This week’s Forward had an editorial supporting expanded hate-crimes legislation. The Forward is usually responsible about noting the reasons why people differ from their editorial position, but they omitted the most important one as to why some of us do not support hate-crimes legislation, and in fact, prefer it be repealed, and perhaps replaced with extra sentencing for unprovoked attacks.

I do not support hate-crimes legislation because there are serious concerns over implementation on a fair and consistent level. I believe it is just as bad if someone harms a person because he is a white Christian as it is to harm a person because he is black or gay. Now, I have no doubt that the Forward believes the same thing.

So I am disappointed that the Forward did not even discuss this issue. Because there is a real concern that hate-crimes are being selectively enforced to protect only “minorities,� and are not being enforced the same way for the assailants of whites that are targeted by those who, well, hate white people.

And perhaps, this is the problem with special legislation protecting minorities in the first place. It suggests that hatred towards regular white people isn’t as bad somehow.

It’s just as bad, it most certainly happens, and it may be happening more than we would like to publicly admit. And there certainly appears to be reluctance to prosecute it as such.

We live in an era where we literally pump money into regimes whose interest it is to destroy the Zionist Entity, and pretty much any city in the West. The pumps are needles, feeding our addiction. In the U.S., only NYC has successfully resisted the oil addiction in a significant way. The blood-oil money supports terrorism, and supports the growth of fundamentalist Islam. It also—by the way–destroys our environment. It is destroying our environment quite quickly. On the bright side, oil money will probably lead to funding fundamentalist regimes successfully acquiring full-scale nuclear programs a few years before we really feel the full environmental repercussions of our petro-based economy.

So anyway, it is only natural and responsible that Big Aish is concerned…about Nazi Germany. Rabbi Yaakov Salomon explains why he is boycotting any product made in today’s democratic Germany.
This is Big Aish’s version of socially responsible living. This is how Rabbi Salomon expresses his concern for the West and for the Jewish people. He personally boycotts…not today’s Saudi Arabia, but 1940’s Germany.

If Big Aish had a responsible bone in its body, it would at the very least be advocating for a mass transit agenda, sufficient bike paths in every city, and alternative energy. It would explain the apparently oh-so-difficult to understand reality that increased fundamentalist power (from oil proceeds) is bad both for Jews, and for the West. Even for those in the West unconcerned with Jews.

But no, no, no. Clearly, God will take care of that without any hishtadulus (effort) on our part. No need for that. Haredim don’t do hishtadlus. Not today. That’s for the godless secular Jews, and “the modern.” Instead, as fundamentalist Holocaustians, Aish’s rabbi chose classic victimology with zero payoff, except to justify continued resentment with his public “personal” boycott which accomplishes…nothing.

Look at this nonsense — they show the problem — they show automobiles…and Big Aish’s only concern is that they are made in Germany. Unbelievable. Just unbelievable.

Rabbi Salomon wants to know what other Jews feel, not just think, about his very public “personal” boycott.

I feel he is being foolish. I feel both he and Big Aish are irresponsible.

Rabbi Jill Jacobs writes on Jspot,

In general, I tend to like Joseph. After all, he’s our best biblical example of a Jew who takes a leadership position in the non-Jewish world and remains out as a Jew while caring for the world around him.

I don’t agree that he was really “out as a Jew.� After all, even his own brothers didn’t seem to fully understand he was Jewish. Rather, Joseph worked, he dressed like an Egyptian and spoke the language fluently and flawlessly, he was integrated (and high-ranking) in Egyptian society, but he remained a committed Jew.

He was, essentially, Modern Orthodox.

This can be seen as well in his rebuke, “I am Joseph, is my father still alive?�

Joseph’s concern includes the question, “Is the Normative Judaism of my father still alive in you, or were you consumed by the intolerant haredi fundamentalism that drove you to sell me into slavery and to almost kill me?”

Good Shabbos!

I have a couple of female friends I have known awhile now. They had a party recently. I knew it was going to be a macher scene, and my friend who doesn’t know this crowd as well as I do was anxious about possibly running into an ex-girlfriend. So we figured we would get a little baked before we went, to take the edge off once there.

That turned out to be a very, very bad call. The place was packed…packed beyond belief. How many frat boys can you get into a telephone booth in the 50’s packed. You just couldn’t get in. And it was loud.

During this time, I caught the separate side-glances of a couple of friends. The two women I have known for awhile. But they didn’t stop to wave or anything. To be fair, it was their party, and that makes it more difficult.

But a different woman screamed when she saw me. Demanded I come over right way. I couldn’t help but feel the contrast.

My buddy was freaking out, and wanted to grab a bite, and felt he had to leave RIGHT NOW. I was pretty hungry myself, perhaps in no small part because of the evening’s earlier activities.

Before we left, I said hello to one of the two women, but I felt she didn’t really want to be interrupted with her conversation, and that she wasn’t all that happy to see me. She didn’t mind or anything, she just felt no particular pleasure that I was there. She could take me or leave me, and under the circumstances, when there were other people she preferred to talk to, well…

I left with the hard truth. We have a past, and we have known each other for awhile. Not a romantic past, an overall decent past, with building and fights, reconciliation and support. Both women have been kind to me, and always presented a great challenge to me to do more with myself, because of their own success with their talents. And they will continue to be. But I understood that they just…aren’t quite friends. I would love them to be…but we just…aren’t.

