A Jewish hockey player drafted by the Anaheim Ducks is suing the team -- claiming coaches within the organization launched multiple "verbal anti-Semitic attacks" ... TMZ has learned.   23-year-old Jason Bailey -- a 3rd round NHL pick in 2005 -- claims from the moment the Ducks assigned him to play for an affiliate team called the Bakersfield Condors ... his coaches unleashed a "barrage of anti-Semitic, offensive and degrading verbal attacks." In the suit, filed today in Orange County Superior Court, Bailey claims the head coach of the Condors told him "[Jews] only care about money and who's who" and that he "never wanted his son to be raised Jewish or to wear a Yarmulke." Bailey claims the assistant head coach would get in on the Jew-bashing too -- saying things like, "Oh, I just got a friend request from a dirty Jew." Bailey says the coaches also forced him to travel apart from the team and he was "rarely given any ice time" in games because he's Jewish. According to the documents, Bailey complained to the Ducks about the hostile work environment -- and the team reacted by instructing the coaches to pen apology letters to Bailey in which they both admitted to using hurtful language. Bailey was eventually traded to the Ottawa Senators in 2009 -- and insists the Ducks were "happy to be rid of him." Bailey is suing for unspecified damages. Calls to the Ducks have not been returned.

Tune in to TMZ on TV weekdays Monday through Friday (check http://www.tmz.com/tmztv/ for syndicated/local listings) 

Loving Repeating is a musical about many things - loving life, loving thinking, loving making art, and loving love. What it ultimately achieves as a musical is something rare - a work of flowing imagination and intense beauty evoking story through music the way that Stein might have written it. We meet the young Stein as her fertile imagination is sparked into passion and love.     The score follows her life and love as a series of vaudeville acts - with homage to soft-shoe, opera, European cabaret and other exciting period and modern sounds. Along the way, we ride through a perplexing, exhilarating, hilarious and emotionally giddy musical as unique as Stein herself. " . . . thoroughly fascinating! Not to be missed. A gorgeous score . . . exquisite." - Chicago Tribune

At least once a month on a Monday morning, I wake up early at 7 am. I get ready and I leave my home and arrive at my local JCC (Jewish Community Center). I go inside up the stairs to the chapel, get a prayer book off the shelf and take out my tallit; I say the blessing and wrap it around me; I’m now ready for the minyan service to begin.  Why do I get up early in the morning to attend minyan? I believe that attending minyan is an important part of my Jewish life.   What is a minyan? Traditionally, a minyan is a quorum of ten male Jewish adults that is required for certain religious obligations, the most common being public prayer. A minyan is also be a quorum of ten adult Jews-women and men.   Why do a lot of people not attend minyan during the week? Well, they might be too busy. Between work, family, and all the other activities that tend to overwhelm us, we can still take time out our busy schedules to set aside less than an hour to attend minyan at least once a month.    Another reason is getting to work or school on time. The minyan I attend starts at 7:45 am and ends at about 8:30. If someone has to go to work they might leave a few minutes early or stay for the whole thing. A lot kids who are middle school aged and up sometimes attend and they usually leave a little bit early from the service. Hopefully, most employers should not have a problem if they know that one day out of each month you will be late and you’re attending a religious service.    Also, following along in the prayer book during minyan might be intimidating to some due to lack of knowing Hebrew. In most prayer books; however, there is the transliteration and the English translation of what is being said. Throughout the service, the page numbers will be announced, so one shouldn’t worry about being lost during the service.   Now that these problems now have solutions, here are reasons why you should attend minyan.   The first reason to attend minyan is to make a minyan! Being counted as part of the minyan is very important. Without ten people, parts of the service cannot be done! A minyan is required in order to say certain prayers communally as a congregation; to read from the Torah with a blessing and to recite the Barchu, Kedushah or Kaddish.   Kaddish is by itself a vital reason to attend minyan. It is tradition to say the Kaddish for eleven months after the death of a parent, one month after the death of other close relatives such as a brother, or a husband; and also on the anniversary (Yarzeit) of a loved one’s death. Without a minyan you, and other congregants and visitors, cannot honor their loved ones by saying the Kaddish.   Thirdly, we attend minyan to worship and pray to G-D. Whether we’re going through good or bad times, we should give thanks to Him every day. When we open the prayer book and start the service, the first couple of prayers are about thanking G-D for the way our body functions, for creating us, giving us a soul, and for waking us up.  This is a time of communicating with G-D and to offer up our prayers and praise.  We can also argue with G-D and let Him know how we’re feeling. Attending minyan allows you to feel closer to G-D and connect with Him. Finally, attending minyan helps you grow spiritually and gives you place where you can reflect on the good and bad in your life.  Not only do you connect with G-D at minyan, you also connect with others in your congregation and community. There have been many times when I have arrived at service and I was the tenth one. You might think that it's not a big deal if you come or not, and nobody would miss you. It’s important to know that your presence counts and you are truly needed. In order to make a minyan, it’s essential that you participate. Without your participation, the community wouldn’t be complete.   I hope that you will consider attending minyan; I know that I’m going to try to attend more often than I have been.

WASHINGTON -- Her family name doesn't "sound Jewish," but Gabrielle Giffords was proud of the identity her grandfather tried to hide years ago when he changed it from Hornstein to avoid the wrath of anti-Semites. It remains unknown what motivated suspect Jared Loughner's alleged assassination attempt that left six dead and Gifford "holding her own" in a critical care unit at a Tucson, Ariz., hospital. But even if anti-Semitism is found to have played a role, those who know the lawmaker say she would never have denied such an integral part of her identity. "A lot of people in Tucson didn't know the family was Jewish," said Steve Rabinowitz, a public relations executive who represents Jewish groups and who knew the Giffords family when he was growing up there. "It's now a huge ethnic identifier for her and clearly not for the political value because in Tucson and in Arizona, it can cut both ways." Jewish media immediately picked up on clues that Loughner may have hated Jews, most notably his listing Hitler's "Mein Kampf" among his favorite reads, USA Today religion writer Cathy Lynn Grossman noted. There are reports investigators are looking into a possible link between the shooter and a white supremacist group with alleged anti-Semitic and anti-immigrant views. Did Loughner know -- or care -- that Giffords was the first Jewish congresswoman from Arizona? Or that one of the aides he is charged with killing, Gabe Zimmerman, was also Jewish? Some white supremacist websites are reporting that Loughner and his family are Jewish, and that his mother, Amy, attends a Reform synagogue. A woman who answered the phone at Giffords' synagogue, Congregation Chaverim, told AOL News that staff had been told not to talk about it, but said, "We have no proof that they were ever members." The relevance of Giffords' religion in the shooting remains unclear, but the tragedy has focused attention on a part of her life that was central to who she was. On Sunday, friends and congregants packed Congregation Chaverim for a healing service for Giffords and other victims. Rabbi Stephanie Aaron, a friend and spiritual adviser who married Giffords and her husband, NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, in 2007, said the Jewish idea of tikkun olam -- healing the world -- motivated the congresswoman. "In Jewish practice, we have an idea of repairing the world," Aaron said, adding that Giffords "was very active in doing that work and being a pursuer of justice." Giffords was sworn in three days before the shooting with her hand on a Jewish Bible. She is one of 39 Jews serving in Congress, making up 7.3 percent of lawmakers, compared with 1.7 percent of Americans. The next day, during the House reading of the Constitution, it fell to her to read the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of religion. "If you want something done, your best bet is to ask a Jewish woman to do it," Giffords said after she was elected to Congress in 2006 by way of explaining why she was right for the job. "Jewish women -- by our tradition and by the way we were raised -- have an ability to cut through all the reasons why something should, shouldn't or can't be done and pull people together to be successful." The congresswoman cares deeply about "Yiddishkeit," Rabinowitz told AOL News in a phone interview. He said that after hosting a fundraiser for her last spring at his home in Washington, she sat at his kitchen table for two hours talking about everything from being raised with two religions to embracing her Jewish heritage after a trip to Israel in 2001. Giffords' mother is a Christian Scientist and her father is Jewish. Jewish law is open to interpretation and some of Giffords' more Orthodox co-religionists don't consider her technically Jewish. That's because traditional Judaism considers only those with a Jewish mother or who have gone through a rigorous conversion to be Jewish. Another famous Arizonan, Sen. Barry Goldwater, was Jewish on his immigrant grandfather Goldwasser's side but was raised Episcopalian by his mother. In the Reform movement, which Giffords counts as her own, a child is Jewish if the mother or the father is Jewish and he or she is brought up in the faith. According to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, Giffords' grandfather was born Akiba Hornstein and was the son of a Lithuanian rabbi. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who through her father, director Bruce Paltrow, is descended from a long line of prominent Eastern European rabbis, is a cousin. Hornstein moved to Tucson from New York in the 1940s and changed his name. It was as Giff Giffords that he founded El Campo Tire Warehouses, an automotive chain that advertises often on Tucson TV and that Gabrielle Giffords ran before going into politics. Giffords was raised in the faiths of both her parents but embraced Judaism exclusively after visiting Israel for the first time as a state senator in 2001. Rabinowitz said visiting Israel is standard for politicians seeking credibility with Jewish voters, but for Giffords it was much more than a talking point. "As for so many Jews, it is a piece of her identity," he said. When she returned, Giffords not only spoke out as a strong supporter of Israel but got involved in issues important to Tucson's Jewish community. She introduced a bill to help Holocaust survivors living in Arizona. She joined Hadassah, the Jewish women's organization, and served on the Arizona Regional Board of the Anti-Defamation League. "My Jewish heritage has really instilled in me the importance of education and caring for the community," she told The Jewish News of Greater Phoenix in 2006. "I consider myself Jewish without any equivocation." Her religious beliefs inform Giffords' position on the controversial and close-to-home issue of immigration, those who know her say. As the representative from the 8th Congressional District along the border with Mexico, she opposed Arizona's crackdown on illegal immigrants and defended their rights. But she also spoke out against boycotts of the state and in favor of more border guards. Josh Protas, the former director of Tucson's Jewish Community Relations Council, told the JTA news service that Giffords' approach to the issue grew from "a sense of the Jewish value around how we treat the stranger, a history of the Jewish community -- but she had recognition of the strong need for security." Rabinowitz said her views were very much in line with the vast majority of American Jews whose families came to America around the turn of the last century and identified with the Italian and Irish immigrants of the time and now have "the same ethos" for Hispanic, Asian and African newcomers today. "We are all fairly recent immigrants who for the most part made it and want to make sure newer immigrants have the same opportunities. This is a defining issue for Jews," he said. "She was with that as much as an Arizona politician could realistically be in a swing district." Follow Andrea Stone on Twitter

As a little kid in Bayside ,New York , I'd watch actor/comedian Steve Landlesberg,  on the television classic sitcom, Barney Miller. He was one of the people who made me want to be a comedic actor. Years later as an adult, soon after moving  to  Los Angeles, Steve was hanging out  with a fellow actor friend of mine and I took a double take as I  said to myself ,"wow! that's Steve Landesberg! OMG!" Before I was able to introduce myself however, the guy was so unbelievably down to earth , he extended his hand and said "hi, I'm Steve." He was a real mensch.  A few years later, I performed right before him and brought him on stage at a comedy club in LA. It was a pretty cool feeling.  I  so glad to see him entertaining a new generation in the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall. We'll miss you Steve and thanks for a lifetime of laughs. (This picture of us was taken around 2003 after the show in Los Angeles. That's Steve's close pal stand-up legend, David Brenner to my right.)

