Duh! story and headline of the week from (where else?) the Jewish Journal: Hate Crime Stats Not Always Precise

Jewry's greatest Judaic blogger, Steven I. Weiss, has been fired from the Forward. Sources at the paper say they gave up converting him from a blogger into a journalist.
 
If you'd like to weigh in with your opinion on his firing, you can email the Forward editor JJ Goldberg at Goldberg at Forward dot com, the publisher Sam Norich at norich at Forward dot com and CC your emails to Steven at mail at kosher bachelor dot com.
 
A blogger friend says: "It was inevitable.  He was biting the hand that was feeding him, in a sense refusing to be a reporter and insisting on the primacy of the blogosphere. It's the best thing that's ever happened to him. Now he can really do some good work. Wish him a mazal tov from me."

This excerpt from Weiss's blog earlier in the week:
 
AriGoesDown: i suppose i can call my friend sam norich and chat with him
AriGoesDown: can't wait
AriGoesDown: tootles
 
Steven responds: Threatening to complain to the publisher of the Forward because I won't respond to demands that I consider an impingement on long-standing ethical practice will not receive a response.
I don't respond to threats.

Jewish Journal article on Jewish writing.

My selections for Great Jewish Writers of the past century:

Sholem Aleichem, Chaim Bialik, Philip Roth, I.B. Singer, Chaim Grade, Steven I. Weiss

Above Average:

I.L. Peretz, Bernard Malamud, Allegra Goodman,

Below Average But Over-Hyped

Elie Weisel, Cynthia Ozick, Jonathan Safran Foer, Anita Diamant

Cathy Seipp is guestblogging for Eugene Volokh:

SMILE WHEN YOU SAY THAT:

Eugene's observation the other day that, contrary to current conventional p.c. wisdom, rape is a crime of sex as well as violence, reminded me of the last time I got into an argument about this. As Eugene pointed out, statistics show that rape is highest among girls and women in their late teens and early '20s — e.g., their years of prime sexual attractiveness. But for some reason, it's not considered polite to acknowledge this common sense reality. "Eight-month-old babies and 80-year-old women get raped," is the approved feminist line, which is true, they do; but these situations are freakishly horrible rather than horribly common.

I hate Abraham Foxman and I hate the ADL. Here's another reason why: Anti-Semitism isn't anti-everybody, Mr. Foxman. It's just anti-Jewish.
Abe must go.
PS. Everyone is having problems reading the comments and leaving the commets. The secret? You may have to click the "comments" about ten times, but eventually they will come up.

Is it Wrong to Ape the Appearance of Other Groups?

A friend of mine has become famous. Yet he sends out his home address with every email. I told him that was stupid.
As someone who has walked on the dark side and dealt with many dangerous people who threatened my life, I recommend this book: The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker.

An interview with political consultant Steve Rabinowitz.

Cara on civility, the shul debate, MoChassid, Velvel.

Hasid writes writes: Rabbi Helbrans's group 'Leiv tohor' was involved in a violent ongoing skirmish, with the 'Kashua' community in Monsey. Kashau, has it's own small village in Bedford Hills,NY.At the time about 6 years ago, two of the grand rabbis grandsons, today in his mid 90's, becaome involved with Helbrans.The fathers were very unhappy and claims of brainwashing were thrown around. The grand rabbi had nothing to do with the story, he is old and in ailing health.

Kashau is a serious, non violent community, so at the time it raised eyebrows, how they would be involved in a violent struggle. There was no mention of a sex scandal in the 'underground' letters (pashkevil'n, in yiddish)against or for Helbrans.(as far as i know)The family name of the Kashau dynasty is Blum.

Me writes: This was really the first time that people in the Orthodox community really started to see Helbrans for what he was. 

In the past Helbrans always had argued that any dispute he was involved in was political or some sort of power struggle.

In this case those arguments didn't work.

The first major crack in his tower of lies.

I believe the grandsons were in there teens at the time. The Kashav community had to kidnap them back late at night. It's a very interesting story (I'll ty to relate more of it) particularly when you realize it's about the Kashav community in which such stories were previously unheard of.

"The right of first night" being near the top of the list of Rabbi Helbran's misdeeds.

The Kashav community is very peaceful, non-political. In the past Helbrans always had argued that any dispute he was involved in was political or some sort of power struggle.

The chilul Hashem is the actions of people who represent themselves as Orthodox committing crimes.

The chilul Hashem is those who use the Orthodox community as a protective base from which to commit these crimes and as a safe place to prey on the vulnerable.

The chilul Hasem is the utter silence of our leaders and institutions.

The chilul Hashem is the Lanners, Helbrans and Bryks who are welcome in our
community while their victims are harrassed and silenced.

The chilul Hashem is arroagant articles like this one by our leaders rather than action to clean up our community.

