FEATURED JOBS
Comments (4)In case you are wondering… the overall response to our decision to print same sex announcements in the BALTIMORE JEWISH TIMES last week has been pretty quiet. We’ve gotten a number of very nice letters, emails, and phone calls from supporters. And, as expected, there are some who strongly disagree and voted with their feet and canceled their subscriptions, but only three of those so far. Sometimes their words weren’t so nice. A few were down right offensive. Each received a short response from me saying that we understand but disagree and that we look forward to welcoming them back to the JEWISH TIMES family when they’re ready. I’ve also heard from a few Baltimore Jewish agencies that they’ve been getting calls complaining about the JT’s new editorial policy, even though we are an independent entity. And, I heard… read more
BLOGS
Follow Up on Same Sex Announcements
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 12/08/11 at 02:36 PM
Lessons from Penn State
Does anyone think this will be a teachable moment? When some Catholic priests were accused of sexual molestation of minors, we initially had denial, denial, denial from them and the Church. We now know that some of those priests sexually assaulted scores of innocent children and, instead of being criminally prosecuted, they were moved from parish to parish under the watchful eye of the Catholic Church. Rather then confront the horrible problem, the Church chose to cover it up while thousands of boys and girls had their lives ruined. Here in Baltimore, over the decades several rabbis molested young boys in their charge while some supervisors apparently knew about it. Just like in the Catholic Church. Even today, an alleged predator lives on campus at a Jewish boys’ school. The popular Rabbi Jacob A. Max, who died this past… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/11/11 at 12:15 PM
Removal of Hate Speech
The USA Today reported on-line today that ESPN has removed fantasy football leagues with anti-Semitic names from its website after a complaint from the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Some of those names included “Jews are Immoral,” “Jews are Terrible” and “Jews love pennies.” “They may have been fantasy leagues but the hate is all too real,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the center told USA Today. “This is another example of bigots leveraging Internet portals to demean their ‘enemies’ and recruit for their causes. Unfortunately, the targeted enemy in this case was a Jewish who was about to sign up his son to ESPN Fantasy Football.” Cooper said ESPN “responded quickly and in good faith to our concerns.” ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said: “Offensive hate speech like the examples discussed here have no place on our site. While… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 09/09/11 at 12:07 PM
Science v. Religion
Governor Rick Perry of Texas has entered the GOP presidential field. Just prior to announcing he lead a massive prayer rally where he appealed to Jesus to save America. Later while campaigning in the early battle-ground state of New Hampshire, Perry approached a young boy who had a question about evolution to which the candidate replied: “That’s a theory that is out there—and it’s got some gaps in it.” So, my question is: How does the Jewish community feel about a potential president who loves Israel, and embraces concepts in the Torah, but seems to rely more on religion than science? read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 08/19/11 at 10:27 AM
Mideast Primer
If you’re like me, you get flustered when you see and hear anti-Israel rhetoric. I need to keep being reminded of the facts and history behind the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Granted this piece was produced by the Israeli government, I think it’s very factual correct. Take 6 minutes to watch this, and tell me: what are your reactions? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGYxLWUKwWo&feature=player_embedded#at=107 read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 08/10/11 at 11:46 AM
JT’s Best in Baltimore
More recognition for former JT Editor, Phil Jacobs. While he’s gotten a lot more ink from out-of-town media except for the great cover story in the Baltimore City Paper, Phil now received a Best in Baltimore kudos from Baltimore Magazine. Phil was chosen as best “Crusading Editor” under its local media section for his work to uncover sexual abuse among the rabbinate. The awards are great recognition for a job well done, and I think we’re both more pleased that Baltimore’s Jewish organizations instituted real change after these allegations came to light. I’m thinking of TA and the rabbinical association changing it policies, or Rabbi Adler speaking from the bema, acknowledging his synagogues errors over many years. All this brought great comfort to the hundreds of innocent victims. I’m sure Phil appreciates this Best in Baltimore award in 2011,… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 07/29/11 at 11:40 AM
“Crusading Editor”
Congrats to former colleague and forever friend, Phil Jacobs, for being recognized nationally (now in the Forward) for his “Crusade to Bring Orthodox Sex Abuse to Light.” http://t.co/C We new he was making real changes in this world. Glad others now see it. Phil, currently the Editor of the Washington Jewish Week, is off today to San Francisco to screen the documentary about him, “Standing Silent” at the nation’s largest Jewish film festival. The movie will be screening in Baltimore on August 9 at Congregation Netivot Shalom (7602 Labyrinth Road). Is anyone planning on seeing it? read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 07/28/11 at 07:07 AM
It Takes Chutzpa to Say That
Surging GOP presidential hopeful Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) has been making a lot of headlines lately, and not all of them positive. She’s gotten some negative publicity for the psychotherapy practice that she owns with her husband for accepting federal dollars. Normally that wouldn’t be an issue, but as a staunch Tea Partier, she says she’s vociferously opposed to non-essential federal spending. To add to the brewing controversy, it’s now alleged that the practice is using federal tax money to “convert” homosexuals to heterosexuality through Christian prayer. (Read more here: http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2011/07/marcus-bachmann-says-clinics-not-anti-gay.html) What irks me is that the Tea Partiers don’t have a problem using government funds to do Christian activities because they don’t believe the first amendment separates church and state activities, only that the government shall make no national religion. Recent rulings have referred to it as a… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 07/15/11 at 12:21 PM
Thanks Phil
What I loved about John Elway, one of the best quarterbacks of all time, is that he knew when it was time to move on to the next phase of his life. He won back to back Super Bowls, and went on to other endeavors. As opposed to other greats like Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali who hung on too long. My dear colleague Phil Jacobs also knew it was his time to pass along the leadership of the Jewish Times to a new person. Phil is moving on to the next challenge in his life: becoming the editor of the Washington Jewish Week. He has a lot of work to do there after accomplishing his goals here. In 1997, we needed a strong community minded editor to repair the damage left by our previous editor. Phil did that… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 05/27/11 at 07:05 AM
STATEMENT BY U.S. SENATOR BEN CARDIN ON ISRAEL AND THE PEACE PROCESS
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Co-chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, today issued the following statement regarding President Obama’s speeches on the Middle East peace process and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a Joint Session of Congress: During the past few days, President Obama addressed the world on the challenges facing the Middle East. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also addressed a joint meeting of Congress and laid out the fundamental issues of security and peace. As Prime Minister Netanyahu clearly stated this morning, “I will accept a Palestinian state. It is time for President Abbas to stand before his people and say: ‘I will accept a Jewish state.’” It is apparent that it is the interest of all parties for there to be two states… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 05/25/11 at 09:10 AM
The Price of Freedom?