Oy vey! Pork for Chanukah? The Greenwich Village gourmet grocery store, Balducci's, has become the butt of the Jewish holiday by advertising its boneless hams as "Delicious for Chanukah." Manhattan novelist Nancy Kay Shapiro, 46, spotted the kosher faux pas while browsing the meat section Saturday at the chain's outpost at Eighth Ave. and W. 14th St. When Shapiro went back Sunday, she took photos of the unorthodox display promoting boneless spiral-cut hams for $8.99 a pound, petite smoked hams for $6.99 a pound and boneless smoked hams for $6.29 a pound. Instead of pointing out the mistake to management, she posted the snapshots on her blog to "amuse others." "I just thought it was funny," Shapiro, a self-described "unobservant Jew," said. "I wasn't offended in any way. I just thought, here's somebody who knows nothing about what Jews eat." Shapiro said that when she went back to the store Tuesday, the first night of Chanukah, the signs had vanished. A Balducci's official was so verklempt about the error he didn't want to speak on the record. He fessed up that "it was a mistake," blaming it on a stock clerk who normally doesn't work the meat department. He referred all other questions to the company's marketing department in Connecticut. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/food/2007/12/06/2007-12-06_balduccis_offers_ham_for_chanukah.html#ixzz17GlaRFCQ

Happy Chanukah, TooFabbers! In honor of the Jewish festival of lights, which kicked off last night, "The Real Housewives of New York" star Jill Zarin has offered up her potato pancake recipe, in memory of her Grandma Helen. Ingredients: -matzah meal -1 egg -6 white potatoes -1 teaspoon of salt -vegetable oil (don't use any other kind of oil) -1 onion, if desired Directions: 1. Peel 6 white potatoes, cut them in half and boil them in water until soft. Put cooked potatoes in a bowl. 2. Add one egg, one grated onion if desired, and 1 tablespoon from the "dirty" water you boiled the potatoes in. ( you can use clean water too). Add salt. Mix together so it is lumpy. 3. Hand-make thick pancakes and roll them in matzah meal on both sides. 4. Heat up 1/2 inch of vegetable oil on medium. Fry the pancakes until crispy brown on both sides. For other recipes, check out the domestic doyenne's bestseller "Secrets Of A Jewish Mother."

A woman saved by a wartime act of kindness has been able to show her gratitude again this Thanksgiving. Sara Marmurek was a young Jewish teenager being subjected to shocking treatment by the Nazis when she first came across Wladyslaw Misiuna in 1943. He was a young man working on a rabbit farm near the Szkolna slave labour camp in Poland where she was marched daily and forced to work on the manufacture of armaments for the Hitler war machine.

Survivors: Sara Marmurek was one of thousands pressed into slave labour by the Nazis, and Wladyslaw Misiuna was sentenced to death for helping her

The notorious Nazi death camp Auschwitz might have claimed Sara's life, as it did those of so many thousands of others, had she not been so well looked-after by Wladyslaw before she was shipped there

In celebration of Chanukah we have a lot for you to check out! First, watch our new web video “Oh Chanukah” - we hope you enjoy our take on this classic. Then check out the new website featuring new merchandise and special pricing just in time for Chanukah shopping. Order by midnight Wednesday 11/17 to assure it arrives in time for the first night. Finally, we have remixed and mastered a new version of Zum Gali and it sounds fantastic. We can’t wait for you to hear it – anyone who orders the CD or shares this news with 5 or more friends on facebook and posts it on our page, can get the download FREE as well.

Watch “Oh Chanukah” here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsqn9uGDkkc

Check out the new site here: www.shabbatrocks.com

You probably haven’t heard of it yet. What is it? Is it a bird or a plane? Superman? No it’s a new magazine for Jews of Color. 

As you may know, from reading my earlier blog about Jews of Color, we are a minority within a minority. Kehila means ‘community’. The Jew of Color community makes up about 20% of the Jewish population in the United States-that’s about 1.2 million people!  This a community that is growing and requires more outlets in the Jewish and non-Jewish world to express, share, educate, discuss, debate, and voice the many opinions, topics, and issues that are important to us. Kehila is one such outlet. While the magazine is geared for a target audience-Jews of color-there is something in each issue of Kehila for everyone.

How did Kehila start? Well as a Jew of color and a writer, I was looking for a way to help break down the barriers that we face as well as have a place where Jews of color could express themselves freely. So on September 28^th, 2010 Kehila was created in my small bedroom.

Right now Kehila is taking the first steps to grow.  I’m the only staff member of the magazine, so I come up with everything-from what subjects will be covered in each issue, to the look and feel of the magazine. I’m also in charge of and the creator of Kehila’s website, Twitter page, and Facebook group page. Kehila is a monthly magazine and November marks the month of the first issue.

I have been slowly receiving feedback, there has been a positive response to the magazine and I have two people who want to contribute their writing skills to the next issue. In the future, I hope to see Kehila in the magazine aisle of grocery stores, and bookstores nationwide. Right now Kehila is available to read for free online at the magazine’s website. I hope that you enjoy reading the November issue and please leave me a comment about the magazine. The next issue will be out December first.

For more information about Kehila, please visit the website or contact me at these addresses:

http://kehilamagazine.web.officelive.com/aboutus.aspx

On Twitter: @kehilaJOC

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/home.php?sk=group_172683242746209

Email: Kehila23@yahoo.com

            KehilaJOC@groups.facebook.com

Have you ever hunted for half-price High Holiday tickets? Or wondered which boots should I wear to the bris? Are you looking for the “It” shul? Or a nice Jewish boy? Then look no further—Life, Love, Lox: Real-world Advice for the Modern Jewish Girl is for you! Like Manischewitz with a twist, this sassy Jewish girl’s guide to life tells all. In chapters like “How to Lose a Guy in Ten Plagues,” “Challahpalooza”, and “Too Cool for Shul,” author and Jewish singles columnist Carin Davis details—amongst other things—Kosher kissing, cooking kugel, and finding a mensch in a haystack. The perfect primer for the trendy yenta, this hilarious handbook will show you how to tame your Jewfro, rock Shabbat, cook couch potato latkes, and dance the Hora in heels. Whether you’re an observant Hebrew hottie or just Jew-ish, have made it to the chuppah or are still searching for you mensch, you’ll love learning how to mix your Jewish roots with your happening lifestyle. Practical, but playful, and totally relatable, LIFE, LOVE, LOX strikes the perfect balance between custom and cosmopolitan. As entertaining as it is informative, it’s like the “Sex & the City” meets Hebrew School. For every ancient observance, Davis has found a way to add a modern twist without departing from the Jewish ritual and tradition. Some topics she covers include: • The Girl with the Curl: advice on how to tame even the most stubborn Jewfro, no “Moses-sized miracle” necessary. • Jewish Pickup Lines: Davis offers a refresher on greetings you may have forgotten since Hebrew School—a surefire way to strike up conversation with a Jewish hottie in shul • Life in the Fast Lane: a survival guide to fasting on Yom Kippur • Dinner with the Kosher Nostra: tips on what to do when you Meet the (Observant) Parents • Iron Chef Matzah—the new way to host a Passover potluck for pals Just in time for Chanukah, this sassy, stylish book makes the perfect gift for best friends, girlfriends, daughters, sisters, roommates, hostesses, brides – even the office grab bag! They’ll all love reading this must-have celebration of dynamic Jewish life! For more information, go to www.lifelovelox.com

When you hear the word “punk” what pops into your head first? Rebellious teenagers, crazy hairstyles like purple Mohawks, the Ramones? What pops into your head when you hear the words “punk Jews”? You might be thinking, What? Those two don’t go together! Actually, they do. The New York Punk scene was primarily led by Jews. There was a significant over-representation of Jews in the first wave of New York punks. From Lou Reed, Joey and Tommy Ramone, Suicide's Martin Rev and Alan Vega, Jonathan Richman, to the Patti Smith Group guitarist Lenny Kaye, and Blondie's Chris Stein, the list of Jewish punk notables is lengthy, and impressive. Now in 2010, there is a new movement of punk arising, and it’s emerging from the radical Judaism scene in New York. These are the Punk Jews. What are punk Jews? Brooklyn-based filmmaker and Emmy-Award winning documentary producer and cinematographer Jesse Zook Mann, describes Punk Jews as, "People owning their heritage, being creative with it, having fun with it—and doing so at any cost." He and his partners Evan Kleinman-an Emmy nominated producer, and Co-Producer Saul Sudin (writer & director of Jurotrip: “A Jewish, Historical, & Artistic perspective on a trip through the Northwestern Mediterranean” and The Stetson Pin.) have come together to create a documentary series of Punk Jews. On their website (www.punkjews.com), Punk Jews is described as “a documentary series featuring stories of people expressing Jewish culture and religion in unconventional and awesome ways. From musicians to artists and activists, Punk Jews covers badass politics, music, art, fashion, philosophy, and religion that you can't see anywhere else.” Among the Punk Jews featured in the documentary series are: Cholent-a group of singing, dancing, music-playing, debating Hasidic Jews, that meet once a week to pray; Y-Love-a 30-year-old half African-American, half Puerto Rican orthodox Jewish rapper who draws crowds at shows around town; Rivka Karasik, a 34-year-old mixed media artist who left her orthodox upbringing to experiment with religion through art; and Levi Okunov, a fashion designer who also left the Hasidic community to experiment with controversial women's clothing that contrasts revealing cuts with traditional symbols. Each documentary will be posted online on their website. To view a sample of their work, or to donate to the cause, go to the website. Punk Jews is a transformative movement that is just getting started. Look for more of it to come