I left dejected. It had taken maybe a maximum of ten minutes.

But…the other woman—not the one I said hello to—well, she called me the next day, and told me she was sad she didn’t get to talk with me. And then she did something quite nice and unexpected a couple of days later.

During our phone conversation, I didn’t tell her how hurt I had been or anything, or really let her know her call had made me feel so much better. I mean, I said I was glad she called, but more politely…not in a tone that she would understand completely.

But I am so glad she called.

Look, we all know the Reform are a little…detached from traditional Judaism, but this surprised even me.

The JTA reports,

Money is also important, or rather the perceived value of what members get for their dues: 40 percent of former members of Reform congregations said they withdrew because membership was too expensive. Just 9 percent of the leadership thought cost was an issue.

Have these rabbis never been to a post-season sale at their local Macy’s? They will find half their congregation there…the Jewish half.

Rabbi Yoffie is right — you folks need to get back in touch with Jewish basics.

9%…how do you people expect us to take your movement seriously?

Hat tip: Last Trumpet of Jewschool

Failed Messiah has the story, and it isn’t pretty.

UPDATE: After discussions with some of the frum posters on this blog, I would like to allow for the possibility that Rabbi Shiff did not intentionally lie, but may simply be ignorant of the subject matter he is teaching.

It’s Chanukah! What better time for an anti-circ rant?

According to Reuters, circumcision does not appear to help prevent AIDS in American men.

Black and Latino men were just as likely to become infected with the AIDS virus whether they were circumcised or not, Greg Millett of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.

The Australian Medical Association has backed a proposed law banning “non-essential� circumcision.

This is ominous for the domestic pro-circ camp who are hoping that the AAP will reinstate a preference for routine circumcision in the U.S. I don’t believe they will do so, and predict they may even switch to a slightly negative bias.

The proposed ban does not cover religious circumcisions. But really, ritual circumcisions should not be provided by any hospital once it is accepted that this is not medically essential. It isn’t their place to provide surgical procedures that are harmful to a child. And circumcision harms. That’s why the Aussie docs are backing a ban.

The film “Cut� is now available on DVD. It’s a great movie, and apparently, a quote from my review on Jewschool is on the back of the package.

One of the problems with addressing circumcision is that we Jews can’t separate it from Judaism, and concurrently attempt to address a solution even as we grapple with what circumcision really is. I think we need to first approach these issues separately before attempting to negotiate the contradiction.

The NY Times has an article about Radiohead’s business decision to offer their wonderful new album online, In Rainbows. The NYT is quite justifiably excited about this story, and posted it front and center on the home page, replete with a picture of the band.

But one of the quotes was strange to read in the Gray Lady.

Mr. Hufford said that he and Bryce Edge, Radiohead’s other manager, had come up with the pay-what-you-want plan during a stoned philosophical conversation about the value of music.

Update: Oh, I hope you don’t mind. I just can’t resist. Radiohead is the one (so-called) rock band that still speaks to me consistently and deeply, even as I plow deeper and deeper into Pandora’s classical music genome.

So.

My favorite three songs on Radiohead’s new album “In Rainbows” are:

3. “Videotape”
2. “All I Need”
1. “Reckoner”

My favorite Radiohead album: “Hail to the Thief.” Not as groundbreaking as say, “Paranoid Android” was in its day, some even suggested it was a mere consolidation of previous achievements, but I don’t think that is true at all. I think they grew serious roots, and those critics were merely judging it by its height alone. Takes awhile to get into, but then you stay there.

My second favorite song of all time is “There, there,” off of “Hail to the Thief.” Moves from gentle soothing, with a mild rebuke, to one of strident empowerment, and an implicit warning to not become paralyzed with sadness or fear. Though the lyrics don’t exactly match what I take from it…

My very favorite is “Pyramid Song,” off of “Amnesiac.” A most precious song about life and death itself. It specifically helped me understand our narrative of the slavery of Egypt, and prompted ideas about what it is really all about. But that’s for a longer, different post. Anyway, the the time signature of “Pyramid Song” is in 8/8, which is an unusual time signature. VERY unusual. Listen to “Pyramid Song”…loudly, in the dark. As soothing as it is mournful. Everything has been a little different since I really heard this song.

I jumped in the river and what did I see?
Black-eyed angels swam with me

As I think most of you know, the Forward is by far and away my favorite newspaper. Not my favorite “Jewish” newspaper; just my favorite newspaper period. But the one thing I like more than reading the Forward is reading about ME in the Forward.

As my critics will complain, there is no shortage of “haredi-bashing” on this site. And despite whatever issues we may have against the Hasmoneans, it is Chanukah. And in the spirit of the holiday, let’s take a time out and make fun of Liberal Judaism a little bit. Over at our reform friend’s site, Pissed Off Liberal Jew.