Anti-Orthodox Bias Pervades The Press
Schick, Marvin. The New York Jewish Week. (Manhattan edition). New York, N.Y.: Jun 13, 1997. Vol. 210, Iss. 7; pg. 24

I believe that a gentile whose perception of Orthodox Jews was formed through a reading of Jewish publications, including this newspaper, would have ample reason to conclude that this is a gutter religion. There would be no need to rely on Louis Farrakhan's hateful preachings or on latent feelings of anti-Semitism in the general society. Support would be provided by the hundreds of anti-Orthodox articles and columns published during the past year alone and in the extraordinary vilification of the Orthodox expressed by key Reform and Conservative leaders.

I do not make this charge lightly. It isn't easy or pretty to say that our publications are biased or that a culture of anti-Orthodox prejudice has been incorporated into the fabric of American Jewish life. Bigotry never has a pretty face, certainly not for those who are its targets. The time has come to challenge what has come to be accepted, to say that a community that would like to be thought of as liberal and tolerant has become accustomed to sending out hate messages.

Re Balkany using Cherem as a weapon:
Republican Rabbi Tries New Political Tactic: Jeffrey Goldberg Reports on Plan to Haul Moynihan Aide Before a Beit Din
Forward. New York, N.Y.: Jan 14, 1994. Vol. LXXXXVII, Iss. 30,958; pg. 1

NEW YORK -- Milton Balkany, an Orthodox rabbi and a prominent Republican fund-raiser, may have discovered a most unorthodox way to lobby recalcitrant senators -- sue their top aides in rabbinical court.

Rabbi Balkany, who is widely believed to use his influence in Republican circles to seek aid for Orthodox institutions here and in Israel, said he has been upset in recent days with the activities of David Luchins, Sen. Moynihan's senior assistant and point man on Jewish affairs. Last month, the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada issued a hazmana, or summons, to Mr. Luchins, ordering him to appear before the group's rabbinic court, or beit din, to face unspecified charges by Rabbi Balkany. The rabbi says that Mr. Luchins, who is Orthodox, is committing a "grave injustice" to the Orthodox community, but he refused to disclose why he believes this to be so. For his part, Mr. Luchins says Rabbi Balkany blames him -- incorrectly -- for blocking the rabbi's requests for Mr. Moynihan's help in securing aid for his projects.

Jew vs. Jew

The case of Balkany v. Luchins may be a first -- there is apparently little precedent in the annals of rabbinic jurisprudence for one Jew to sue another over his political activities on behalf of an elected official. Rabbi Balkany says that the issue isn't so much about specific legislation as it is about Mr. Luchins' general attitude toward Orthodox causes. As Mr. Moynihan's gatekeeper on a wide range of issues affecting the Jewish community, Mr. Luchins has long been an influential player in Orthodox affairs. He serves as a vice president of the Orthodox Union and has a broad range of contacts in Jewish groups, Orthodox and otherwise. But he is also a liberal -- or a "leftist," as he prefers -- in an Orthodox community that is ever-more conservative, and his tart tongue has often landed him in the center of controversy, including the one surrounding Jonathan Pollard, the former intelligence analyst convicted of spying for Israel. Unlike many Orthodox leaders, Mr. Luchins has taken a hard-line on Pollard's activities on behalf of Israel.

`He Does Great Harm'

"We have grave concern with a lot of things is doing in the Jewish community under the auspices of being a senior staff member of Sen. Moynihan's," Rabbi Balkany told the Forward this week. He did not say to whom the "we" referred. "Whenever an issue comes to his attention, he gets involved and does great harm."

New Breed

Rabbi Balkany says he hopes the beit din will order Mr. Luchins, in essence, to behave himself in a way more acceptable to Rabbi Balkany and other rabbis. Like Mr. Luchins, Rabbi Balkany is a powerhouse in the Orthodox community, and a controversial one, too. He is part of a new breed of independent Orthodox activists who raise large amounts of funds for friendly legislators and then lobby those legislators, in his case, Republicans, for grants to schools and other programs. It was Rabbi Balkany who was behind an ill-fated attempt last year to extract $25 million from the Defense Department budget for Jewish programs in the former Soviet Union. Mr. Luchins said he was not involved in scuttling that request.

Rabbi Balkany adamantly refused to discuss his exact grievances, except to mention comments by Mr. Luchins that were critical of Pollard. But the rabbi did say that his complaint against Mr. Luchins was not motivated by bitterness over specific deals with which Mr. Luchins may have been involved.

"He's hurting individuals and hurting communities," Rabbi Balkany said. "He thinks he has a direct link to Sinai. I haven't accepted his word as God's word yet."

Mr. Luchins, his tart tongue in evidence, noted that "Jewish tradition says that every Jewish soul was at Sinai, and I assume Rabbi Balkany's was there also. We may not have met because he might have been in the back, collecting money."

`Need for Scapegoat'

Mr. Luchins said that Rabbi Balkany, who has raised money in the Orthodox community for several senators, including Alphonse D'Amato of New York and the Senate minority leader, Bob Dole of Kansas, may simply feel stymied by the change in administration.