Should a Mosque be built on the site of the World Trade Center? I understand that some might argue that the Muslims as a whole didn't destroy the World Trade Center, it was Islamic Extremist Terrorists. And a lot of Muslims did in fact die in the Towers. I say, yes, although this is true, how can we honor the religion of the people who were responsible for destroying the Twin Towers and slaughtering thousands? There are a lot of good Muslims, most are, but out of all the real estate in New York City, why that specific spot? It doesn't make sense unless someone is trying to gloat and celebrate. The question that I ask to anyone who might disagree is, if we build a Mosque on the site of 9/11, why not also build a Japanese Buddhist Temple on the site of Pearl Harbor? I'm sure a few Japanese sailors died that were serving in the US Navy. You don't honor your attackers.

“Are you Jewish?” “Yes.” “Did you convert?” I’ve been asked that question many times and to be honest with you, I’m really tired of being asked. This is my final answer: “It’s none of your bloody business.” Simply put, if a person doesn’t tell you that they converted, it’s not your place to ask them. Here’s my question: Why do some people feel like they must ask this question? Why do they really want to know? Are they really curious and want to know why this person chose to become a member of this persecuted group? Or are they just “curious” and trying to justify how a person who in their mind doesn’t look Jewish (ever hear this line: “Funny you don’t look Jewish”? Well guess what? It isn’t funny.) is Jewish? Well let’s think this through. There are two ways that a person is be Jewish: Either they’re born a Jew, or they convert. These are the only ways. Unfortunately, some Jews can’t fathom how some people-say a person of color-can be born into the faith (I’ve addressed this in my Jews of Color blog). It boggles their mind, so they just assume that they converted. But I digress. Regardless of color, a convert to Judaism can be treated unfairly by those who have been born into the faith. If someone says, “I’ve converted.” They often get a response like “Oh okay,” meaning that a person who converted isn’t really Jewish, that they don’t really count as a Jew. If that’s true, then I want to ask question: Does this mean that Ruth-who converted to Judaism-isn’t really Jewish? If so, then that also means that King David, a descendant of Ruth’s, isn’t Jewish either. If he’s not Jewish then I guess that means that the Messiah-who is to come through David’s lineage-wouldn’t be Jewish either. We can see how having this view that converts aren’t officially Jewish doesn’t make any sense! So to be clear: Whether by birth or by conversion, a Jew is a Jew, period. End of story. Throughout Jewish history, it has been stated many times that a convert to the Jewish faith is a Jew and should be treated as one. Here are a few examples: "When a proselyte comes to be converted, one receives him with an open hand so as to bring him under the wings of the Divine Presence." -Leviticus Rabbah 2:9 “Wherever you go, I will go. Wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried" -Ruth, a Moabite and the great-grandmother of King David, who chose to convert to Judaism. Ruth 1:16-17 "Dearer to God than all of the Israelites who stood at Mount Sinai is the convert. Had the Israelites not witnessed the lightning, thunder, and quaking mountain, and had they not heard the sounds of the shofar, they would not have accepted the Torah. But the convert, who did not see or hear any of these things, surrendered to God and accepted the yoke of heaven. Can anyone be dearer to God than such a person?" -Tanhuma (ed. Buber), Lekh Lekha 6:32 "Beloved are proselytes by God, for the Bible everywhere uses the same epithet of them as of Israel" -Talmud, Gerim 4:3 “You shall love the convert" -Deuteronomy 10:19 "You must understand the feelings of the convert." -Exodus 23:9 Every year at Shavout, we celebrate the harvest, and G-D giving the Torah to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai. We also read the book of Ruth. In his book Jewish Literacy the most important things to know about the Jewish religion, its people and history, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin says this about Ruth: “In four simple Hebrew words, Ruth, a Moabite woman who wishes to convert to Judaism, describes the essence of what it means to be a Jew. ‘Ameikh ami, ve’Elo-hai-ikh Elo-hai--Your people shall be my people, and your G-D my G-D’…The Book of Ruth has long served as an important antidote for any Jew prone to exaggeratedly nationalistic leanings. How chauvinist can one become in a religion that traces its Messiah to a non-Jewish convert to Judaism?” To conclude this blog, I ask one more question: With so many people who make a personal choice to convert to Judaism, who decide to dedicate themselves wholly to practicing the rituals and following the laws and customs-often more so than those who are Jews by birth-shouldn’t we welcome them into the community instead of treating them like outsiders?

LOS ANGELES, CA - Wickedly funny, incisive and hip, Fielding Edlow's newest comedy chronicles one woman's epic battle with frosty cupcakes (not vegan), breaking up with Daddy, and learning to stand the sound of her own heartbeat. Paul Stein directs Sugar Daddy in a five week run, October 22 through November 20 at the Lounge 2 Theatre in Hollywood. Edlow's latest play is a shocking and hilarious one-woman descent into a Mike Tyson-like, 50-round battle with sugar, an inappropriate father, and a collagen-happy, narcissist mother. "I'm interested in developing the idea of a character with an Electra complex," explains Edlow, whose previous plays include NYC Fringe Festival 'Best of Fringe' winner Coke-Free J.A.P. ([Edlow is a] gifted scripter" - Daily Variety) and The Something-Nothing ("GO!" - LA Weekly). "I feel like so much has been done with the Oedipal complex. In Sugar Daddy, my character regales the audience with tales from the Daddy crypt and gold medal Olympic binging." "Fielding's characters speak a language that is how we speak - but it's not," says Stein. "It's quick-witted and heightened, funny and startling. Her writing is reminiscent of Diablo Cody, or a female Neil LaBute - yet it's completely unique." Fielding Edlow, a native New Yorker, has had her plays produced/workshopped in New York and Los Angeles with Naked Angels, NY Stage & Film, PSNBC, Dixon Place, The Culture Project, NY Fringe Festival and Home for Contemporary Arts. Her one-woman show, Coke-Free J.A.P., was performed in the NYC Fringe Festival and received the “Best of Fringe" award from Back Stage. It subsequently premiered in L.A, where it had a four-month, sold-out run at the McCadden Theatre with director Craig Carlisle. Her play Admissions was a semi-finalist in Reverie Productions' 2008 Next Generation Playwriting Contest and was workshopped at NY Stage & Film, Naked Angels, and with Circle X Theatre Company. The Something-Nothing was produced by the Mineral Theatre Co. in Los Angeles last season to critical acclaim. She is part of a playwriting group that includes Lee Blessing, Jim Leonard and Melanie Marnich where she develops most of her work. As an actress, Fielding has performed at PSNBC, Naked Angels, The Cherry Lane, New Georges, the NY Fringe Festival and The Culture Project. Los Angeles credits: Mike O’Malley’s Diverting Devotion at Art/Works Theatre (L.A. premiere), Miss Julie at the Lillian Theatre and The Something-Nothing at the Lounge Theatre. She trained at the Upright Citizens Brigade in NYC and in L.A. and plays with the UCB indie team, "Sworn To Sedition." Fielding has performed many of her stories with 'Show n Tell' and 'Sit n Spin' at the Comedy Central Stage. Paul Stein's recent directing credits include: W. Kamau Bell’s The Bell Curve: Ending Racism in an Hour at PS 122 in New York City; Antonio Sacre’s My Penis: In and Out of Trouble at Theatre Asylum in Hollywood; and Carla Snowden’s Girl Overboard at both the Hollywood Fringe and Out of Bounds Comedy Festival in Austin, Texas. Other directing credits: VS. Theatre’s West Coast premiere of The Credeaux Canvas (Critic's Choice -Los Angeles Times, Ovation nominee); Not Dead Yet for Next Arena (LA Weekly Award, NY International Fringe); Canadian writer Chris Leavins’ solo works, Posterchild and Little Monsters, at Passe Muraille in Toronto; and the U.S. premiere of the award-winning Hard As Nails by British playwright Jon Osbaldeston. Other recent endeavors: conceiving and producing The Car Plays, a unique, theatrical site-specific event; finishing a successful stint as Artistic Director of Moving Arts; producing the world premiere of Crumble, Lay Me Down Justin Timberlake by Sheila Callaghan and E.M. Lewis’ ensemble drama Infinite Black Suitcase. In 2009, Paul was selected to participate in Directors Lab Chicago, and he was a recent semi-finalist for Center Theatre Group’s Sherwood Award. Currently, Paul holds the position of Artistic Director of the Comedy Central Stage, a development theater sponsored by the network. Some performing talent has included: David Koechner, Sarah Silverman, Daniel Tosh’s Tosh.0, Demetri Martin, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Carlos Mencia, Lonely Island featuring Andy Samberg, Dr. Katz Live! and Reno 911! Set design for Sugar Daddy is by Jeff Robinson; lighting design is by Franзois-Pierre Couture, and sound design is by Ron Klier. Ginger Perkins produces for Lemonade Productions. Sugar Daddy opens for press on October 22 and continues through November 20. Performances take place every Friday and Saturday at 8 pm. All tickets are $15.00. The Lounge 2 Theatre is located at 6201 Santa Monica Blvd, Hollywood CA 90038. To purchase tickets, call 323.960.7792 or go to www.plays411.com/sugardaddy Details for Calendar Listings SUGAR DADDY WHAT: Sugar Daddy - Wickedly funny, incisive and hip, Fielding Edlow's comedy chronicles one woman's epic battle with frosty cupcakes (not vegan), breaking up with Daddy, and learning to stand the sound of her own heartbeat. WHO: Written and Performed by Fielding Edlow Directed by Paul Stein Produced by Ginger Perkins Presented by Lemonade Productions at the Lounge Theatre (Lounge 2) WHEN: Performances: October 22 through November 20: Fridays at 8 pm: October 22 (Opening Night), 29; November 5, 12, 19 Saturdays at 8 pm: October 23, 30; November 6, 13, 20 WHERE: Lounge 2 Theatre 6201 Santa Monica Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90038 (just east of Vine) HOW: (323) 960- 7792 or www.plays411.com/sugardaddy TICKETS: $15.00

