless barbarisms.
I have a fab-u-lous idea.
Let's send Jeremiah Wright, President Obama's spiritual mentor, to Gaza, in order to talk to Hamas and protect his fellow Christians.
What could possibly go wrong?
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 07:09 AM | Comments (12)
May 26, 2009
Jihad Against Starbucks
A Manhattan Starbucks was bombed early this morning.
It's not widely reported but Jihadists have targeted the Starbucks chain because the logo, according to these Jew-haters, represents the Jewish Queen Esther.
It's easy to laugh at such obvious lunacy, but this conspiracy world view—Jews control everything—is the norm in the Muslim world. Such easy narratives serve to explain why the Muslim world is steeped in squalor, violence and ignorance.
The Terror Wonk explains it all.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 07:55 AM | Comments (14)
May 25, 2009
Hollywood Celebrates U.S. Military: Flashback
Joan Crawford as Miss Liberty.
During this Memorial Day Weekend we pay tribute those who have fallen, and those who sacrifice so much in the cause of freedom.
Remember when Hollywood celebrities flocked across the globe to entertain and support American troops? Remember when Hollywood—as a community—denounced tyrants, Jew-haters, and mass murderers?
My father was a Rabbi, a Chaplain in the 42nd Division during World War II and the Korean War. He often told me just how much the troops loved and respected their Hollywood supporters.
Here’s a brief sampler of what Hollywood patriotism once looked like.
In February 1954, on her honeymoon in Japan with Joe DiMaggio, Marilyn Monroe took time off and traveled to Korea to entertain the troops. Monroe appeared on stage wearing skimpy outfits in freezing temperatures. The men adored her. She performed ten shows in four days, in front of audiences that totaled more than 100,000 soldiers and Marines.
To read my complete article, head on over to Big Hollywood.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 09:19 AM | Comments (3)
May 24, 2009
Memorial Day 2009
My father, Chaplain Abraham Avrech, 42nd Division, Col. Ret., conducts
services for Jewish soldiers during the Korean War.
On this Memorial Day weekend, Seraphic Secret pays tribute to all American servicemen, past, present and future. Without our armed services we would not be a free people.
Never Forget
What War Zone presents: Haveil Havalim, The Best of the Jewish Blogosphere.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 07:18 AM | Comments (8)
May 22, 2009
Friday Flickers: The Lady Eve
Preston Sturges (1898 - 1959) was probably the greatest writer, director, producer—emphasis on writer—Hollywood ever produced. Sturges, in a series of brilliant comedies, refined the screwball comedy to an almost perfect sheen.
As the great critic and painter Manny Farber suggested, Sturges is the Mark Twain of Hollywood. His characters are pragmatic Americans who, at the drop of a hat, will deliver a finely tuned monologue worthy of a Greek philosopher.
My very favorite Sturges film is The Lady Eve, 1941, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda and the great character actor Charles Coburn. Stanwyck and Coburn play father and daughter con artists who target Henry Fonda, the heir to an ale—not beer!—fortune. Stanwyck's job is to ensnare Fonda in a honey trap, then fleece him for all he's worth.
Naturally, Stanwyck, the hard boiled dame, falls for Fonda's woman-shy, snake expert, who's returning from a year-long expedition up the Amazon.
Pondering her relationship with Fonda, Stanwyck observes: “I need him like the axe needs the turkey.”
There is no better line about the battle between the sexes in all of film history.
As you can imagine, delicious complications ensue.
Barbara Stanwyck, (1907 - 1990) real name Ruby Stevens, was probably the greatest actress of Hollywood's golden age. She convincingly played melodrama in Stella Dallas, (1937). Her Phyllis Dietrichson in Double Indemnity (1944) is the paradigm of the coolly seductive blond with murder and betrayal in her heart. Her comedic roles—Ball of Fire (1941) is a brilliant take on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs—are assured and laugh out loud funny. Stanwyck never made the mistake of playing cute—a plague among current Hollywood leading ladies. And of course, Meet John Doe (1941) is unthinkable without Stanwyck, the mortar that holds together that populist moral fable.
Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck in The Lady Eve.
Unlike the other screen legends of her time—the neurotic and humorless duo Joan Crawford and Bette Davis—Stanwyck had enormous range. It was understood by directors and writers that “Stany” could do everything and do it well. Furthermore, Stanwyck was a thorough professional who never failed to know her lines, was always on time, did not throw hissy fits, and was beloved by every crew member with whom she ever worked.
In the following clip, Stanwyck, on board a luxury liner, contrives to get Fonda alone, but then flees his stateroom when one of his snakes gets loose, leading to what is, for yours truly, the most sensual, seductive sequence ever filmed.
Sturges instinctively understood that injecting gentle humor into highly charged sexual situations did not, as some would imagine, dilute the emotions, but rather enhanced the passion to an almost unbearable pitch.
The Criterion edition of The Lady Eve is the one to purchase.
Karen and I wish all our friends and relatives a lovely and meaningful Shabbat.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 08:31 AM | Comments (8)
May 21, 2009
Jerusalem Liberation Day
A Hasid prays at the Western Wall
Photo: © Robert J. Avrech. All rights reserved.
Today is Yom Yerushalayim, Jerusalem Day.
I vividly remember when Jerusalem was cruelly divided by barbed wire.
After Israel's 1948 War of Independence, the Jordanians annexed Judea and Samaria—hey, what a shock, not a peep from the so-called Palestinians—and, naturally, ethnically cleansed every Jew from the Old City.
The Jordanians ripped up the Jewish cemeteries and used the headstones as paving stones and steps in the streets.
Ancient and holy synagogues were converted into horse stables.
The area by the Western Wall was turned, literally, into a municipal garbage dump.
Jordanian soldiers were posted on the walls of the Old City, and with metronomic regularity, an Arab soldier would randomly shoot down a Jewish man, woman or child in the new city. Invariably, the Jordanians claimed that the soldier was, er, mentally unbalanced. The punishment was usually a juicy promotion. As you can imagine, there were many mentally unstable soldiers in the Jordanian army.
When the 1967 Six Day War broke out, Israel strongly advised Jordan not to get involved. They informed the Jordanians, quite truthfully, that the Egyptian and Syrian armies were being crushed. But the Egyptians and Syrians lied to Jordan and told them that the Jews were suffering terrible defeats on the battlefields. Further, unless Jordan wanted to share in the spoils of war, they had better launch an offensive.
Nasser was hoping to relieve some pressure on his broken forces by opening a third front.