"I think he's frustrated because he had access to the previous White House and he doesn't have that with this one, so he's taking it out on us," Mr. Luchins said. "I'm not aware of any decision I've made in the senator's office or any advice I have given that has impinged on Rabbi Balkany's political or financial situation. He apparently feels a need to find a scapegoat for his own loss of influence in the new administration."

`Intimidation Attempt'

Orthodox leaders contacted for comment were wary of speaking for the record; the beit din's administrator, Hersh Ginsberg, declined to comment, saying only that "this doesn't belong in the newspaper."

"Maybe eventually you'll have to put it in if a person gets a seruv if he doesn't go to the ," Rabbi Ginsberg said. A seruv is an order issued by a rabbinic court designed to isolate a person from the Jewish community. Under such an order, a person would not be counted as part of a prayer minyan, for instance.

Mr. Luchins has not yet responded to the summons, saying he must consult with his own rabbi, Aaron Soloveichik, the widely respected scholar, as well as the Senate Ethics Committee. Mr. Luchins said he offered to meet Rabbi Balkany in the presence of Rabbi Soloveichik. A spokesman for the senator, who is highly popular in the Orthodox community, could not be reached for comment.

Mr. Luchins said Mr. Moynihan's office would see Rabbi Balkany's summons as an "intimidation" attempt.

"This seems to be an effort to get me to use my position with the senator to further Rabbi Balkany's own political, financial and communal agenda," he said. Referring to the Orthodox senator from Connecticut, Mr. Luchins said, "What next? If Senator Lieberman doesn't cooperate with Rabbi Balkany, does he try to excommunicate him? Where do you draw the line?"

Shmarya writes: R. Avigdor Miller quotes:

On John Lennon, the week of his murder. "The bullet came too late."

On students, in particular Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry:
"Nothing good ever came from a student."

On goyyim:
"They serve a purpose. After all, we need truck drivers and bus drivers. . . ."

What a great man.

Leave Israel Alone: Stop With the Inane Blogging
The Talmud in Beitzah (30a) (and in a slightly different context at the end of Perek Chezkas) tells us that one should “leave Israel alone, it is better that they should be inadvertent (sinners), and not intentional (sinners).” This famous line means that one shouldn’t press any halachic issue if people will not listen. In effect, this delimits the idea of tochacha, or rebuke. Indeed, the Talmud in Yevamos that “just as it is a mitzvah to say something (in rebuke) that will be listened to, it is a mitzvah not to say something (in rebuke) that will not be listened to.”

The Not-So-Magic Touch (The Rambam)
The first and most compelling reason to be shomer is because it’s an explicit Rambam. The Rambam writes that there is a prohibition to “come close” to any one of the forbidden relationships. Your girlfriend, unless she is a concubine, is one of the forbidden relationships.[1] As we shall soon see, the Rambam assumes that this is a Torah-level prohibition.

Rav Avigdor Miller: The Later Years

My Heart Unhinged by Robert J. Avrech

MoChassid and Velvel tells JBloggers to peace out.

It has been 70 years since Bialik has died. Israel's (or the Hebrew language's) national poet, Bialik along with Agnon are the only two literary figures of the past century who hold a certain moral authority in Israel. Bialik was a fascinating figure, a great poet not only of the Hebrew language, but as Robert Alter has demonstrated, a great modernist poet.

Moral Lives or Technical Lives?

Charles, his brother Murray and sisters Linda and Esther were pillars of the Jewish community in New Jersey and flowing fountains of philanthropy for hospitals and Israel and schools and social programs.

"I know it is a cliché, but he is a pillar of the community," said Dave Twersky, a former editor of The New Jersey Jewish Press.

With immigration to Israel down sharply in recent years, a charter flight delivered nearly 400 new arrivals from the United States and Canada on Wednesday as part of an expanding program that has been luring middle-class Jews from North America.

Rob Eshman, editor of the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles, writes: "I just read Gene’s [previous editor] interview with you. Really interesting. I can’t imagine that outside of me, you and Gene anyone would be interested, but I appreciate your doing it. Gene is thoughtful and independent, and much of what is good about the paper was his doing. BTW, he was wrong on most, if not all, the facts concerning my family and its Rothschildean wealth. But as we sat around the 17th century Carerra marble mantle piece in the family library on the ancestral Eshman manse next door to the Heinz’s little place, we all had a good, rich laugh."

A Jewish activist from San Francisco who was barred from entering Israel said Tuesday that her arrest has strengthened her resolve to fight for Palestinian rights, and Bay Area colleagues said her detention is part of a campaign to crack down on a group undertaking a summerlong protest of Israeli policies.

Leah writes: Check the photo from this SF chronicle article, they look very very frum but they support the Anti Israel/Pro terrorist ISM.

AriGoesDown pulls a Benyamin Cohen on Steven Weiss.

I've had several Jewish journalists call or email me following Benyamin's tantrum Sunday to assure me that when we do our interview, they won't go Benyamin Cohen on me, and that all in all, they think I've done some good work on this project.