I never knew our ,people could be so graceful. And that's an under statement! I received a call to interview Genie Benson, the executive administrator of the Keshem Chaim Dance Ensemble, so I Googled them and I was pretty darn amazed. I'm sorry to say however that when I was invited to sit in on their rehearsal for their upcoming show at the Ford Amphitheater, their YouTube clips did not do these artists justice in the least. Earlier in my career, I've had the honor of working with the late Michael Jackson on the set of one of his music video and honestly, when I walked in on their rehearsal, I felt like I was standing in the middle of one of MJ's videos again. In a day and age where Jersey Shore is considered entertainment, this level of talent is far and few between. Treat yourself and see this show, it'll make you proud to be a Jew (but don't try this at home!) See the Keshet Chaim Dance Ensemble live at the Ford Amphitheater in Los Angeles Saturday October 9th, 2010 at 8:30pm .Call (818) 986-7332 for tickets.

Jewish samba? Now this is how I'm getting my groove on this Simchas Torah! Honestly, I didn't think our people were capable of reaching such magnitudes of cool! Listen to this this magnificent collaboration of the beautiful Brazilian-Israeli singer-songwriter Elisete and American producer/ musician, Richard Ruttenberg out of Great Neck, Long Island. Honestly, I wish I could be this cool. Absolute class. If someone booked this act in the Hollywood Bowl, they would fit right in. Check it out & share this with your friends.

Rosh Hashanah doesn't have any splashy customs like the other Jewish holidays. There's no fasting, like there is for Yom Kippur. Or Menorah lighting, like on Hanukkah. And a seat isn't left for Elijah, like it is on Passover. Still, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is a pretty big deal. Especially since it marks the beginning of the year 5771, which is somewhat unfathomable on our Gregorian calendar. So we decided to spice up Rosh Hashanah the only way we know how: with a list of the 20 hottest Jewish women we could cull from the ranks of the famous. Read on to check out -- in no particular order -- the most choice of the chosen people. And use the comment section to point out any comely Jews we neglected to mention. 1. Natalie Portman Portman was born in Israel, raised in Long Island and ended up at Harvard -- can't get much more Jewish than that. 2. Emmanuelle Chriqui  Entourage star Chriqui gets her exotic name and look from her Moroccan Jewish heritage.

Singer Eddie Fisher, one of the last pre-rock 'n' roll teen idols in the 1950s, who was married to Debbie Reynolds, Elizabeth Taylor and singer Connie Stevens, died Wednesday in Berkeley, Calif. He was 82. His daughter, Tricia Leigh Fisher of Los Angeles, told The Associated Press that Fisher died Wednesday night at his home in Berekely of complications from hip surgery. The father of thesps Carrie Fisher and Joely Fisher, he sold millions of records and was a sensation on TV and in nightclubs. But his singing fame lasted only into the mid-1960s and was overshadowed by his private life. In 1959, he caused a Hollywood scandal when he left Reynolds to marry the recently widowed Taylor, a former family friend. He was later summarily abandoned by Taylor in an even more publicly scandalous manner for Richard Burton on the Italian set of "Cleopatra." His singing career went into a slow but steady decline, in part due to growing alcohol and amphetamine problems. He later made a minor comeback in clubs, but never managed to revive his earlier fame. Born Edwin Jack Fisher in Philadelphia, he started out singing in his synagogue and won a radio singing contest at age 13. By the time he was 17, he was in New York singing in Buddy Morrow's band and was then hired a staff singer at Grossinger's in the Catskills. He was spotted there by popular singer Eddie Cantor, who became his champion. He joined Cantor's touring show, which helped him land an RCA Victor recording contract and by 1949 he was named Billboard's most promising male vocalist. Even though his first single didn't sell, an engagement at Bill Miller's Riviera was such a success that RCA moved him to its main label. The recording "Thinking of You" was a hit and led to a headlining engagement at the Paramount. Fisher was just 22, making $1,000 a week and comparisons were being made to Sinatra. His career was interrupted his Army service in 1951, when he was assigned to the U.S. Army Band, and appeared on TV, radio and records during his furloughs, resulting in about 10 hit singles which sold more than 7 million copies. Variety estimated that RCA owed him $330,000 in royalties during his Army stay. During this period he first met Debbie Reynolds, his future wife (they married in 1954) and befriended Mike Todd, the brash impressario who would later marry Elizabeth Taylor and leave her a widow shortly thereafter. The day he was released from the Army he headlined for three weeks at the Paramount and got a deal for a Coca-Cola sponsored TV show. "Coke Time," on NBC, debuted in 1953 and Fisher became a national Coke spokeman. The show lasted until 1956. He was also introduced to Dr. Max Jacobson (aka Dr. Feelgood) to whose speed-laced vitamin injections Fisher would become addicted. But they helped through his frantic schedule with major hit recordings such as "I'm Walking Behind You," "O, My Papa" and "Anytime." Other hit songs included "I'm Yours," "Wish You Were Here," "Lady of Spain," "Count Your Blessings," "I Need You Now" and "Dungaree Doll." When Todd was killed in a plane crash and Fisher left Reynolds for Taylor, it caused a major scandal -- even though Fisher later said his marriage with Reynolds was over by the time this occurred. After marrying Taylor, he appeared with her in the film "Butterfield 8" (he had appeared with Reynolds in 1956's "Bundle of Joy"). During the filming of "Cleopatra," however, Taylor met and later married Burton. Though Fisher continued to perform in Vegas and other major city nightclubs, rock 'n' roll had taken hold by the mid-'60s, and his crooner style was considered passe. His last hit was "Games That Lovers Play" in 1966. But his drug addiction, gambling and drinking took an even greater toll, lasting through his third marriage to Stevens, which produced two more children (his first two were by Reynolds). That marriage as well as one to Terry Richard ended in divorce, while a fifth wife, Betty Lin, predeceased him. In the late '70s, with the help of son Todd and daughter Carrie, he overcame his addictions, after 25 years of constant drug use. As he admitted in his autobiography, by then he had made and gone through $20 million. In 1970 he had filed for bankruptcy. In 1981 he wrote a frank autobiography "Eddie: My Life, My Loves' and shortly thereafter attempted a career comeback. But he never experienced the kind of renaissance that Tony Bennett or even Rosemary Clooney enjoyed. Survivors include son Todd, who manages Reynolds' business; daughters, actress-author Carrie, actress Joely and Tricia