The Jordanians attacked, bombarding the New City of Jerusalem with artillery. Israel defended herself, fighting vicious hand to hand combat—in order to minimize civilian casualties—thus driving out the Jordanians and retaking the Old City.
Jerusalem is now united and only a fool—or a Jew-hater—would hand over even partial control to the Muslims.
It's funny, pre-1967, before Israel took control of the Old City, the only Arab head of state ever to visit Jerusalem was King Abdullah of Jordan in 1951. For his trouble, Abdullah was assassinated on the steps of the Al Aqsa Mosque by an Arab who accused the king of making peace with the Jewish state. Jerusalem was, until the Jews took control, of little or no interest to the Arab world.
It's only when a unified Jerusalem came under Jewish control that the Arab world suddenly developed such an abiding love for Jerusalem.
Here's are some short clips of the liberation of Jerusalem, 1967. Soldiers announce that they are in the Old City. Their CO signals back “Mazal Tov, Mazal Tov!” “The Temple Mount is in our hands.” “All honor to you.” Gen. Mordechai Gur's paratroopers raise the Israeli flag, and sing the Hatikvah, the national anthem. Jewish soldiers weep as they touch the Western Wall. Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren carries a Torah into the Old City. General Dayan and his staff arrive. The shofar is blown signaling victory in battle and the joy in, once again, having access to holy Jewish land.
Another Jewish exile is ended.
But the battle for Jerusalem is not over.
If I Forget Thee O' Jerusalem May My Right Hand Wither.
—Psalms 137:5
Meanwhile:
Four Muslims were arrested for attempting to carry out a terrorist attack against two synagogues in Riverdale, New York.
Here's my favorite quote from the homegrown terrorists:
"They stated that they wanted to commit Jihad," Kelly said. "They were disturbed about what happened in Afghanistan and Pakistan, that Muslims were being killed."
So let me get this straight, the Islamists are, ahem, disturbed about Afghanistan and Pakistan, so the solution is: Kill Jews in New York.
In-ter-esting.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 08:25 AM | Comments (10)
May 20, 2009
Denuke Iran
There is only one issue that concerns Bibi Netanyahu and the Israeli people at the moment.
The Persian march to nuclear power.
All the talk about the so-called Palestinians is a distraction.
1. The so-called two-state solution is a diplomatic chimera, a mantra with no substance. Already, there are two Palestinian states: Jordan and Gaza.
2. Lebanon is about to install a government controlled by Hizbullah, a Persian proxy. Thus, another Arab state, devoted to Israel's destruction, will be in play.
3. The so-called moderate Arab regimes, who pay lip-service to a Palestinian state, are, in fact, privately opposed to the notion. Jordan, from experience, knows that any state with the name Palestinian attached equals destabilization for the Hashemites and the entire Middle East. Egypt is fighting a bitter war with the Muslim Brotherhood, closely aligned with Hamas and Hizbullah, both funded and supported by Persia. Publicly, Egypt kvetches about a Palestinian state but they keep their border with Gaza sealed tight as a drum because they understand that the Gaza Islamists are doing everything in their power to undermine the Mubarak regime. Saudi Arabia are also deeply worried about Obama's soft approach to Persia. They understand that a nuclear Persia means the beginning of the end for the House of Saud.
4. Syria is not interested in a Palestinian state, their only desire is in extending hegemony over Lebanon, a state they consider invalid. They have always believed that Lebanon is a province of Syria, stolen from them by the colonial powers. The Syrian game is to play nice with Persia but ultimately undermine the Shiites and regain power for the Alawite minority. That's why so many opposition politicians in Lebanon keep getting blown to bits. Politically, that's how the Syrians roll.
5. So, the diplomats try and create a linkage between the Persian nuclear threat and the Palestinian conflict, but everyone knows that it's an elaborate charade, public posturing. Behind closed doors, everyone who is sane knows that the Persian facilities must not go hot. A nuclear Persia will turn the ME into a regional hostage to Persian ambitions. The only question is: will President Obama cooperate with Israel in denuking Iran?
Join the online community Denuke Iran.
For information on Israel's preparations for a strike against the Persian nuclear facilities see my article: Foreshadowing.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 08:14 AM | Comments (11)
May 19, 2009
Mae Clarke: Gangster, Grapefruit, Forty One Seconds to Immortality
Jimmy Cagney smashes a grapefruit in Mae Clarke's face, The Public Enemy, 1931.
Most actors are remembered for their unique personae. Clark Gable was a man’s man. The humorous gleam in his eye sent daggers to the knees of women everywhere. Bette Davis practically cornered the market on the deeply neurotic woman clawing at the boundaries of love with Baroque fury. Gary Cooper was the classic taciturn American, a solid, self-confident Yankee who spoke eloquently through his silences. Marilyn Monroe is still the paradigm of the woman as vulnerable child waiting to be rescued by a knight in shining armor.
Of course Fay Wray, who played in over eighty motion pictures, is only remembered for her role in King Kong. Thus she is, for better or for worse, the shrieking woman, for all time.
Less common is the actor who is identified and remembered for a single brief scene.
No doubt, Mae Clarke, (1910-1992) real name Violet Mary Klotz, a superb actress who unfailingly revealed complex layers of character in her naturalistic performances, would prefer to be remembered for her finely tuned portrayal of the doomed Myra Deauville, the sweet chorus girl turned desperate prostitute, in the 1931 pre-Code, Waterloo Bridge. But the 1940 version with Vivien Leigh and Robert Taylor made Clarke’s film all but invisible. This is a shame for Clarke’s version, directed by James Whale, is excellent, combining gritty realism with lyrical impressionism.
To read my entire article, please go to Big Hollywood.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 08:35 AM | Comments (5)
May 18, 2009
Letter From Kosova: Thank You, America
Kosova, primarily Muslim, was rescued by America, thus NEWBORN into a free country.
Dr. Carol, long time Seraphic Secret reader and valued commenter, a Professor in an American University, traveled to Israel for the very first time in August '08, and graced this blog with a deeply moving letter about her experiences as a faithful Christian, a proud Zionist, and an American patriot in the Jewish homeland. Now, Dr. Carol is in Kosova. With her sharp eye for history and local detail, our good friend sheds some valuable light on a land and people who are among America's greatest allies. We are grateful for Dr. Carol's generous contribution to Seraphic Secret.
A Bloody History
I am writing this letter from the most pro-American country in the world—the brand-spanking-new Republic of Kosovo (or, as the ethnic Albanians here prefer, “Kosova” with the emphasis on the second syllable).