It began as a quiet family feud within a massive real estate empire, a fight that split apart two brothers in an angry series of recriminations and lawsuits that eventually led to a federal investigation.

Shidduch Dating: Has the Orthodox Dating Scene Reached a Crisis?

Velvel's Update on the Breakaway Minyan.

Cara responds again and again

Satellite Minyanim

I've decided to turn Protocols into all MoChassid all the time.

MoChassid is tired of ME, Shmarya and their ilk hijacking thoughtful discussions with their single-minded (simple minded?) agenda.
Frankly, I'm just glad for the action. Content with my lot, as Pirkei Arvot says.

"The biggest obstacle we face, obviously, is my stupidity. I think that Madonna, of all people, should appear in every issue of Jewsweek. We are thus having financial difficulties. We're working on a shoestring budget. But to be totally honest with you, I'm surprised that we have any budget at all."

VIENNA, AUSTRIA -- Child pornography and photos of young priests having sex have been discovered at a Roman Catholic seminary, officials said Monday, leading politicians and church leaders to demand a criminal investigation and the resignation of the bishop in charge.

Joe Schick writes Luke: "Does it bother you that the USY scandal and the [Sheldon] Zimmerman scandal were ignored by the Jewish media?"

I don't know anything about the USY scandal. I feel bad when I'm not up to date on a sex scandal among the Jews.

I thought the Zimmmerman affair was covered extensively. It was made clear that the indiscretions were not owith minors and that Sheldon did not "prey" on people. Yes, I would've liked more details, but it seemed obvious that it was consensual activity between adults, and hence not a big deal.

What is most important in matters such as these is that they be covered accurately and in good taste. I think this is the best article I've seen on Sheldon Zimmerman and HUC.

I think it is philo-Semitism when the news media hold Israel and Jews accountable to a higher moral standard. I had no quarrel with Gregg Easterbrook's remarks (except that they were clumsy and poorly argued) about Hollywood Jews such as Michael Eisner and Harvey Weinstein should know better than to traffic in violent filth such as Kill Bill.

Me writes: The CCAR investigated. Zimmerman resigned from the presidency of Hebrew Union College after the Central Conference of American Rabbis' seven-member ethics committee found him guilty of sexual misconduct. He was suspended from the CCAR for two years.

It's general knowledge that he sexually exploited women for years. He counselled them, knew their vulnerabilities and troubles and took advantage of them. Unfortunately, many States still don't have laws that protect people from religious charlatons like Zimmerman. They should.

This type of sexual exploitation is very common in all religious denominations. None have taken the simple steps that would eliminate such predators. A complete ban on one-on-one counselling by clergy and a total and permanent removal of offenders from leadership positions.

Zimmerman case is not so different from similar cases in the Orthodox Rabbinic community.

A prominant Orthodox Rabbinical organization has recently hired the same risk management company the Catholic Church uses to try to deal with a prominant current member doing similar things.

Luke says: Has anyone considered that Rabbi Sheldon's sexual congresses with these women might have been conducive to their spiritual growth?

I'm trying to think of subtitles for my book JEWISH JOURNALISM. How about:
* When EJ Met JJ
* Is it Good for the Jews?
* The Big Snore
* Profiles in Courage
* On Bended Knee
* 'I lost my courage with my foreskin'
* Jews for Journalism (Me)
* A Fair and Balanced Look at Jewish Media Scum (JJ)
* Blown Away

Shmarya suggests:

*We ignore. You decide.
*A press release is a many splendored thing.
*All the obituaries fit to print.
*Federation raises record donations, erases Jewish poverty, heals sick, cares for elderly and brings peace to the Middle East, volume 37, issue 13
*A shonde for the Yidden

How will New Jersey Jewish News and editor Andy Silow-Carroll handle this story?

The Federation, which owns the paper, will say, don't cover it. Charles Kushner and his Orthodox family are good for about $200,000 in donations each year.

Journalistic instincts say you must cover it.

Former editor David Twersky must be thrilled to no longer be at his post at the paper and in the safe arms of the American Jewish Congress.

...........

New Jersey's Gov. James E. McGreevey's top fund-raiser, Charles Kushner, has been charged with hampering a federal investigation.

Prosecutors said Tuesday that Kushner wanted the prostitute videotaped with a witness in the investigation. The U.S. attorney's office did not elaborate.

U.S. Attorney Chris Christie said Kushner hired a New York City call girl and two other individuals for $25,000. Christie said Kushner sent the witness' wife a videotape of the witness and the call girl having sex.

Kushner is charged with conspiracy, obstructing a federal investigation and promoting interstate prostitution.

...............

Here are two previous stories the New Jersey Jewish News have done on Charles Kushner:

New Jersey Nets story

Builder may bid on Israel bank

Google "Charles Kushner" and "orthodox" and you get 19 results, some interesting.