It’s a cold Shabbat evening. I had just gotten off the plane and was walking through the Ben Gurion Airport with my Taglit Birthright Israel group towards customs and baggage claim. I’m tired as we had just completed a 10 hour flight from JFK airport to Turkey and now Tel-Aviv. But I’m also filled with excitement because this is my first trip to Israel. As we stroll along to our destination, one of the guys in the group comes right up to me. I’m thinking “Oh he’s going to introduce himself. Maybe he’s one of the people in the group that I had talked to on Facebook before the trip.” Wrong! This is what comes out of his mouth: “Hey Tali, is your mother white?” I’m taken aback by this of course and I reply, “No. She’s black.” He says, “Huh, I’ve never heard of that before.” And before I can even respond to curse him out, he’s off ahead of me talking to the other people in the group. That’s the first and last thing (as he never spoke to me again) he says to me. No “Hey my name is Jeremy we talked on Facebook, it’s nice to meet you,” nope, none of that. Throughout the whole trip these are the questions that I’m asked by some of the people in the group: “So how are you Jewish?” and “Is your family Ethiopian?” Being one of the two only JOC in the group of almost 40 young Jewish Americans can make your first trip to Israel not as fun as you would of liked. So what’s a JOC? A JOC is a Jew of Color and there are many of us around the world but also here in the USA. For those of you who aren’t in the know, Jews come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and color. A lot of people whether they’re Jewish or not think that Jews are only white Americans or Europeans which isn’t true at all. Be’chol Lashon’s (In every tongue) website (http://www.bechollashon.org/population/north_america/na_color.php) states that at least 20%-that’s 1.2 million-of the Jewish population in North America is racially and ethnically diverse and that it includes African, African-American, Latino (Hispanic), Asian, N. American, Sephardic, Mizrahi, and mixed-race Jews. And all of these groups of people are Jews through conversion, adoption, marriage, and heritage. There are Jews of color whose families have been Jewish for generations. An example would be MaNishtana- whose popular blog and videos have made him well-known in the Jewish community and beyond-who is a 5th generation Orthodox African-American Jew and can trace his heritage back to the 1800’s. Another is Yavilah McCoy-founder of Jews of Color education and advocacy group Ayecha-whose family also has been Jewish since the 1800’s. So, why the distinction? What makes us different from our white counterparts? Well nothing and everything. We’re Jews just like them. We’re Reconstructionist, Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, Hasidic, and Secular. We read the Torah, we go to the mikveh, we celebrate all the Jewish holidays, attend shul etc. The difference is our skin color and ethnicity and the challenges that come with that which white Jews do not have to deal with. So how can people understand the obstacles that Jews of Color face? To start off, there’s an Ashkenazi Privilege Checklist that has statements that explain the privileges that white Ashkenazi Jews have that Jews of Color do not have and to show the differences between white Ashkenazi Jews and Jews of Color. A few of the statements on the list are: “I can walk into my temple and feel that my children are seen as Jewish.” “I can walk into temple with my family and not worry that they will be treated unkindly.” People never say to me, "But you don't look Jewish," either seriously or as though it was funny,” and, “I am never asked “how” I am Jewish at dating events or on Jewish dating websites.” The full list can be seen on Jewish Multiracial Network’s site (http://www.jewishmultiracialnetwork.org/resources/educational/) and there are other sites/blogs where you can take a look at it as well. By looking at the checklist, one can see that two of the many challenges that Jews of Color deal with are racism and relationships. Personally, I have dealt with a lot of racism. I’ve had one recent experience where I supposed to rent a room in the home of an older Jewish couple who would rent out rooms to students attending a university in Chicago. At the last minute, the place I was going to be living didn’t work out and I was having trouble finding a new place to stay. They said “We’re a family,” and since they had 3 other students staying there who were from Brazil, Japan, and Italy, I thought there wouldn’t be any problems. Yeah, right. They didn’t treat me as family. From the beginning they were very mean and racist towards me and my mother who had come to help me get settled in. When we arrived, the husband acted as if he didn’t want me and my mom to come into the house. The room that I was renting out (for $600) was down in the basement where he had a lot of boxes full of stuff from his old business and the room was dirty-we had to wash the blankets and pillows for the bed and clean the broken down closets, and the bathroom had no shower so I would have to go upstairs to take one and the toilet overflowed. They wanted us to eat stale old leftovers they had in their fridge and the guy cooked burnt pancakes for us, the wife wanted me to be a servant and serve food for the High Holidays. After 3 days of this, my mom & I decided to leave. They didn’t even get up to say goodbye. They stayed in their bedroom, left the check with a note saying to leave the key to the house on the table, along with the t-shirt that I had given to the husband as a thank-you gift. Needless to say it was horrible experience for me and I didn’t start school because of it. Like other Jews of color, it’s not often that after Shabbat services are over, and it’s time for kiddish luncheon, that while I’m sitting and enjoying a conversation with the other people at a table a person will come sit at the table and say: “Oh I’ve never seen you here before do you come here often?” And you’ll reply “Yes I’ve been coming here for a while now.” They reply “Are you Jewish?” “Yes.” “Oh. So how are you Jewish?” And then that’s when the conversation turns sour and usually at this point my mom will tell the person off and then we’ll leave. That happened a lot to us in the past, but not anymore. I guess word got around that my mother would give them a piece of her mind. Now granted, there are some people who are asking this because maybe they’re curious. But a lot of times the person who’s asking this is trying to justify us being Jewish. It’s like they can’t fathom in their minds at all that a person of color could be Jewish. It’s impossible! I’ve also gotten the “Where are you from?” question. A lady at my shul one Shabbat afternoon asked me & my mom “Where are you from?” “We’re from here.” “But where are you from? I’m from Chicago.” “We’re from Florida.” “Okay but where are you from? My family is from Chicago.” It’s as though we couldn’t possibly be from America, no we must be from another country. Another area of challenge for Jews of Color is relationships. It’s hard to date as it is, but if you’re a Jew of Color the sites that are out there aren’t that friendly to you and will give you a hard time while signing up. I haven’t experienced this personally as I have never signed up for any of the Jewish dating sites out there. But MaNishtana whom I spoke of earlier has and he wrote a blog about it entitled “My One Night Stand-Off” (http://www.manishtana.net/profiles/blogs/my-one-night-standoff) that I think you ought to read. MaNistana has created a dating site geared specifically to Jews of Color. It’s called JocFlock (www.jocflock.org). I have had the experience of being the exotic fetish of a white Jew. This is when a white Jew wants to date a person of color not because they really like them but because it’s a fantasy they want to fulfill-I’m exotic looking and that’s all I am to them unfortunately. When it comes to matchmaking there have been occasions when a matchmaker will set one Jew of color up with another Jew of Color just because they’re Jews of color and that’s the only thing that they have in common! I’ve also have not personally experienced this because I’ve never sat down with a matchmaker but there are hundreds of stories that any Jew of Color who’s been to a matchmaker can tell you concerning this very issue. As a Jew of Color, I don’t get to see our beauty and value often reflected in Jewish spaces. One of the biggest challenges in the Jewish community is the lack of consciousness that Jews of Color are Jewish, are mothers & fathers, that we are beautiful. Jews of Color face many challenges but there are resources out there to help confront and deal with these challenges as well as to support and build a community where all Jews feel welcome. Here are a few websites & blogs that will give you more information about Jews of Color as well as talk about the issues and the many things that Jews of Color are doing around the US and the world. Jewish Multiracial Network http://www.jewishmultiracialnetwork.org/ Be’ chol Lashon http://www.bechollashon.org/ MaNishtana http://www.manishtana.net/ http://www.youtube.com/user/MaNishtanaTV Aliza Hausman www.alizahausman.net Lacey Schwartz www.outsidetheboxproject.com Akira Ohiso www.ohiso.com www.zincplatepress.com Jews of Color Roundtable from The Jewish Channel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suWNpeRSuKU If you know anymore sources please add them to the list. hausman.net4A Talisha Harrison http://taliadinasdaysoffuturepast.blogspot.com/ www.twitter.com/sailortalipluto

This magazine cover is blatant proof that Time Magazine has anti Israel sentiments. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Israel the United States ally in the Middle East? And that being the case, then why is Time Magazine anti-America? Could the effect of the Internet on paper magazines be making Time so desperate to sell their publication that they have to create controversy by resorting to bigotry? Let's call a spade a spade, bad mouthing Israel is bad mouthing the Jewish people and bad mouthing Jews is anti-semitism. In Gainesville, Florida, Terry Jones is making a circus of the 1st Amendment, but the media is giving him their undivided attention. Why is it that the second some lunatic in Florida says he wants to burn a Quran the entire media stops what they're doing and fixates on him, even the President gives this nut attention, yet Jew hating is socially acceptable and fair game? The media watches what they dare say about African Americans! They watch their p's & q's about Gay Marriage! And they walk on egg shells around Muslims! BUT THOSE TROUBLE MAKING, WAR MONGERING JEWS! Don't get me wrong, I'm completely against Terry Jones. The man is an insane trouble maker and should be locked up in an asylum or at the very least completely ignored. However, ask yourself, if some nut announced that they were going to burn a Torah, would the President of the United States, General Petraeus and the entire media make as much noise? How could Richard Stengel, the managing editor of Time Magazine have the chutzpah to sign Karl Vicks' pay check and allow him to write such lying and hurtful words, "Israel doesn't care about peace?" on the cover of Time Magazine? Richard? Karl? Did Israel crash planes full of innocent people into the World Trade Center? Did Israel behead Daniel Pearl- a fellow American journalist? SHAME ON TIME MAGAZINE. If there is any doubt in anyone's mind that Time Magazines' cover story is anything short of anti-semitic Jew bashing, then why did it hit the news stands exactly on Rosh Hashanah? Happy Rosh Hashanah from Time Magazine.

Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan was a noted American Orthodox Rabbi, writer, and physicist. He is widely viewed as an original thinker and prolific writer. His work ranged from the studies of the Torah, Talmud, and mysticism to the introductory pamphlets on Jewish beliefs and philosophy that was aimed at non-religious and newly religious Jews. He was also known for his intimate knowledge of Kabbalah which the rabbi himself utilized (the meditation form of Kabbalah) on a daily basis. He was born in the Bronx, New York City to a Sefardi Recanati family from Solonika, Greece in October 23, 1934. He studied at Yeshiva Torah Vodaas in Brooklyn and continued his studies in Israel at the Mir yeshiva in Jerusalem. He was ordained by the foremost rabbinic authorities that included Rabbi Eliezer Yehudah Finkel. He then earned his Master’s degree in Physics and was listed as Who’s Who in Physics in the U.S. as a graduate student. Later on, he briefly worked as a lab assistant and then attempted to serve as a Rabbi in a Conservative congregation in upstate New York near Albany. He also spent a year as a full-time abstract painter and then spent another year as a first grade teacher in Louisville. Rabbi Kaplan was first published when commissioned by NCSY (National Council of Synagogue Youth)-the official youth the group of the Union of Orthodox Congregations-to write several pamphlets. These short writings were a huge success, and established him as an original thinker. Later, he worked with his major influence Rabbi Zvi Aryeh Rosenfeld to translate and annotate Rabbi Nachman of Breslov’s Rabbi Nachman’s Tikkun. Rabbi Kaplan produced the first ever English translation of Sichot HaRan (Rabbi Nachman’s Wisdom) which Rabbi Rosenfeld edited. Also Rabbi Kaplan translated and annotated Until the Mashiach: The Life of Rabbi Nachman for the Breslov Research Institute that was founded by Rabbi Rosenfeld’s son-in-law Chaim Kramer. From 1976 onward, Rabbi Kaplan’s major activity was the English translation of the anthology Me’am Lo’ez from Hebrew which had been translated from Ladino (Judaeo-Spanish) in 1967. In 1981, Rabbi Kaplan completed The Living Torah which was a new translation of the five books of Moses and the Haftarot. In 1983, Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan died suddenly of a heart attack at the young age of 48. During his lifetime he had written almost 50 books on various topics such as prayer, Jewish marriage and meditation. In finding and pulling Jewish sources for his books, he once remarked, “I use my physics background to analyze and systematize data, very much as a physicist would deal with physical reality.” This ability enabled him to undertake these monumental projects and produce the number of books that he wrote which are highly praised even now. His works are often regarded as a huge force in the growth of the baal teshuva movement-the return to Jewish observance. He once remarked “Throughout history, Jews have always been observant, the teshuvah movement is just normalization. The Jewish people are sort of getting their act together. We’re just doing what we’re supposed to do.” A colleague of Kaplan’s Rabbi Pinchas Stopler, described him as never fearing to speak his mind. “He saw harmony between science and Judaism, where many others saw otherwise. He put forward creative and original ideas and hypotheses, all the time anchoring them in classical works of rabbinic literature." Even though he is gone, Rabbi Kaplan’s works continue to attract many readers from all aspects of life. His works are read and studied by beginners as well as by scholars. His works have been translated into Russian, Modern Hebrew, French, and Spanish. I have read two of his books and I have found them to be easy to read and understand. The names of the two books that I’ve read are SABBATH Day of Eternity and MAIMONIDES’ PRINCIPLES The Fundamentals of Jewish Faith. The latter is the book that I’ve discussing on my facebook group page Ner Tamid. At the end of each chapter there are discussions questions so if you’re interested in joining the discussion please come and join the group! I highly recommend these books to anyone. If you would like a free copy of both books there’s a website that I’ve found called www.FreeJewishBooks.com. There’s no shipping and handling it’s all free. The only downside is that you can only get one free book at a time and you can only get one every two months. This site also has many other free books by Rabbi Kaplan and by others. If you would like to get a small taste of how the Rabbi was like go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAB19Jyp1BA to watch two clips of Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan & Dr. Russell Barber discuss Jewish Mysticism on The First Estate broadcast on WNBC-TV channel 4 in 1979 which was recorded on a VHS tape. You can also visit this website http://www.aryehkaplan.com/ to view the video and receive information about the many works and books that he wrote. Another great example of the rabbi’s prolific ability as a writer read “The Aryeh Kaplan Reader” it’s a collection of his essays. http://www.ou.org/publications/kaplan.html is another site to gain information about his books and the man himself.