Kosova as a region has a long and bloody history of conflicts. The most recent was the ethnic violence egged on by Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic between 1990 and 1998. When the old Yugoslavia fell apart, Serbia attempted to deprive Kosova of its autonomy as an independent region and forced it under Serbian control. Ethnic Albanian Kosovars reacted with strikes and a daring declaration of independence, but to no avail.
Hostilities between the ruling Serbs and the Albanians escalated and more than 400,000 Albanian Kosovars left the region by 1993, exiled by Serbian repression. Those who stayed developed a parallel society; denied access to schools, hospitals, and other services, they developed their own, often in secret. Expatriates working in the U.S. and Europe sent money back to their families, the only way many Kosovars survived. Albanian language media were shut down, journalists imprisoned, and students denied access to the secondary schools and the University of Prishtina.
In 1997 the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) started military action against Serbian police installations. The Serbs retaliated, sometimes with mass executions of civilians. About 300,000 villagers fled to the mountains and forests to escape the violence. In 1998, Madeleine Albright threatened air strikes if the ethnic cleansing was not halted, and finally a US-led NATO force carried out the threat in March 1999. As a result of Serb retaliation, another 800,000 Kosovars fled to Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, and the US.
Exile
My students tell me that they stood on their porches in the hills, and watched British Harriers deliver pinpoint strikes on the Serbian police headquarters in the center of Prishtina. Not one window in the surrounding buildings was even cracked, but the headquarters were destroyed. When I asked the students if they were afraid of the bombs, they said no—they were afraid of Serbian retaliation. One student and her family escaped to Montenegro, where they camped for three days outside without food or clean water. Eventually they were sent to shelters in Norway, where they stayed for six months until they could return to Kosova.
Twelve-thousand Kosovars died in the 1997-1999 conflict, and about 2,200 are still missing. The country was devastated, their economy and infrastructure virtually destroyed. Massive amounts of aid flow in from the European Union, the UN, and USAID, trying to get this fledgling country on its feet.
American troops in Kosova are viewed and treated as liberators by the Muslim population.
America! America!
Despite the heavy losses they have endured and the difficulty of daily life here, Kosovars are profoundly grateful to America for liberating them from Serbian repression. American flags are everywhere in Pristina, stalls in the market place sell “Thank you, America!” t-shirts, a prominent hotel sports a Statue of Liberty on its roof, and two major streets in the capital are named for Bill Clinton and Bob Dole. There’s even a huge mural of Clinton on the side of a building.
Kosovars are quick to spot foreigners, and will eagerly start a conversation or, if their English isn’t too good, show their appreciation in other ways. I walked today through a small park studded with Roman-era carved stones. On a low wall sat two Albanian Kosovars, wearing the traditional white skullcap. They eyed me curiously as I took pictures of the stones, then one gave me a toothless grin and asked “American? You American?” When I said yes, they beamed at me and gave me two thumbs up.
My school back in the US founded this affiliated institution in 2003, and is instrumental in many efforts to help Kosovo back on its feet. My students here in Prishtina are button-busting proud of their American education. We labor to fill in the gaps caused by a decade of furtive, sporadic schooling. They are bright, happy, and amazingly entrepreneurial. They are also delighted to meet the American soldiers stationed here as part of the multinational Kosovo Force (KFOR) watching over the country as it comes out of the shadow of Serbia.
American troops bring football—real football—to Kosova.
On Mother’s Day we picnicked in the hills near Gjilan, and a patrol of US soldiers dropped by to share food and football (the REAL kind!) with us. The students crowded around, asking to hold the soldiers’ weapons, asking for rides in their Hummers, asking about America. Our Army boys ate it up—the sergeant kept turning around to me and saying “We just love talking to the people, and they seem to just love talking to us”.
Probably the most heartfelt statement I’ve heard about Kosova’s gratitude came from my student Faton. He drove me down to the plaza where the famous “NEWBORN” statue sits, and showed me where he wrote his name on it the night Kosovo declared independence. I noticed an American flag in his car, and remarked on it. “I keep it there,” he said, “to remind me. America saved us. I will always love America for saving us.”
G-d bless America. G-d bless Old Glory. Long may she wave, from sea to shining sea—and in the streets of Prishtina and the hearts of Kosovars.
Dr. Carol pays her respects at the local Jewish cemetery with her Seraphic Press tote bag. The inscription in Hebrew reads: Baruch Dayan Emet, G-d is the Righteous Judge.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 01:12 AM | Comments (9)
May 17, 2009
Best of the Jewish Blogosphere #217
My grandmother, Chana Gittel, usd to read Charles Dickens
out loud to me. It was one of the ways she learned English.
She would have adored Haveil Havalim.
Shiloh Muse presents Haveil Havalim #217 The Discount Edition.
And here's a fine illustration of the, ahem, cycle of violence in Gaza.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 10:35 AM | Comments (3)
May 15, 2009
Friday Footwear: Ma'ayan Ariel Says, “I'm Almost Walking.”
Clara Bow adores men who appreciate Friday Footwear.
Ma'ayan Ariel is learning to walk.
It looks like she's skipping the interim crawling stage.
She's still gripping furniture like a wary rock climber shuffling along a precarious ledge on Yellowstone's Half Dome. Ma'ayan Ariel smiles and jabbers away in her private language, feeling glory and power in her widening world. When she comes to a difficult spot—the end of a piece of furniture—she just shifts and back tracks.
It's all good, whatever the direction.
Every once in a while Ma'ayan Ariel will halt, hold out a little hand and try standing on her own.
She wobbles unsteadily for a second, and then—
—Kaboom.
On her tushy she lands. Ma'ayan Ariel looks around, trying to figure out what happened, then she smiles hugely, hoists herself up and bops along.
Offspring #2 buys Ma'ayan Ariel a pair of too cute canvas shoes—oh, those adorable little hearts—and texts me a low-rez phone pic.
I immediately call back and beg for better pics for Friday Footwear.
“Um, Daddy, my camera's batteries are dead.”
Sheesh, haven't I taught my girlses the importance of equipment redundancy? Casa Avrech is bursting with extra batteries in most every drawer.
So: I can't just tell Offspring #2 to run out and buy batteries because when you're a young mommy with a baby at home, every sortie into the wider world is a massive effort involving getting dressed, getting the baby dressed, packing up the baby bag with diapers, extra clothing, making sure there's food and milk, dragging the stroller down the stairs and into the street. And then mommy and baby have to climb into the car, buckle into the car seat, lose a precious parking spot, drive, park, unbuckle, schlep into the store with all the gear, all the time hoping that Ma'ayan will not be hungry, tired, cranky...