Charles Kushner founded a yeshiva:

Charles Kushner, who founded the Academy in honor of his parents, ensured that this 225,000 square-foot structure leaves visitors in awe. The interior glass ceilings and walls in many classrooms, labs, common spaces and the library provide an aesthetic and cheerful home to its students.

“He [Charles Kushner] built a facility that people just marvel at,” said Rabbi Scot A. Berman, the principal of the Kushner Yeshiva High School, one of the two divisions of the school—the other being the Kushner Academy serving the elementary and middle school grades. “Many institutions come visit us to gain new ideas.”

Joe Schick writes: How do you know Kushner is Orthodox? Because he founded an Orthodox yeshiva in memory of his parents? That doesn't mean anything.

In any event, what does Kushner's religious affiliation have to do with the allegations? What does this story have to do with Jews generally or Orthodox Jews particularly? If Kushner were involved in the day-to-day activities of a Jewish school or shul, it would be one thing, but all indications are that he serves as a donor, board member, etc.

Luke says: When an Orthodox Jew commits a legal and sexual sin, it is more newsworthy than when a secular person does it. An Orthodox Jew, by definition, is expected to live up to certain standards. It's a bigger deal when an Israeli soldier beats a Palestinian than when Arabs murder 10,000 Palestinians. Because people have higher moral expectations for Jews than for non-Jews, and for Orthodox Jews more than non-Orthodox Jews. This is elementary, my dear Watson.

I know Charles Kushner is Orthodox. The biggest Jewish day school in this part of New Jersey is named for Charles Kushner's father. The biggest Modern Orthodox synagogue is named for his father. Charles Kushner and his brother and his sister and her husband form a powerful philanthropic network. They're all liberal Modern Orthodox.

Charles Kushner is extremely political. Jewish journalists are careful not to cross him. He's a major player in New Jersey Jewish life and in New Jersey political life.

His particular method of political fundraising is an undetermined part of the law having to do with partnerships. He claims he has written permission from partners to give on their behalf political contributions. He bundles all the contributions from all the partnerships he general-partners in. They don't even know what he's doing but he claims he has it in writing.

Charles Kushner paid an $508,900 federal elections fine last week. This could devastate the governor of the state.

Kushner and his family and relations are pillars of the community. When pillars of the Orthodox community are charged with hiring a hooker to have sex with someone and tape the interaction, it's particularly juicy.

A good Jewish paper would cover these stories about Charles Kushner.

Me writes: Kushner is a Member of Board of Trustees Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy. Whether he is actually involved in the "in the day-to-day activities of a Jewish school", I do not know.

But as a legal trustee, I believe he has a legal responsibility for the "day-to-day activities" at this institution.

Did the NJ Jewish News ever do a story about Kushner's illegal campaign contributions settlement earlier this month?

[Nope.]

Jewish leaders speak out in support of Charles Kushner
By Silverstein, Marilyn.
Metro West Jewish News. Whippany: Mar 20, 2003. Vol. LVII, Iss. 12; pg. 8

Excerpts:
..
"In addition to his support for UJC MetroWest, Kushner is known as a generous supporter of Orthodox institutions, among other causes. He serves on the boards of the Rabbinical College of America in Morristown, the Stern College for Women of Yeshiva University in New York, the Daughters of Israel Geriatric Center in West Orange, Touro College in New York, and the Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy in Livingston, which he founded in honor of his parents."

...
"To the best of my knowledge, Charles Kushner and his family are charitable and deeply involved in the running of the school," he said. "They are certainly pillars of the Orthodox community in New Jersey and nationally. I don't think there's an Orthodox institution in Essex or Union county that hasn't benefited from their charity."

......

Joe Schick writes: Kushner's activities have nothing to do with his role in Jewish life."

Me writes: Actually, they do. He basically uses his influence/position in the Jewish community to interact with prominant politicans and raise his political profile:

see:
Gore: Life's messages apparent if you search
by Brauner, Lori Silberman. MetroWest Jewish News. Whippany: Jun 10, 1999. Vol. LIII, Iss. 23; pg. 16
...
"Gore was the latest government leader to visit the modern Orthodox day school, which is named after the father of Charles Kushner, a Democratic Party contributor. Among the politicians who have visited are New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (a Republican), United States Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and President Bill Clinton, who met with JKHA and KYHS student council members at the Kushner Companies offices in Florham Park in 1997 while attending a Democratic fund raiser."
...

He than uses that position to gain more political connections and allegedly divert money to his own pockets/interests:

Jewish leaders speak out in support of Charles Kushner
By Silverstein, Marilyn.
Metro West Jewish News. Whippany: Mar 20, 2003. Vol. LVII, Iss. 12; pg. 8

During Charles Kushner's months of service on the board of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said his brother-in-law Murray Laulicht, Kushner was deeply involved with the committee that eventually selected Berlin-based architect Daniel Libeskind's soaring plan for the 16-acre World Trade Center site.