A NAZI monster tracked down by The Sun faced spending the rest of his days in jail last night after our investigation forced officials to take action. SS executioner Klaas Faber, 88 - responsible for slaughtering 22 captives at a concentration camp - has been allowed to live peacefully in Bavaria since escaping from a prison in Holland in 1952. But in July The Sun found him - and now German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger has stepped in and ordered local officials to reopen the case. She acted after worldwide outrage following our story. The Israeli government sent a formal letter to Berlin demanding action followed a petition from 150 Jewish lawyers sickened by Faber's case. Faber, a Dutch-born SS volunteer, was sentenced to life in prison after the Second World War. But following his escape he fled over the border to Germany. Incredibly, officials refused to hand him back, insisting a law brought in by Hitler gave all foreign collaborators citizenship, which meant he was immune from extradition. And they insisted he could not be tried locally because his crimes were technically manslaughter not murder, and they happened too long ago. Officials there were under huge pressure from the German national government last night. Bavarian leaders have now signalled they will act if Holland makes a formal request for Faber to be returned to serve out his life sentence. But he could also be brought before a German court and tried again for the crimes. Hopeful Justice Minister Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger yesterday confirmed she had intervened. Her spokesman said: "She wrote a letter to the Bavarian Minister of Justice to look into the case again." Dr Efraim Zuroff, of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre which hunts Nazi war criminals, said The Sun's investigation had shamed Germany into action. He said: "This is a major step forward." Israeli lawyer David Schonberg said: "The Sun has exposed a great scandal and given an opportunity to right a wrong."

Last Wednesday was a really difficult day for me. My original plan was to drop my youngest daughter off at my mom’s house so she could join an out of tow n guest for a day at Knott’s Berry Farm. I assumed the other parent was going to take the teens to the park so I could spend some quality time working on my book. But the easy breezy getaway plan did not go the way I'd thought it would. The irrefutable requests came in three’s. First on the top of “I’m a 90 year old woman and I get what I want” demands from my mom, “can you take the kids to Knotts?” No one says no to my mom. I turned away and rolled my eyes. "Okay, I agreed," and started recalculating my day. That’ll take an hour, but its still only 11 am. I can still get home in time to spend the rest of day at work. As I was walking out the door with the kids, the second “I’m a 90 year old woman and I get what I want” request, “you’re coming back to have lunch with your mother~aren't you?” Well, when you put it that way, I thought. Similar eye roll as earlier, "Absolutely", I replied. Again the recalculating started in my head. I can squeeze in a quick lunch, not eat much, then jet out the door and still get back home by 2ish. But the mom requests did not end there... not yet…. I returned from the drop off by noon. My mom, her caretaker and I were sitting at the table and my mom bombs the third “I’m a 90 year old woman and I get what I want” request, “you said you’d help me clean my closets, when are we going to do that?” I'm toast. I can't even think about writing a word. “Okay mom, how about today”. My day was virtually blown anyway. What I didn't expect was the day that unfolded for me. It was one of the most poignant mother daughter days I have ever experienced. Understand that when a person gets to 90 years old there is a lot of stuff. And my mom is the queen of retention. She has not tossed anything away since the '40's. Every closet in her home is teeming with dresses, skirts, shoes, bags, etc, etc... You get the picture. We started with the two closets in the garage. That's right, you heard me, she's got clothes closets in her garage. Piles of circa 1960's Jackie O' hats, threadbare sweatpants and jackets to large for her shrinking frame all gathered into Goodwill bags. It’s a bittersweet parting of a lovely wardrobe that used to wrap this once statuesque beauty. Then to my surprise my mom said, "lets clean out Dad’s closet". My father passed away over three years ago. His closet has lain untouched since that day. Grieving always takes it's own individual course for each and every person. Ours was today, three and a half years after daddy's passing.http://www.helpguide.org/mental/grief_loss.htm We moved into the master bedroom and opened the door to my father’s old life. I pulled out boxes full of shoes that had never worn, cashmere jackets, a once worn tuxedo, a box full of colorful ties, socks still held together with sales ticket, a straw hat and a sturdy leather utility bag. My father was an incredibly handsome man and dapper dresser. Every piece of clothing was now strewn across the bed and the shoeboxes surrounded my mother's feet. I went to get some bags for the clothes and when I returned I found my mom desperately trying fit her swollen foot from her recent bout with shingles into my daddy's shoes. It was surreal. Was she trying to keep a piece of him with her or did she want to walk in his shoes? The shoe pinched her foot and she winced from the pain. "Everything hurts and I'm tired of it," she wailed, "I shouldn't be here anymore Kerri, I belong in a box next to my husband under the dirt!" Now we were both crying. I didn't say a word. I think I understand how she felt. My mother and father had an amazing love story; it is hard to lose your best friend. If I am ever blessed to have that kind of love in my life, I am not sure I'd want to go on living as she is either. We both dried our eyes and went through every jacket, pair of pants and sweater. With each item of clothing came a story. We spent hours going through it all and cleaning out the pockets. There all kinds of treasures inside like sticky candy, spare change and pocket hankies. My mom found a shoebox full of long faded photos. She reminisced, “Most of the pictures are of me,” she said. Dad was always behind the camera. “Oh look, here are pictures of every room in our house, you know Dad took those in case there was a fire so we’d know what the furniture looked like. I guess they would have burned up in the flames with the house though huh?” The tears of sadness turned to weepy laughter. Tucked way in the back of the closet on the very top shelf was a gift box brimming with every Hallmark card my father ever received from my mom, my brother, the girls and me. Forty-four years of dedication and love for his family overflowed from the edges of the tattered container just like the love my dad had for all of us. My mom and I shared a knowing glance and gingerly tucked the envelopes back in the box and returned it to it's rightful spot on the top shelf of the now barren closet. The space still belongs to Dad. The sun was beginning to set on the day when we had finally folded the last of his belongings into donation bags. It had been a day of tears and laughter, storytelling and testament to an adoring husband, a loving father and the greatest zaidie ever. Last Wednesday I learned that there are incredible gifts in patience and not always following through with the plan. Although he is not with us, he is still so much a part of us and teaching me new lessons every day. I think he's happy that he could bring his wife and daughter together to share this special day. Happy Birthday Dad.

Don't break out the Manischewitz just yet ... TMZ has learned NBA superstar Amar'e Stoudemire has not found concrete evidence that proves he comes from Jewish lineage ... but he's definitely looking. Stoudemire's agent tells us, "I know there are some reports that he is Jewish, but he is not. He thinks there may be some Jewish blood on his mother's side and he is researching it." Amar'e -- who just signed a $100 million contract with the NY Knicks -- is currently vacationing in Israel, where he's learning Hebrew and "studying the religions there."