It's exhausting.
Offspring #2 says: “I know, Offspring #3 just came over to visit, maybe she has her camera. I'll look.”
“If not, how about borrowing a camera from one of your friends in the building.”
“Oh, yeah, that's an idea.”
An hour later, Offspring #2's photos arrive.
Ma'ayan Ariel zooms along in her nifty new footwear.
Ma'ayan Ariel says: “Next stop, Christian Louboutin!”
Karen and I wish all our friends and relatives a miracle in Shabbat.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 07:07 AM | Comments (7)
May 14, 2009
Foreshadowing
Screenwriters often signal a dramatic turn of events in Act I, and then pay it off in Act II. The classic example is:
CLOSE-UP: A hand opens a desk drawer, revealing a PISTOL.
Later, the same pistol is used to kill someone.
This is called foreshadowing.
Israel is foreshadowing like crazy.
1. The IAF borrowed Soviet MIG 29's jets from a friendly Eastern European nation—I'm guessing Poland—and practicing dogfights and heavy formations with Israeli F16's. Guess which country in the Middle East uses MIG 29's?
2. Earlier this month, Israeli jets flew to Gibraltar and back refueling in mid air. The 2,361 miles distance from Israel mimics the distance required to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities from Israel.
3. IDF reservists were called up to practice manning the Arrow anti-missile batteries.
4. Over the past year the IAF has flown several combat missions into Sudan to destroy convoys carrying weapons from Iran to be smuggled into Gazastan. The IAF flew these missions without interference from a single Arab state. Again, the round trip distance is striking.
President Obama has already sent a message, through back door diplomatic channels, that he doesn't want to be surprised by an Israeli strike against Iran. H/T Israel Matzav.
You see, Obama wants to have time to leak the intel to the New York Times and thereby publicize and abort the mission.
Obama is so confident in his personal charm—hey, he didn't win the election based on his paper thin resume—that he's sure he can talk the Mullahs out of going nuclear. The Mullahs are laughing all the way to Nantaz.
Netanyahu is an adult. The neighborhood he lives in is a bit tougher than Chicago. He, understands that Israel and the, ahem, moderate Arab states, cannot tolerate a Persian bomb. Such a bomb would turn Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan into virtual prison states. The flow of capital would halt and tourism would take a huge hit. The threat of being vaporized by a state that has repeatedly vowed to eliminate Israel is a powerful incentive to, y'know, go to the Grand Canyon rather than Jerusalem.
In case anyone needs a refresher course, let's hear from Persian President Ahmadinejad:
I've heard that one of them [PM Olmert] recently said that the idea of Greater Israel is dead. I would like to declare that the idea of "smaller Israel" is also dead. The very notion of Israel is dead, but they are lagging behind the times. Just like the idea of Greater Israel died 30 years ago, and they did not realize this, and have continued to perpetrate crimes for 30 years... Today, I say to them: The idea of smaller Israel is dead.
I have this weird tendency to take it quite seriously when a holocaust denying Muslim Jew-hater threatens another Holocaust.
But that's just me.
The Persian march to power began when Jimmy Carter aided the Ayatollah Khomeni in his rise to power. Carter was convinced that the Ayatollah was, get this, another Ghandi.
Actually, Ghandi believed that the Jews of Europe were quite right in marching off to the gas chambers. The guy in the shmatte had zero tolerance for self-defense. It's important to note that Ghandi used non-violence against Britain, a modern democracy. If he had tried such a tactic against a totalitarian regime such as Germany or any Arab state, he and his followers would be dust and ashes.
Carter was dead wrong about the Ayatollah, as he was dead wrong about everything, and the world has been suffering the bloody consequences ever since.
Obama is as clueless about the Middle East as he is about the American economy, and health care.
The American president conducts himself vis-à-vis the Arab and Islamic world like a rookie trying to command an armored division. Obama is rushing forward on an imaginary horse, and the people of the region can only hope that his terrible mistakes will not cost the lives of additional thousands.
To read the entire article by Dr. Mordechai Kedar, please click here.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 09:24 AM | Comments (20)
May 13, 2009
The New-Old War Against the Jews
There is no question in my mind that so-called anti-Zionism serves as a fig-leaf for Jew hatred.
There is no other explanation.
I've never heard of any other country's legitimacy relentlessly questioned and undermined. You would think that those who espouse the love of human rights and rejection of violence and government oppression would attack, with proper fury, countries like Congo, Sudan, Jordan, Somalia, The Taliban in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Cuba, Libya, Dubai, Gazastan, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Venezuela, and of course the most repressive country on planet earth, North Korea. But Israel is the target of choice, and a fetish is made of the so-called Palestinians—before World War II the Palestinians were understood to be the Jewish residents of modern day Israel, whereas the Arabs were called, uh, Arabs or Syrians.
I get a fair amount of hate mail accusing me of being a Zionist pig, a dirty Jew, a Zionist Jew usurper of Palestinian land, a filthy, Hollywood Jew—alas, the unkindest cut of all—yadda, yadda. Call me hyper sensitive but I have a feeling that these rabid emails do not come from people who are interested in historical facts or reasoned argument.
I also get a fair amount of mail challenging me to defend Zionism. When I quote various articles and books the response is always this: “You're sources are well known Zionist propagandists, why don't you reference legitimate academic sources.”
Of course, delegitimizing the authors I quote is much easier than refuting their arguments. It's the same tactic used when talking about Israel, exaggerating her sins in order to delegitimize the entire Jewish state and by inference Judaism.
I'm always amused by the trust in the judgment and morality of academics.
Some—by no means all—of the most stupid people I know are respected academics; they have less common sense than an amoeba.
As far as ethics and values are concerned, if you want your children to unlearn all the values and religion you have spent a lifetime instilling in them, send them to a liberal arts college for four years and watch their brains turn to liberal jelly under the unrelenting assault of charismatic radical professors. You think American terrorist Bill Ayers is unusual in academic circles?
Ayers is the norm.
I spent four years in a liberal arts college and I can't even count the number of my professors who were proud and vocal Marxists.
Historical note: As the Nazi party gained traction in Germany, the first professional classes to sign up to the genocidal Nazi program were academics and physicians. The Nuremberg Laws were written and legislated by Ph.D's and respected lawyers.