"It's fascinating that a European child of survivors and an American child of survivors were so intimately involved in trying to rebuild the damage wrought by mass murderers," said Laulicht, a Florham Park attorney who is a past president of the United Jewish Communities of MetroWest New Jersey and a past chair of the NJ Commission on Holocaust Education.

"By all accounts, he was making very important contributions -- not only in connection with the World Trade Center rebuilding project but also with many other projects involving transportation. it is unfortunate that because of the pressure of politics, he felt compelled to withdraw. Unfortunately, in trying to get Gov. McGreevey, they shot Charlie."

Laulicht is just one of a number of Jewish observers who are speaking out in support of Kushner in the wake of the multimillionaire real-estate developer's Feb. 26 resignation from the Port Authority under a cloud of questions over his contributions to political campaigns. His resignation came just one year after Gov. James E. McGreevey appointed him to the authority and less than two months before his expected confirmation as its chair.

Other members of the Jewish community also praised the 48-year-old Kushner, who has a long record of philanthropic involvement. A board member of UJC MetroWest and a member of Achim, those who donate to the United Jewish Appeal at the highest level, he was appointed by former President Bill Clinton to serve on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council in Washington, DC.

A major contributor to Democratic campaign coffers in New Jersey, Kushner is chair of the Florham Park-based Kushner Companies. Swirling within the cloud of questions around him is an unresolved lawsuit brought by his brother, Murray, and Robert Yontef, a former accountant at the Kushner Companies, charging that he diverted company funds for his personal and political use without the knowledge of his partners. A federal inquiry into the matter is under way.

I chat with Marc S. Klein (55 yo), editor and publisher of j. the Jewish News Weekly of Northern California, Monday morning, July 12.

Eishetish1 writes on FrumSex: This, was in yeshiva (so was I) is what is referred to as a fetish. Some people are into feet. And some people are totally turned on by the idea of whats broadcast on the outside being so different than on the inside. The more tznius the better. Probably the more chassidishe the better. Am I right guys?

Haaretz has a provocative piece by Sefi Rachelevsky on the Nebenzahl Affair. His message in a nutshell is a call for the reformation of Orthodox Judaism.

A bunch of dumb goyim jumped on us here in the comments for the excellent Jewish Journal cover story on traffic as a Jewish issue. A kiddish HaShem, I told them the Chosen Ones did not care for their opinions as we don't tell them they were all fooled by a nebish from Nazareth.

However bad you believe Jewish papers to be, they are leagues above their Catholic and Protestant newspaper counterparts (they are really newsletters).

A chat with Jewish journalist David Twersky.

Matt Dorf served as Washington bureau chief for JTA for almost five years (1994-99). An interview.

Miriam cranks out great stuff, including this critique of Haredi culture:
a. The complete disregard haredim have for the 'secular' world, which includes secular rules, even when they concern health and safety and are for their own benefit;
b. The haredim's complete unfamiliarity with the natural world and with the countryside of the very country they live in. When they venture out of their own communities once a year on their annual trip into nature, they seem to assume no harm can come to them in today's day and age and show complete ignorance of the very real danger nature still poses;
c. The ad-hoc way many of the schools are still run.
As a quick PR cover-up the school has offered to buy the rescue team a piece of equipment, and the girls are sending them a totally embarrasing piece of "poetry," which includes the lines:

Rabbi Gadol says: What everybody misses about Lubavitch is the nature of the Lubavitch franchise system. Everyone thinks the issue is the Rebbe being Moshiach? Obviously that is a theological issue.

The Rebbe put them in a Catch 22. He repeated since 1951 that this is the seventh generation from the founder of Lubavitch. This is the generation that the Shechina will be brought down totally, ending the galut, just like Moshe Rabbeinu, the seventh generation from Avraham, brought down the shechina.

This teaching became more pronounced through the 1980s. Starting in 1990, the rebbe started mentioning it weekly at his fabrengen. Some would be public and recorded on video and audio tape.
When his wife died in 1988, he stopped speaking on weekdays. Instead, he spoke every Shabbos.

By 1990, he's not well. He's talking about moshiach and it being the seventh generation. He starts throwing out hints that would mean nothing to a non-Lubavitcher. He'd talk about his father-in-law being nasi hador (leader of the generation) - a unique Lubavitch spin on the Gadol Hador system.

Through references to his father-in-law, he created the idea that there was a single leader for each generation (whether or not the people Israel recognize their leader). Once he gives this mantle to his father-in-law, it then applies to him, Rebbe Menahem Schneerson. That is how it sounds to his Lubavitch followers. If he speaks about his father-in-law as the Moshe Rabbenu of his generation, he is really claiming to be the Moshe Rabbenu of his generation. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more.

The Rebbe's death in that context is not acceptable. His death does not fit his words. That's the conundrum and there is no way out. Some will say he hasn't died. There has to be some way for him to live on or the whole system falls apart.

Only a small number of Lubavitch believe he is still alive in some form. The conundrum is movement-wide.

The press are not aware of this. Much of the Lubavitch braintrust, the heads of yeshivot in Israel, get a perverse pleasure of the world thinking they're nuts.