The survival of Judaism as a religion and the Jewish people as a community are eternal worries for Jews around the world, but rarely do those dual concerns come together as spectacularly as they will in the wedding later this month of former first daughter Chelsea Clinton and the scion of another Democratic clan, Marc Mezvinsky. In many respects, the impending nuptials feature the same dramas so many families experience as the big day approaches: The father of the bride (that'd be former President Bill) is struggling to drop 15 pounds before the wedding; the mother of the bride (that'd be current Secretary of State Hillary) is fretting about the dress (Oscar de la Renta or Vera Wang?); and the bride is trying to figure out who to leave off a select guest list of 400 who will be invited to the July 31 celebration at the former Astor mansion in the upstate New York village of Rhinebeck. Religion is an issue as well, as it often is: Chelsea, 30, is the daughter of a social justice Methodist (Hillary) and a Bible-quoting Southern Baptist (Bill), and Mezvinsky, 32, was raised in Conservative Judaism, a major Jewish movement that discourages intermarriage and forbids rabbis to officiate at -- or even attend -- interfaith weddings in which the non-Jewish spouse does not convert. No details on how the couple will navigate these religious shoals have leaked out, just a few tantalizing hints -- such as Chelsea's attendance with Marc at Yom Kippur services last September at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, the flagship institute for Conservative Judaism. The silence surrounding the wedding's religious protocols has only increased speculation in the Jewish community about what the couple will do: Will a rabbi officiate at the ceremony? A minister? Or both -- or neither? And will the bride convert? Or the groom? Or neither? And what about the kids? "As a rabbi, I would be delighted to see Chelsea convert," Rabbi David Wolpe, a Conservative Jew who leads Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, recently told The Daily Beast. "That would be my dream scenario." (Wolpe once worked for Mezvinsky's father, Ed, who was a Democratic congressman from Iowa before he went to jail on a seven-year fraud sentence after getting caught up in a series of Nigerian e-mail scams. The groom's mother, Marjorie Margolies, was a freshman representative from Pennsylvania who lost her seat in 1994 in part because she was the tie-breaking vote that passed President Clinton's first budget. Through it all, the Mezvinsky-Margolies clan remained close to the Clintons -- and now they'll be in-laws.) Wolpe's wish that Chelsea convert is a common, but not exclusive, sentiment among American Jews who are pondering the Clinton-Mezvinsky wedding. In a lively discussion at the InterfaithFamily.com website, one commenter said that even if Chelsea does not convert, a rabbi should take part in the wedding "if the couple agrees to raise the children Jewish." Another, however, cautioned that "this cannot be a Jewish wedding -- a Jewish wedding is one where both people are Jewish, either by birth or by choice." And yet another commenter gave what is perhaps a more characteristic answer: "I believe that Chelsea and her fiancй should do whatever will make them happiest." In real life, of course, questions about the role of religion often animate wedding planning, given that so many young people feel freed from old prohibitions against marrying outside the faith, if indeed they adhere to the religion of their parents or any religion at all. Yet this being the Clintons, and the religion in question being Judaism, the interfaith angst is taking on a significance far beyond that of the usual family tsuris over such matters. Would such a marriage -- if Chelsea does not convert or the children aren't raised Jewish -- point again to an eroding Jewish identity among younger people and an existential threat to the survival of Judaism itself? Or could this be good for the Jews? It is, after all, a kind of dynastic marriage that would further bond the Jewish people to an influential Clinton clan that is already known for its affinity for Israel. What could be so bad about that? Plenty, given Jewish history. "Intermarriage has been fraught for Jews for a variety of reasons, and continues to be," said Julie Wiener, a columnist at The Jewish Week who writes a monthly essay dedicated to the intermarriage question. "Traditionally there has been a huge taboo against it because Jews have always been a tiny minority, and particularly after the Holocaust they were even smaller." Rabbis in the Orthodox and Conservative Jewish movements are barred from officiating at any interfaith wedding, and the Reform tradition -- the largest and most liberal Jewish denomination -- formally opposes participation in mixed-marriage weddings, though it does leave the decision up to each rabbi. Some rabbis will even preside at same-sex Jewish weddings but not at heterosexual interfaith nuptials. "Intermarriage does indeed constitute the greatest single threat to Jewish continuity today," Steven Cohen, a leading expert on Jewish intermarriage and a professor at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, told The Associated Press in a recent article on whether intermarriage is hurting or helping Judaism. Jewish observance had already been tailing off in recent years, especially among younger Jews, and overall the number of Americans identifying themselves as religiously Jewish has dropped from 3.5 million in 1990 to as low as 2.7 million in 2008. Jewish leaders also worry about a growing distance between younger Jews and what had been almost reflexive Jewish support for Israel -- at a time when Israel is feeling as besieged as at any point since its founding in 1948. That's why intermarriage is such a crucial issue for Jews, and always has been. But especially since 1990, when surveys first showed that an eye-popping 52 percent of Jews were marrying outside the religion, the Jewish community has become fixated on Jewish matchmaking and bolstering Jewish identity. Jewish dating sites have sprung up across the Internet, and Jewish agencies have spent millions on trips to Israel for younger Jews intended not only to bond them to the Jewish state but also serve as a kind of extended singles party. Last year, the Israeli government even co-sponsored a campaign against intermarriage that included newspaper ads and TV clips showing mock missing-persons fliers printed with Jewish-sounding names and the word "Lost" -- a reference to Jews who marry outside the tribe. The spots were pulled after an outcry from American Jews, but a nationalist group in Israel called Lehava, which tries to get Jewish women to split with non-Jewish partners, recently lobbied to break up the relationship between Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli and actor Leonardo DiCaprio. Yet none of these efforts has made an appreciable dent in intermarriage rates, according to Samuel Heilman, a sociologist at Queens College and a leading analyst of trends in Jewish life. "If you look at 100 percent of weddings taking place in 2010 in which a Jew takes part, 55 percent of those weddings will be intermarriages," Heilman said. "This marriage" -- between Chelsea and Marc -- "is a symptom and not a cause, another example that no family is immune to this kind of change." As a result, most Jews are beginning to make the best of the situation -- and are in fact doing a pretty good job of it. "There is less of a stigma attached to intermarriage," said Julie Wiener, "and more and more you are hearing people talking about intermarriage as an opportunity rather than necessarily a problem." Besides, she added, "This isn't the first high-profile intermarriage in politics or Hollywood." For example, Caroline Kennedy, a living link to Camelot Catholicism, married Edwin Schlossberg in 1986, and in 2002 Ari Fleischer, former spokesman for President George W. Bush, married Rebecca Davis, who is Catholic. (Rabbi Harold White, senior Jewish chaplain at Georgetown University, a Jesuit school, performed the marriage with a priest in a ceremony that included a chuppah, or canopy, which is customary for Jewish weddings, a traditional glass-breaking, and a marriage contract, or ketubah.) On Saturday, Rep. Anthony Weiner, a New York City Democrat and vocal champion of Israel who is sure to be a wedding guest of the Clintons on July 31, married Huma Abedin, a Muslim and a longtime aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. (Bill Clinton was to officiate in the civil service, thus avoiding any religious issues altogether.) "I think it's wonderful," Weiner's mother, Fran, told the New York Daily News about her son's choice of a wife. "Anything that makes them happy." To some degree, official Judaism is also starting to agree with Weiner's mom, and is taking steps to adapt. In March, for example, a task force on intermarriage set up by Reform leaders concluded the movement should do more to encourage mixed-faith couples to be active in Jewish life, including creating special blessings for major life events, like weddings and funerals. Rabbis are still discouraged from taking part at interfaith weddings, but the focus is now on encouraging mixed-faith couples to create Jewish homes rather than just discouraging interfaith marriages. Also this year, the main body of Conservative Judaism voted to allow interfaith families to be buried in Jewish cemeteries, and in March, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America hosted a two-day workshop "sensitizing" students to "issues of intermarriage and changing demographics." There is even talk of allowing Conservative rabbis to attend the interfaith weddings of friends -- and this just four years after the movement adopted an official policy emphasizing the importance of converting a non-Jewish spouse. The change is backed in part by a growing body of research that indicates welcoming a non-Jewish spouse can benefit Judaism in the long run. "When I was young and inflexible I refused to do such weddings unless there was a conversion," Rabbi Lester Frazin wrote at the Interfaith Family website. "We lost many couples and those who had converted often disappeared if the marriage failed. I have found in my career that you attract more people through compassionate acceptance than obstinate refusal." Indeed, some say non-Jewish spouses, especially wives, can be more trustworthy in passing on the faith. "It's often the non-Jewish mothers in interfaith marriages who end up knowing more -- and caring more -- about Judaism and Jewish traditions than their husbands," said Nadine Epstein, editor of Moment, a leading Jewish magazine. "In fact, they help reawaken their husbands' interest in their own heritage." Another factor easing concerns about intermarriage is that assimilation for American Jews no longer automatically means becoming part of the surrounding culture by effectively erasing one's Jewish identity. "[W]e happen to live in a time and place where it is very cool to be Jewish," Epstein said. "Jewish values are also in sync -- and even the source of -- some contemporary American values such as emphasis on education, the power of debate and questioning, and working to make the world a better place." That doesn't mean the Clinton-Mezvinsky marriage is completely in the clear. Research indicates that interfaith marriages tend to fail at higher rates than same-faith marriages, and many Jews still hold to the tradition of matrilineal descent -- that the religion is passed through the mother rather than the father. So if Chelsea does not become Jewish, many Jews, especially the Orthodox, would not view the couple's children as Jewish. Moreover, there is a fierce debate within Judaism about what constitutes a legitimate Jewish conversion, so even if Chelsea did convert there would be disagreements. (It is telling that nowhere in the speculation among Jews is there any consideration that Marc Mezvinsky might become Christian.) Still, few see major downsides to this high-profile union. As Heilman explained, Orthodox Jews may not accept the religious legitimacy of the wedding, but "they know well enough not to talk about it. Not to celebrate it, but not to make a public issue about it." "Even the Israelis," he added, "might look at this and say it's not bad having the U.S. secretary of state with a Jewish son-in-law." What most American Jews will be looking for, Heilman said, is "some nod to Judaism not being second class at the wedding" -- a chuppah, the crushing of a glass under the groom's heel, "maybe a yarmulke here or there." As for any other quibbles, they will likely be drowned out by Jewish pride at one of the tribe finding such a catch as Chelsea Clinton -- what Julie Wiener called the "celebrity double standard." "Jews are much more willing to forgive famous Jews for intermarrying than they are for the Jew who lives down the street," she said. Not to mention your own son or daughter.

Happy 4th of July everyone! With the big day less than 24 hours away I couldn't resist the temptation to post about the significant role Jews played in this uniquely American holiday. How so, you wonder? Read on. In my post about Jewish pirates a couple weeks ago, I mentioned how many Jews came to the New World following their expulsion from Spain in 1492. Thanks to this immigration - among other things - by the time the War of Independence erupted some two hundred years later there were more than 2,000 Sephardic Jews living in America. They didn't tarry in the sidelines, but fought against the British beside their Christian counterparts and were key financial backers of the war effort. Two of the most famous Jews who played a role in the Revolution were Francis Salvador and Haym Solomon. Francis Salvador was the first American Jew to die in the Revolution, fighting for his country on the South Carolina frontier. A representative to Congress who was one of the earliest champions for Independence, his involvement on the battlefront began when the British started encouraging Indians to attack frontier families as a diversionary tactic. The first attack took place on July 1, 1776 and Salvador sounded the alarm by racing his horse to Major Andrew Williamson's doorstep twenty-eight miles away. He then took part in the battles that followed, fighting bravely until he was shot and scalped by Indians at 29 years of age. Of his death, Colonel William Thomson wrote:

"Mr. Salvador received three wounds; and, fell by my side... before [we] could find him in the dark, the enemy unfortunately got his scalp... He died, about half after two o'clock in the morning... sensible to the last. When I came up to him, after dislodging the enemy, and speaking to him, he asked, whether I had beat the enemy? I told him yes. He said he was glad of it, and shook me by the hand – and bade me farewell." (Documentary History of the American Revolution by Robert Wilson Gibbes, pp. 125–127.)

"May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in the land continue to merit and enjoy the goodwill of the other inhabitants. While everyone shall sit safely under his own vine and fig-tree and there shall be none to make him afraid."