No, almost all anti-Zionism is Jew hatred. The Western Jew hater, mostly from the left, understands that his, er, loony proclivities are a bit of an embarrassment—not in the Muslim world where it's a badge of honor—so Holocaust denial has become, y'know, just another point of view, and the jack boot hatred of the Jewish State provides the perfect arena in which to exercise Holocaust yearning desires.
And of course, when we label the Jew-haters as, um, Jew-haters they rear back in self-righteous horror and exclaim:
“Can't I criticize Israel without being accused of anti-Semitism?”
Which is a lot like saying:
“Can't I beat my wife without being accused of domestic abuse?”
The answer is, no.
The truth is these creatures are not criticizing Israel, they are demonizing Israel, preparing the groundwork for the end of the Jewish state, the end of the Jewish homeland.
Once upon a time Jews were despised because they were a people cruelly exiled from their homeland.
Now, Jews are despised because they have returned to their biblical homeland.
Herewith, a fine article from The Australian that tackles some of the most contentious issues regarding Israel and her legions of obsessive haters.
What is perplexing is the emerging strategic alliance between the Western Left and Islamist anger. This is evident especially in Western demonstrations where left-wing protesters carry banners saying things such as "We are Hamas".
But it is also to be observed in the general silence of the Western Left on human rights abuses throughout the Arab world and in Iran. One of the most arresting sights in Israel is the magnificent Bahai headquarters in Haifa. The Bahais have an equally beautiful temple in New Delhi. The Bahais fled to Israel and India, two states where minority religions are not subject to official persecution, because of the murderous repression they suffer in Iran. Yet the Western Left is infinitely more active about Israeli human rights abuses, real or alleged, than Iranian human rights abuses. Similarly, the more left-wing the Western feminist, the less will be said about the routine abuse of women's rights in much of the Arab world.
The strategic alliance of the Western Left and Islamist sentiment, on the basis that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, is evident at the UN. There, Arab and African majorities in league with the UN bureaucrat class constantly formulate condemnations of Israel's alleged human rights abuses while no resolution is moved regarding human rights in Iran or Saudi Arabia or China. Much criticism of Israel is genuinely concerned with Palestinian welfare and the injustices numerous Palestinians have suffered. It is the exaggeration of Israel's sins, some of them real enough, and the hysterical criticism and denunciation of Israel, that owes so much to meta-rational factors.
For the complete article by Greg Sheridan please click here.
And Michael Oren, Israel's new ambassador to the U.S., writes articulately about Seven Existential Threats to Israel. H/T Jake Novak
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 08:30 AM | Comments (14)
May 12, 2009
Hollywood: The Head Game
In shul the other day, I noticed some spectacular hats on the married ladies. Summer is almost here and Orthodox Jewish women are busting out their best millinery. Hollywood stars were once devoted to elegant head gear. Here are some compelling examples.
Betty Grable was best known for her legs and for her tempestuous marriage to band leader Harry James, a mosaic of infidelity, violence and booze. But here, the pin-up queen of WW II, looks solidly middle class, like a self-satisfied yenta.
Dolores Costello was one of the most beautiful women in early Hollywood. Tragically, Costello's lovely but fragile skin was ravaged by the heavy make-up used in silent films. She spent her final years in seclusion, running her avocado farm. This finely spun hat adds to her mysterious allure. Costello, briefly married to bad-boy John Barrymore, is actress Drew Barrymore's grandmother.
Mae Murray, a self-destructive star of the 20's, looks incredibly modern. Only the bee stung lips date her look. Murray walked out on her MGM contract when she married a phony European nobleman. She ended her days impoverished and stark raving mad, wandering the streets mumbling that she was still a great star. By the way, if you're a retro kind of girl, Perpetual Flapper has a step by step tutorial on how to create those bee stung lips.
Kay Francis, during the early 30's, a huge star for Warner Bros., looks positively tznius, modest, in this shmatte. Ironic, because Francis kept a diary, written in code, in which she detailed her numerous affairs and eight abortions.
Merle Oberon sports a somewhat tilted nautical theme. Oberon always looked elegant and frostily upper class. She hid the fact that she was of mixed race parentage. Her mother was Anglo-Sri-Lankan and her father, probably British, but so far, unknown. When the press or her Hollywood friends were around, Oberon passed off her mother as a maid.
Beauty pageants are in the news because of the unconscionable leftist assault on Carrie Prejean. No hats in the '09 Miss U.S.A. contest, but take a look at the Miss America contestants of 1933. Times and skirt lengths have definitely changed.
Not a Hollywood star, but Chana Gittel was always a star to yours truly. Here, my maternal grandmother, age 17, models an outfit that she sewed, with a matching hat, perfect for a stroll in the park. Photo approximately 1909.
Karen and I wish all our friends and relatives a Happy Lag Ba'Omer.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 10:49 AM | Comments (24)
May 11, 2009
We're Shocked, Shocked That Hope & Change = Moral Equivalence
Image courtesy of Wolf Howling.
Seraphic Secret is shocked, shocked that a man who was a proud member of a Jew and America-hating Church would, as POTUS, turn against Israel, America's only dependable ally in the middle east.
Seraphic Secret is shocked, shocked that President Barack Obama is making purring noises to Hugo Chavez, a Communist tyrant who is making Jew-hatred an official state doctrine.
No doubt, Roger Cohen, the New York Time's official candidate for Judenrat President—after the tried and true Nazi collaborator George Soros—will be visiting Hugo in the near future and assure us all that the Jews of Venezuela, or what's left of them, are living in a paradise.
Seraphic Secret is shocked, shocked, that a man who kicked off his political career with a fund raiser in the home of American terrorists Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dorhn would, as POTUS, cozy up to Iran, Syria, Hamas and Hizbullah, state and non-state terrorists, who have collectively killed and tortured scores of Americans over the past thirty years.
Prairie Fire, a violent manifesto by Bill Ayers dedicated to, among others, RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan.
Further, does it register with Obama and his, ahem, progressive supporters, that the Weather Underground Communist manifesto, Prairie Fire, authored by Ayers, is dedicated to, among others: Sirhan Sirhan, the Arab terrorist who assassinated Robert F. Kennedy because, complained Sirhan, RFK supported Israel.
Just, y'know, asking.
Seraphic Secret is shocked, shocked, that a man who bad-mouthed Israel's Likud party, would, as POTUS, put the big freeze on the current Likud government.
Seraphic Secret is, however, not shocked that the 78% of American Jews who voted for Barack Obama are still his most enthusiastic supporters. There is a mechanism at work in the human mind that fiercely protects against the ravages of reality, it's called cognitive dissonance.