Every year, the rebbe would talk on his father-in-law's yahrzeit would talk about him being still alive (even though in writing he would use the usual suffixes to indicate that someone was dead).

When the Lubavitchers want to know how to treat the deceased Rebbe, they look to how the Rebbe treated his father-in-law. The masses of Lubavitch do not think much about these issues.
For more, see www.chabadtalk.com.

Chabad set up a strict franchising system in the 1950s and early '60s. So, for example, R. Shlomo Cunin got California. I think R. Cunin invented the term "Chabad House" in the 1970s and the Rebbe liked it.

At some point, it became a full franchising authority. Anybody who wants to open a Chabad House in California has to go through R. Cunin. This has been a stifler of the Chabad emissary movement.

Any rabbi who has stepped into a community where a Chabad rabbi established a shul first, he will feel the heat. The Chabad franchising establishment affects non-Lubavitch Orthodox Jews.

Every territory has a head Chabad rabbi who can fire and get rid of any other Chabad rabbi in his territory.

This has torn the Chicago Lubavitch community apart. A girls school opened. The head of the Lubavitch franchise said you are not allowed to open the school. It caused divisiveness. They then opened up a boys school. It did not succeed. Now the parents want to send their boys back to the regular Chabad school. The head of Chabad in Illinois says that I am not going to allow any boy into the regular Chabad school who has a sister at the breakaway school.

Chicagoanash.com is operated by the breakway girls school. It's an acronym for men who are at peace with one another.

These strong-arm tactics are being used in Los Angeles, New York and elsewhere. Since the Rebbe died, there's no balance to the power of franchising. For all the good a Rabbi Cunin has done, there are Chabadniks in California who will point out an equal depth of problems.

A few comments on the comments:

1) Yes the breakaway group in Chicago are messianists. And that alone is frustrating to me, who despises their ersatz theology. But the point remains that these tactics would have been used, and are used in many franchises, where messianism is not the issue.

2) The Crown Heights Moshiach split has more to do with money than it does with moshiach. It's just that the moshiach/rebbe is alive stuff gives a "prinicipled", theological excuse to break away from the national institutions. They're dealing with tens of millions of dollars there.

3) someone wrote:

"I will point out one error and gross exageration, which will serve as a lesson for the entire post: "This has been a stifler of the Chabad emissary movement."

What the hell? an increase of 100% in shluchim is considered stifling?!"

Luke, YES, YES, and again YES. The Rebbe's influence is so far-reaching that it should be greater. But it's more than the numbers. One has to look at WHERE the numbers are increasing. It is true that there is now an emissary in Zimbabwe or Congo, with a combined Jewish population of 23. But while the PR machine pats itself on the back for the increased Chabad presence in Central Africa, Melbourne or LA remain controlled by the franchise system and an independent shaliach cannot go there, because it is so-and-so's territory. Or Michigan.

I have tried for 6 years to encourage shalichim to go to City X. And nobody will touch it with a fifty-mile pole because it is in Rabbi Q's territory and nobody wants to deal with him. They wouldn't HAVE to deal with him if not for this franchise system's strictness. Buffalo is torn apart by this.

CAVEAT: I love Chabad and I revere the Rebbe. I know they have grown in the last ten years. I point out to Luke areas of failure that kept them from growing more.

Did Yori Yanover called Bush a Nazi during 2000?

Yori replies: Actually, it has been established that his grandfather, Prescott Bush, was a Hitler sympathizer and close friend and associate of German banker Fritz Thyssen.

Senator Byrd, incidentally, compared the Bush tacytics to Nazi propaganda -- on the floor of the Senate.

So, is GW a Nazi? Not if you're writing a serious essay on the topic. But if you're blogging away -- boy, he got some funny roots if you ask me.

Trading tomorrow to eat today. In the shriveled Jewish Journal of Los Angeles, the search for food is constant.

In response to my email about this, Yori Yanover replies: Anonymous postings are a disquieting thing, but for the record:

I was never a staff writer for the Forward. I happened to be in Israel while the Bar Ilan conference was on and pitched the story to ALL the Jewish newspapers, including Marc Klein's SF Jewish Bulletin and to the Jewish Week. The Forward published a disclaimer by David Berger, the story's subject, the following week.

As to my Lubavitch ties, at the time the piece was written, I was no longer working for LNS. But I certainly attended many events as LNS employee, including sitting at the LNS table at the JTA anniversary which JJ Goldberg attended (we went down to the subway together afterwords). But my ties with Lubavitch were a well-known fact which I never tried to conceal.