  LONG BEACH, CA - May 12, 2010 - Two sisters separated by the Holocaust reunite in the aftermath of World War II in Barbara Lebow's powerful and profoundly moving A Shayna Maidel.  ICT artistic director Shashin Desai directs Liza de Weerd, Larry Eisenberg, Laura Howard, Charles Pasternak, Julia Silverman and Erin Anne Williams in a four-week run June 11 through July 3 at International City Theatre in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center.  Low-priced previews begin June 8. International City Theatre first presented A Shayna Maidel as part of its 1992 season. "Our audiences were deeply affected," says Desai.  "We wanted to reprise one play from our archives in celebration of our 25th Anniversary, and this beautiful play kept calling to me." Rose Weiss (Laura Howard) emigrated to America as a young child with her father, Mordechai (Larry Eisenberg). Ill with scarlet fever, older sister Lusia (Liza de Weerd) stayed behind in Poland with Mama (Julia Silverman), planning to follow later.  Now, it's 1946 and Rose is a young woman living in Manhattan when she learns that Lusia has been liberated from a concentration camp and is coming to New York. After a fifteen-year separation, the two women are almost like strangers and must struggle to reconnect. A Shayna Maidel is a bittersweet portrait of a family divided by distance, time, and life experience. "This is not a depressing play about the Holocaust," emphasizes Desai. "Lebow develops the relationship between these two women, sisters who are virtual strangers, with insight and gentle humor, and in the end it's an uplifting, even cathartic experience." A Shayna Maidel premiered in 1985 at the Hartford Stage Company in Hartford, CT, and it opened in New York City a year later.  Since then, it has been performed to acclaim in theaters all over the country. New York Times theater critic Mel Gussow called A Shayna Maidel "a deeply personalized study of sisterhood, family and a crisis of faith. Moving among her characters and shifting back and forth in time, the playwright draws a comprehensive portrait of a family devastated by war." "It's an emotional powerhouse of almost overwhelming proportions," wrote the

(June 7) -- Hearst Newspapers announced today the immediate retirement of Helen Thomas, dean of the White House press corps, in the midst of an uproar over her comments that Jews should "get the hell out of Palestine." "Her decision came after her controversial comments about Israel and the Palestinians were captured on videotape and widely disseminated on the Internet," Hearst said in a statement. It noted that her 90th birthday is Aug. 4. Thomas began her career as a correspondent with United Press International in 1943. According to her website, she has covered the administrations of 10 U.S. presidents, starting with the Kennedy administration. She was the first female member of the White House Correspondents' Association and the Gridiron Club. At the conclusion of presidential news conferences, it was her voice that announced, "Thank you, Mr. President." In 2000, she left UPI and joined Hearst News Service as a columnist but was still honored with a front-row seat at presidential news conferences. The board of the White House Correspondents' Association said the incident revived the question of whether it is appropriate for an opinion columnist to occupy a prominent seat in the White House briefing room. The board will hold a special meeting Thursday to decide on the matter. "Helen Thomas' comments were indefensible, and the White House Correspondents' Association board firmly dissociates itself from them," the board said in a statement. "Many in our profession who have known Helen for years were saddened by the comments, which were especially unfortunate in light of her role as a trailblazer on the White House beat." Also today, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs issued a broadside about Thomas' remarks. Asked during a nationally televised briefing about the BP oil spill if he had discussed Thomas' statement with President Barack Obama, Gibbs replied, "I have not spoken with him directly on that. I'll say this ... I think those remarks were offensive and reprehensible. I think she should and has apologized, because obviously those remarks do not reflect certainly the opinion of, I assume, most of the people in here and certainly not of the administration." During a White House commemoration of Jewish Heritage Month on May 27, Rabbi David F. Nesenoff of the website RabbiLive asked Thomas if she had any comments on Israel. "Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine," said Thomas, who is of Lebanese descent. "Remember, these people are occupied. And it's their land. It's not German, it's not Poland." When Nesenoff asked Thomas where the Israelis should go, she said they should "go home" to Germany, Poland and the U.S. Video of the gaffe has been widely circulated on the Internet. Thomas apologized on her website on June 4, saying, "I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians. They do not reflect my heartfelt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon." But Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, demanded a "more sincere" apology. "Helen Thomas' statement of regret does not go far enough," he said in a statement. "Thomas needs to make a more forceful and sincere apology for the pain her remarks have caused." Before Hearst's announcement of Thomas' retirement, the former spokesman for President George W. Bush said the Hearst news organization should fire her. "As someone who is Jewish, and as someone who worked with her and used to like her, I find this appalling," Ari Fleischer said. Lanny Davis, former White House counsel under President Bill Clinton, called Thomas "an anti-Semitic bigot." Over the weekend, Thomas was dumped by her speaking agency, Nine Speakers, and a high school in Bethesda, Md., canceled plans for her to deliver a speech at its graduation ceremonies. Ibrahim Hooper, director of communications for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, defended Thomas, though not her comments. "Obviously her remarks were inappropriate," Hooper told AOL News in a phone interview today. But, he said, "she's been a target of the pro-Israeli lobby for quite some time. She obviously gave them an opportunity to marginalize her voice in the media." He said Thomas' emotions might have "got the best of her."

BETHESDA, Md. (June 7) -- A high school graduation speech by veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas has been canceled because of controversial remarks she made about Israel, the school's principal said in an e-mail Sunday. Thomas had been scheduled to speak at the June 14 graduation of Walt Whitman High School, but Principal Alan Goodwin wrote in the e-mail to students and parents that she was being replaced. The school in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, Md., hasn't picked a new speaker. "Graduation celebrations are not the venue for divisiveness," Goodwin wrote. Thomas, a columnist for Hearst Newspapers, issued an apology on her Web site on Friday for comments that were captured on video by an interviewer for the website www.rabbilive.com. On the video dated May 27, Thomas says Israelis should "get the hell out of Palestine," suggesting they go to Germany, Poland or the U.S. "I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians," Thomas wrote on her site on Friday. "They do not reflect my heart-felt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon." The national director of the Anti-Defamation League, Abraham H. Foxman, said Sunday that Thomas' apology didn't go far enough. "Her suggestion that Israelis should go back to Poland and Germany is bigoted and shows a profound ignorance of history," Foxman said in a statement. "We believe Thomas needs to make a more forceful and sincere apology for the pain her remarks have caused." Thomas, 89, began her long career with the wire service United Press International in 1943, and started covering the White House in 1960, according to a biography posted on her website. She became a columnist for Hearst in 2000.

Five months after a sea urchin treated Eli Roth's foot like like a Tiger Woods mistress -- and pricked the holy hell out of it -- the "Inglorious Basterds" star is finally stickler-free after a serious medical procedure. Roth showed us his stitches in West Hollywood yesterday -- where he wasn't just talking about the gore ... he also talked about a few monsters. Tune in to TMZ on TV weekdays Monday through Friday (check http://www.tmz.com/tmztv/ for syndicated/local listings)The "Inglourious Basterds" star -- and winner of Jew/Not a Jew -- was kayaking a mile from shore when he got pulled under by a whirlpool. Eli tells TMZ he tried climbing on a rock that was covered in sea urchins, with nobody in sight, but then a huge wave engulfed him ... he tried gaining hisbalance on the rocks and stepped on the urchins, which unleashed scores of spikes into his body.Eli screamed for help. A nearby fisherman saved him. The doctor couldn't anesthetize his foot because of swelling, so the doc held up a needle and tweezers and said, "Be brave."And get this. When Eli got to shore, writhing in pain, a dude in a nearby boat came over -- drink in hand -- and asked Eli to meet his kid. Eli said, "Um, really, I just almost died out there." The dude persisted, and his son -- a 20-year-old who had too much to drink -- came over for a schmoozefest. Eli held out his bloody hand and the meet and greet was over.The Bear Jew was stung 200 times -- pins in the bottom of his feet and palms.E.R. is in pain but ok. He tells us he's actually doing something more painful tonight ... going to the People's Choice Awards.

A parent's worst nightmare. "Behind The Gates", by Wendy Graf, tells the gripping story of what happens when a 17 year old takes a school trip to Israel and disappears. As her parents feverishly search throughout Jerusalem for their daughter, wounds of family and harrowing family dynamics surface, and real questions of right and wrong are confronted in a world where ancient and modern collide, where the Babel of languages defines and isolates, conflicting cultures and politics clash, lost civilizations, extreme orthodoxies and passionate feelings of nationalism try to coexist, changing on a minute by minute basis. Most of all, Behind the Gates is about communication: the difficulties of it, the search for it, and the desperate need to be heard. Follow us on Facebook! Become a fan of BEHIND THE GATES and get updates as to cast, venue, ticket availability, etc. Follow our link to Plays411.net/gates for tickets and sales information. You can also access through Plays411.com

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Funny Jewish women will get their due as part of the Jewish American Heritage Month celebrations in Washington. On Wednesday, the Library of Congress will honor Joan Rivers, the late Gilda Radner and other female Jewish comedians through the showing and discussion of "Making Trouble: Three Generations of Funny Jewish Women." President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama on Thursday will host the first White House reception in honor of Jewish American Heritage Month, which was started by former President George W. Bush. The same evening, the National Archives will host "The Jewish Experience During the Civil War," in which the panelists will discuss a key text, including Gen. Ulysses Grant's order calling for the expulsion of all Jews in his military districts of Tennessee, Mississippi and Kentucky. Gary Zola, professor of the American Jewish Experience at Hebrew Union College, will moderate the panel, which includes Eli Evans, author of "Judah P. Benjamin: The Jewish Confederate," and Pamela Nadell, director of Jewish studies at American University.

A Jewish man spots his Jewish friend reading an Arabic newspaper “An Arabic newspaper? Moshe, have you lost your mind?” he says. “Well, I used to read the Jewish papers, but what did I find?” Moshe replies. “Jews being persecuted, Israel being attacked, Jews disappearing through assimilation, Jews living in poverty. So I switched to an Arab newspaper. Now what do I find? Jews own the banks, Jews control the media, Jews are all rich and powerful, Jews rule the world. The news is so much better!”

   The story is told, in several cultural variations, of a Jewish man spotting a friend reading an Arabic newspaper. “Moshe, have you lost your mind?” he says.