And now that the Obama foreign policy has been revealed as moral equivalence—Israel, a democratic state, is on the same plane as a radical Arab/Muslim tyranny—American Jews will, true to form, retreat into clinical denial as Obama's policies of appeasement lead to further atrocities against Jews in Israel and abroad.
Unlike the Bush administration, the staff of President Obama is not coordinating its policy on Iran or the greater Middle East with Israel and has not been informing the Jewish state of its plans or recent diplomatic developments in the Mideast, according to sources in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.
The silence extends to U.S. talks with the Palestinians, the sources said.
"Our intention and our hope as we go to Washington is to establish close intimate cooperative relationships on these sensitive matters," a top Netanyahu official told WND yesterday.
The official was speaking about Netanyahu's May 18 visit to the White House.
According to other sources in the prime minister's office, Israel has been obtaining the vast majority of its information regarding U.S. plans and advances for the Middle East from third parties, mostly European diplomats.
This is in stark contrast to Bush's eight-year presidency, during which the White House and State Department routinely briefed Israeli counterparts on Middle East affairs to the extent that the majority of official U.S. and Israeli statements on various policy issues were heavily coordinated.
Full story by Aaron Klein, here.
Oh yeah, Seraphic Secret is shocked, shocked that Barack Obama, a man who has zero background in finance—heck, every single line-producer I know in Hollywood has more experience with budgets than the Dear Leader—a man who never created wealth in his entire career, a man who, in fact, is more concerned with redistributing wealth—classic Marxist-Lenin doctrine—is overseeing national deficits to the tune of two trillion dollars in the next four years—in the form of a massive Ponzi scheme.
Confession: I have no idea how much a trillion is, is but I have a feeling that it's uh, a lot. And can somebody tell me, what comes after a trillion—a gazillion? I'm clueless, but something tells me that Obama is cheerily heading that that direction.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 09:53 AM | Comments (13)
May 10, 2009
Best of the Jewish Blogosphere #216
MM sings: “Happy Birthday Jack!
Haveil Havalim #216, Happy 40th Birthday Jack Edition, is up and live.
The last birthday I remember was when I turned 25-years old and I still wasn't married. My parents looked at me like, y'know, dead man walking. Well, Baruch HaShem, Karen popped up in my life soon after and all subsequent birthdays have been walks in the park.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 10:26 AM | Comments (0)
May 08, 2009
Friday Flickers: The Awful Truth
Seraphic Secret is introducing a new feature: Friday Flickers, in which we present clips from some of our favorite movies along with personal commentary. We hope that you will run out and rent or purchase our Friday Flicker recommendations. We guarantee that your life will be enriched beyond measure.
Do not despair, Friday Footwear is still in play, but we like to keep things lively and unexpected.
We're kicking off our series with a few choice moments from The Awful Truth, 1937, starring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne.
This film is a sublime example of the screwball comedy, a Hollywood genre that reached its apotheosis during the thirties, when the American economy was crippled by the Great Depression.
The sets of the screwball comedy are art deco white furniture, floor to ceiling silken drapes and miles of marble floors. Men dress for dinner in tuxedos, and ladies dash about in bias-cut gowns, trailing thick capes of mink and ermine. Every household boasts a know-it-all British butler and perfectly uniformed maids who curtsy as they serve caviar from silver trays. Best of all, no one seems to work for a living. The pursuit of love, while sipping endless cocktails in vast nightclubs, is a full time occupation.
Indeed, the fantasy world of depression era screwball comedies provided a psychic safe haven for millions of down-at-the heels, entertainment hungry Americans.
Irene Dunne in The Awful Truth
The storyline for The Awful Truth is simple—a couple impulsively decide to divorce though obviously made for one other—yet comedic complications pile one on top of the other with exquisite precision.
The plot thus far: Cary Grant and Irene Dunne are separated, involved with other partners, but the tug of love keeps them coming back to one another as if drawn by a powerful magnet.
In this scene, Cary Grant meets with his new socialite fiance and her stuffy, upper class family. Irene Dunne shows up disguised as Grant's sister, presumably to rescue Grant from a lie, but in truth, to undermine his new love interest.
Great film acting is reacting so keep an eye on Grant as he expresses: surprise, bafflement, frustration, humiliation and then, finally, delight as he realizes that the woman he's divorcing is his perfect match.
Grant and Dunne co-starred in two spectacular screwball comedies: The Awful Truth and My Favorite Wife, 1940. Both are delightful films, profoundly wise about human nature. Leo McCarey directed both movies. It's a shame that this great director's output wasn't greater, but he was a serious alcoholic who, sadly, retreated to corners of darkness for long periods between pictures.
Karen and I wish all our friends and relatives a lovely and miraculous Shabbat.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 07:45 AM | Comments (14)
May 07, 2009
Obama to Throw Israel Under the Islamist Bus
The Dear Leader (Graphic courtesy of Wolf Howling)
Take one Junior U.S. Senator with the most left-wing voting record—when he bothered to vote—mix in membership in a racist, Jew-and America hating Church for over 20-years, stir in friendships with American terrorists and Arab radicals, sprinkle in a healthy dose of crypto-Socialist rhetoric, and what have you got?
As Seraphic Secret blogged as soon as we took the measure of candidate Obama: the most anti-Israel, Jihad appeasing American President and administration since, well, Jimmy "Jihad" Carter.
In a nutshell, Obama's foreign policy is this: make nice to tyrants who work for America's downfall and alienate America's allies.
The White House, in classic Orwellian double-speak, refers to this moral inversion as sophisticated foreign policy.
In the real world it's called national suicide.
American Jews voted for "change" with little regard for the essential question: will the change—domestic and foreign—be for the good or the bad.
The answer is now clear.
Melanie Phillips explains it all:
As predicted here repeatedly – Obama is attempting to throw Israel under the Islamist bus, and he’s getting American Jews to do his dirty work for him. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel reportedly told the Israel lobbying group AIPAC on Sunday that efforts to stop Iran hinged on peace talks with the Palestinians. General James Jones, National Security Adviser to Obama, reportedly told a European foreign minister a week ago that unlike the Bush administration, Obama will be ‘forceful’ with Israel. Ha’aretz reports:
Jones is quoted in the telegram as saying that the United States, European Union and moderate Arab states must redefine ‘a satisfactory endgame solution.’ The U.S. national security adviser did not mention Israel as party to these consultations.