From Fiddish: Editor Andrew Silow-Carrol responds to Benyamin Cohen of Jewsweek on the AJPA listserv:

A number of us have been interviewed by Ford. He is a character, but I found that, after posting a transcript of our interview on his web site, he was open to my corrections and amendations and quickly changed the transript to reflect them. And because he posts the full transcript, there's no defense that any of us were quoted "out of context." Ford clearly has his point of view -- he thinks Jewish journalism is lousy and wants those in the profession to explain why. But so far, the interviews -- with Larry Cohler-Esses, Rob Eshman, Jonathan Sarna, Michael Berennbaum, and others -- make for fascinating and sometimes sobering reading about the state of the profession. I also think it is never a bad idea for journalists to experience what it feels to be on the other end of an interview. So I'll have to disagree with Binyamin -- take Ford's call, weigh your words carefully, and enjoy the debate that he is engendering with his project.

Andrew Silow-Carroll Editor in Chief New Jersey Jewish News

Here's the email Benyamin Cohen of Jewsweek.com sent out about me to all editors of Jewish publications in the AJPA (American Jewish Press Association). He did not have the courage to share it with me. I found it on the Forward blog of Steven I. Weiss, who owns this site and brought me on months ago as a guest blogger. Steven has written for Jewsweek.

Benyamin writes:

To all editors,

If you have not already, you will probably be contacted soon by a guy named Luke Ford, a writer from Los Angeles. He is currently writing a book about Jewish journalism and is asking for interviews with several AJPA members.

Like some of you, I agreed to be interviewed by him. In a transcript he showed me of our conversation, he ended up taking my words out of context and later started acting very discourteous and unprofessional.

Besides this Jewish journalism project, he's been involved in some shady projects in the past (some pornographic, some evenagelical, etc.)

I would highly reccomend to anyone who has yet to speak with him to NOT DO SO. You may come, like I have, to regret it later.

All the best,
Benyamin Cohen
Editor, Jewsweek Magazine
http://www.jewsweek.com

..........

Luke writes Steven Weiss: Steven, I could not have put it any better myself. I am happy to share with you any of the email in question to establish their veracity, as well as the tape of the interview with Benyamin to show that nothing was taken out of context and I was courteous (contrary to Benyamin's allegations).

A chat with Israeli-born journalist and comic Yori Yanover.

Chaim Amalek writes: "Luke, you know what a whiny, spoiled, and preening bunch Jews are. So why did you let yourself get derailed over something as minor as changing "sucks" to "stinks"? I mean, it's not as though you had him on tape admitting to using a Lulav to anally pleasure the Satmar Rebbe, and he wanted to change that to a discussion of world economics. You need to think like a Jew -- and we are a nebbishy, physically timid lot who are reduced to fighting with lawyers and tongues and emails. You came on too strong, and I think I while I would not have made a stink over stinks, I might have told you to go f--- off. Off the record, of course."

Three prison inmates who practice Orthodox Judaism (all convicted sex offenders) want the Oklahoma Department of Corrections to pay for them to eat kosher meals.
Luke says: Though it is easy to make fun of the inmates, their request does not bother me.

An interview with Benyamin Cohen of Jewsweek.com. Afterwards, we got into a nasty fight because I wouldn't change his word "sucks" to "stinks." So he emailed all editors of Jewish papers to warn them about me. Quite amusing.

A chat with Larry Yudelson. He posts on Protocols frequently as "Reb Yudel" and writes this superb blog. Here's one of his latest posts:

You mean anyone can be a nudnik now?

What struck me in the Jewish Week's article The New Diarists: Inside the expanding universe of Jewish blogs was the question posed by the subhead:
"Are they a challenge to the establishment or the rantings of eccentrics?"
Anyone who has covered the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations knows that "establishment" and "rantings of eccentrics" are not an either/or pair. Someone at the Jewish Week needs to get out more.

From Robert Avrech's blog:
A few hours later, I receive a phone call from an old friend who is going through a terrible time in his life. He has read Seraphic Secret for the first time and he asks me:
"Why are you doing this?"
"What do you mean?"
"It's so...so...intimate. It's not like you."
"Well, I'm not me, anymore."
"It's so, so, so horribly revealing, and painful."
"Yup."
"Do you find that it's healing for you?"
Luke says: People frequently feel uncomfortable when you change. I remember how uncomfortable many of my friends were when I converted to Judaism. Later friends became very uncomfortable about some of the subject matter I wrote about and how that changed me.
Writers, particularly screenwriters, are more sensitive to the turning points in a human life, experiences such as the death of a loved one, that forever change you.
Those who write hoping that their friends and family will read them are usually going to be disappointed.
I remember when I'd worked for a year on my autobiography. I offered it to my sister to read. "Why would I want to read that?" she responded. "I already know your life."
Friends and family tend to believe that they know you so well that you are not particularly interesting.
It's a foolish notion to believe that you already know someone's life unless that person is dull or is someone that you sleep with every night.
The people you pray with in shul are usually very different from the people you most want to talk about life with.

Bombing in Tel Aviv. Not a good way to start the morning.

Adam R Davis (brother of the very hot Carin) on Velvel's shul: "More Minyanim means more Jews doing Jewish more often. That's good. So to the fellas at that new Minyan, and to those other minyan leaders out there, 'Shkoyach."