Of course not. If you are going to throw a country under the bus, you don’t invite it to discuss the manner of its destruction with the assassins who are co-ordinating the crime. As I said here months ago, the appointment of Jones and the elevation of his post of National Security Adviser at the expense of the Secretary of State was all part of the strategy to centralise power in the hands of those who want to do Israel harm.
Yesterday Vice-President Joe Biden and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry turned the thumbscrews tighter, telling Israel to stop building more settlements, dismantle existing outposts and allow Palestinians freedom of movement.
This is all not only evil but exceptionally stupid. The idea that a Palestine state will help build a coalition against Iran is demonstrably absurd. The Arab states are beside themselves with anxiety about Iran. They want it to be attacked and its nuclear programme stopped. They are desperately fearful that the Obama administration might have decided that it can live with a nuclear Iran.
To read the complete article, please click here.
The Washington Times also worries that the U.S. is Breaking Faith with Israel.
Will the United States sell out its strongest ally in the Middle East to cozy up to its worst enemy? The Washington Times reports today that the Israeli government is increasingly worried that the Obama administration will break a 40-year understanding between Washington and Tel Aviv to keep Israel's clandestine nuclear program a secret.
Iran has long complained that Israel is given a pass on the nuclear issue. The Jewish state is suspected of possessing a small atomic arsenal, but it has never officially admitted to having a nuclear-weapons program and is not a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (nuclear states India, Pakistan and North Korea have also declined to sign). The United States has officially remained silent. Iran says it is a double standard.
On the contrary, we say it shows the United States has standards. America treats Israel and Iran differently because they are fundamentally different. Israel is a dependable U.S. ally and a free liberal democracy. Iran is a long-standing enemy of the United States, is directly or indirectly responsible via Iraqi insurgents and others for more deaths of U.S. service members than any country since the Vietnam War. Its people suffer under an oppressive theocracy. We approve of an Israeli nuclear force for the same reason we approve of a British, French or American nuclear force: We know it will serve peaceful purposes. We oppose an Iranian nuclear force for the same reason we oppose a North Korean nuclear force: We know it will not serve a peaceful purpose. Any attempt to establish parity between Israel and Iran on the nuclear issue is dangerous and naive.
Full editorial here.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 08:17 AM | Comments (15)
May 06, 2009
Honestly, Obama's Lying
Carrie Prejean, Miss California.
Photo: Denis Poroy, Associated Press
“So, what do you make of this whole Miss California thing?”
“Buncha hysterical queens.”
I'm having lunch with a well known film producer, a lever-pulling Democrat. We've known each other for over 20-years and in spite of our political differences we are close friends. My buddy has a cutting edge sense of humor that verges on the cynical, but I can always count on him for a dose of unvarnished truth.
“I'm not talking about the lunatics, or the frontal attack on Prejean. I'm talking about the disconnect, I mean these are all people who support Obama, right?”
“Definitely.”
“But Obama's on record as being against same sex marriage because he's a Christian.”
The producer motions to the waitress, orders a Perrier. As she goes to fetch his order, he fixes his eyes on her swaying hips.
“Cute. I love waitresses. They're all out of work actresses. Totally desperate.”
“She's old enough to be your daughter.”
“I'm deprived.”
“Depraved.”
“Hey, we're all not married to Karen. Speaking of which, when do I get to come over for another Sabbath meal. Karen's food is like...”
“Shavuos, okay?”
“Which one is that?”
“When G-d gave us the Torah.”
“Heston on the mountain. Maybe you should do a remake.”
“Pass-adena.”
“Anyways: some of us were married to f*****g Lady Macbeth.”
I chew lunch as my friend launches into a feverish tirade detailing his ex's endless flaws and unforgivable sins. I have heard this maybe a dozen times and with each telling the former Mrs. gets worse and worse. It must be exhausting to feel contempt for someone you once loved.
The waitress returns with a cold bottle of Perrier and my friend smoothly draws her into conversation.
Oh, wait, it's called flirting.
The waitress is obviously an experienced hand with frisky producers. She manages to charm my buddy, let him know that yes, she's an actress, but no, she's not going to have a drink with him to, ahem, discuss her career because:
“The boyfriend would definitely object.”
My friend goes: “Don't tell him.”
Waitress chuckles like Gloria Grahame in The Bad and the Beautiful: “Naughty you.”
And she's off to the next table, the next predatory producer.
“Awesome,” my friend sighs.
“Obama. Gay marriage?”
“Robert, don't be so naive. We all know Obama's lying through his teeth.”
“About gay marriage?”
“That and being,” he claws quote marks in the air, “a good Christian. Listen, Obama's a Christian like I'm a Hasid.”
I am floored.
“You're saying that Democrats assume Obama is lying for political expediency?”
“To get elected, sure. Hey, welcome to the real world.”
I take a deep breath.
“So Cary Prejean is a big fat target—”
“Not fat, my friend, did you see that slamming body?”
“Okay, so she's a slamming beautiful target because she's a genuine Christian and sincerely opposes gay marriage whereas Obama gets a pass because, you assume, he's a liar and an opportunist.”
“You got it.”
“This is okay with you?”
“He got elected didn't he, not like your self-destructive McCain.”
No argument.
I'm like: "It's not right.”
My friend goes: “Hey, you should be used to it, you know the old Hollywood story.”
“What's that?”
My friend quotes the shortest, truest Hollywood joke on record:
“Good morning, he lied.”
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 05:49 AM | Comments (58)
May 05, 2009
Screenwriter Confesses: 'I Could Never Love a Woman Who Didn't Love The Seven Samurai'
Still from The Seven Samurai. Note the, um, Magen David.
Yours truly first laid eyes on my wife, Karen, when we were both nine-years-old, students in Yeshiva of Flatbush elementary school. Thus began a love affair that defined and continues to define my existence.
The time has come to introduce Karen to Akira Kurosawa. The time has come to introduce Karen to the single most important movie in my life, the film that shaped my consciousness, the film that turned me from a directionless yeshiva student into a rabid film fanatic, a screenwriter.
Yes, The Seven Samurai is playing at The Thalia, New York’s’ classic movie theater on Broadway between 94th and 95th Streets. I’ve invited Karen to see it with me. Keep in mind, this is 1976, ancient days. There are no videos, no DVD’s, no personal computers, and hard to imagine, no internet. To see a classic film, you must rush to Manhattan, to one of the revival houses, and hope that the print they screen is half-way decent. And with Japanese films, the biggest problem is the subtitles. Frequently, they are illegible.
As we stand on line to purchase tickets, Karen quizzes me about the film.
“What’s it about?”
“Courage and loyalty in 16th century Japan.”
“Does it have a… plot?”
“Oh, yes, several very strong plots running parallel to one another. Don’t worry, it’s a foreign film, but you’ll find that all the emotions are completely familiar.”
Karen looks a bit skeptical. By now she knows me well enough to recognize that my take on reality is not all that real.
To read the complete story, head on over to Big Hollywood.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 07:07 AM | Comments (12)
May 04, 2009
Iran's Deadly Tempo
Wolf Howling analyzes the growing Persian threat:
Of the major foreign policy issues facing Obama, Iran ranks at least equal to Pakistan in near term criticality. As Obama gives signals of weakness and acquiescence, Iran is significantly increasing its deadly operational tempo throughout the Middle East. And that in addition to a nuclear weapons program that threatens to lead to nuclear proliferation on a nightmare scale. Obama's response is to seek more talks—now unconditional—with even the threat of force apparently off the table. It is the stuff of deadly fantasy.
Read the rest here.
Meanwhile, the IAF conducted a very interesting midair refueling exercise. Take note of the distance flown:
Israel Air Force planes conducted exercises between Israel and Gibraltar, including midair refueling, according to a report published Saturday in the French weekly L’Express. The writer speculated that the distance of the exercises that were carried out, 2,361 miles (3,800 km) from Israel, appeared to confirm that the IDF is preparing to attack Iran if Teheran continues its refusal to end its nuclear program.
Two weeks ago, the London-based Sunday Times reported that Israel plans to attack Iran’s nuclear reactor using three AWAC planes. A senior military official was quoted as saying, “Israel wants to know that if its forces were given the green light they could strike at Iran in a matter of days, even hours. They are making preparations on every level for this eventuality. The message to Iran is that the threat is not just words.”
Full story at Arutz Sheva.
The Israeli strike on the Persian nuclear facilities will not be a small operation of a three or four F16's. It will be a robust strike with massive cyber attacks on the Persian air-defense systems, dozens of attack jets, rescue planes, AWAC's, and almost certainly special forces on the ground in Iran directing air strikes. The world will publicly condemn Israel, but in private these same people will breathe huge sighs of relief. The only people who want the Persians to go nuclear are—what a shock—the Persians, and rabid leftist Jew-haters who hide behind the fig-leaf of, ahem, academic anti-Zionism.
And what will the Persians do in response?
The same thing the Syrians did when Israel knocked out their nuclear facility.
Nothing.
When you hit back at bullies, they retreat into their holes and lick their wounds. Bullies are, by nature, cowards and the Persians, who excel in murdering women and children, are no different.
Make no mistake about it, allowing Iran to possess nuclear weapons opens the door to the proliferation of nuclear terrorism.
Things with Persia are getting even more complicated as Iran launches air strikes in Iraq, attacking Kurd villages.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 08:27 AM | Comments (10)
May 03, 2009
Michael Oren: Israel's New Ambassador to the U.S.
Michael Oren
Great appointment.
A few years ago, Michael Oren was in Los Angeles on a speaking tour. I attended one of his lectures and was knocked out. He's a brilliant historian, articulate, and witty. I had the chance to speak with him alone for a few minutes and I was impressed with his ahavat Yisroel—love of Israel—and his rock solid grasp of the dangers facing the Jewish State.
Oren is not a great fan of President Obama, but Oren's a sophisticated player and in the corridors of power I have no doubt that he will be an effective advocate for Israel and her alliance with America.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman are appointing Michael Oren as Israel's ambassador to the United States, Israel Radio reported Saturday evening.
Oren will replace Ambassador Sallai Meridor in the coming weeks, the report said.
Meridor announced he would resign his post in March to allow the Netanyahu government "to appoint, immediately upon its formation, the man or woman of its choosing as ambassador to Washington."
Oren, author of Six Days of War, is admired by Netanyahu's staff for his expertise on the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. He has also published numerous articles on Israeli foreign policy.
Currently a professor in the Jewish civilization program at Georgetown University, and a Senior Fellow in the Shalem Center - a Jerusalem think tank, Oren has frequently served as an IDF spokesman dealing with the foreign media during recent military campaigns.
Oren was born in 1955 in upstate New York and raised in New Jersey. He moved to Israel in 1979 and enlisted in the Paratroopers Brigade. He received a Ph.D. in Near East studies from Princeton University in 1986.
During Operation Cast Lead, while on winter break from Georgetown, Oren volunteered as a military liaison officer, briefing reporters outside Gaza.
Oren also wrote Power, Faith and Fantasy, a 2007 view of US policy in the Middle East from 1776 to the present era.
US Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, welcomed the appointment, predicting that Oren would be "an outstanding ambassador for Israel, our strongest democratic partner in this troubled region."
Source: The Jerusalem Post
As always, Soccer Dad, posts most thoroughly about the Oren appointment.
The most important article about Oren is by Dan Gordon, a fine Hollywood screenwriter and an Officer in the IDF. Gordon served with Oren in two wars, and war is the ultimate measure of a man.
I do not agree with some of Oren's political positions, especially his view on Judea and Samaria, but his job is to effectively communicate the policies of the Israeli government. I believe he will be effective in this endeavor.
My Shrapnel presents this week's Haveil Havalim #215, The Best of the Jewish Blogosphere.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 09:17 AM | Comments (6)
May 01, 2009
Friday Footwear: America's Next Top Model Edition—Sorta
“Hey, cute shoes, are they new?”
“Sorta.”
“Perfect for Friday Footwear.”
I'm waiting for Offspring #2 to volunteer to pose.
And waiting.
“You wanna pose?”
“Later.”
Hmmm.
A few days later:
“Ready to pose?”
Offspring #2 heaves a weary sigh:
“In a few minutes.”
A few minutes later:
“Now?”
“O-kay.”
I grab my camera, step outside to the courtyard and look for a patch of light. Golden light to compliment the strappy golden footwear.
“Okay, lean back, back, straighten out your foot...”
“My back hurts.”
“Turn this way, lean over...”
“My shoulder hurts...”
“Hold still...”
“I'm soooo uncomfortable, daddy.”
“And you make fun of me for watching America' Next Top Model. Look how hard those girls work, think of all the pain they endure, think of their amazing sacrifices for fashion.”
“Are we finished?”
“Uh, yeah.”
Karen and I wish all our friends and relatives a lovely and meaningful Shabbat.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 08:49 AM | Comments (15)