This past Passover was very special for me. I wrote a column about how this year I was able to bring my children from the hardships of Ethiopia to the land of freedom in Baltimore. We left Africa where the Nile River originates to the tony tree-lined streets of Roland Park. It was like the Exodus happened for my children. It also taught me a little something about the budget and politics. There are those who are calling for less government regulation and lower taxes. Well, I experienced deregulation in the back seat of a Ethiopian taxi cab holding our babies. There were no baby seats or even seat belts for our infants. Despite the heat, we smothered our children trying to protect them. We couldn’t open the windows. The cars spouted horrible pollution; it burned our eyes and… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 04/25/11 at 07:03 PM
The Price of Freedom?
This past Passover was very special for me. I wrote a column about how this year I was able to bring my children from the hardships of Ethiopia to the land of freedom in Baltimore. We left Africa where the Nile River originates to the tony tree-lined streets of Roland Park. It was like the Exodus happened for my children. It also taught me a little something about the budget and politics. There are those who are calling for less government regulation and lower taxes. Well, I experienced deregulation in the back seat of a Ethiopian taxi cab holding our babies. There were no baby seats or even seat belts for our infants. Despite the heat, we smothered our children trying to protect them. We couldn’t open the windows. The cars spouted horrible pollution; it burned our eyes and… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 04/25/11 at 07:03 PM
Media Games
I love the New York Times. (And btw…I hope their paywall is wildly successful so they can actually get paid for their enterprising work, which still sets the standard for American journalism.) Other than the Wall Street Journal, there really are no dailies left that are consistently doing quality, reliable journalism. But like anything you love, you have differences. So I was upset to see the newspaper of record recently put on its cover a large photo of Israeli soldiers removing Palestinians from a West Bank neighborhood to make room for a Jewish settlement. Personally, I’m against Israel expanding its territorial hold on the West Bank, and the photo or the news of the event was not unwarranted. But it’s all about context and balance, isn’t it? What bothers me is that when Judge Richard Goldstone of the now… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 04/13/11 at 10:16 AM
Painful Truths
We certainly didn’t need a cover story in Baltimore’s City Paper (http://citypaper.com/news/silent-no-more-1.1116004) this week that lauded the important work of Executive Editor Phil Jacobs. Nor did we need the accolades that came from featured documentary on Phil’s work, which a few weeks ago premiered at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival and attracted about 350 people in two showings. The resulting interest from HBO and other distribution points is not the point either. What is important is the verification that Phil and the Baltimore Jewish Times did and continues to do the right thing – despite the obvious heat it has generated. A few years ago, when we began exposing allegations of child molesters among Baltimore’s rabbis – past and present, I expected people would say, “Thank you.” After all, the Boston Globe, which provided marvelous coverage of priests as… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 03/09/11 at 08:47 AM
Relic Or Relevant?
On a December visit to Ethiopia, I toured a 16th-century Christian monastery. These beautiful buildings overlooked the massive lake leading into the beginning of the Blue Nile. They also brought history alive with artifacts that you can literally touch — don’t try that at the Baltimore Museum of Art! To reach one monastery, you hike 15 minutes up a mountain. Inside, you witness Ethiopia’s proud history. There, my eyes brightened as among the relics-like communion cups was a seven-branched menorah. After two hours of surveying Christian history, I was holding an ancient Jewish symbol. (Prior to the chanukiah, the eight-branched Chanukah menorah, the seven-branched version was in Israel during the Second Temple period, symbolizing the days of the week.) Through an interpreter, the guide said this piece of Jewish history proved that Ethiopia was once the only country outside… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 02/08/11 at 03:06 PM
Maryland’s Next Jewish Governor?
Now that the 2010 elections have been over for more than a month, and the nasty commercials have stopped, I feel most people should be over the election fatigue. So, it’s safe to write about politics again. When Editor Phil Jacobs and I interviewed Gov. Martin O’Malley just before the vote, I offered him an icebreaker question: With large crop of young Jewish politicians now in office, who do you think will be the next Jewish Governor: · Attorney General Doug Gansler (reelected without opposition) · Howard County Executive Ken Ulman (handily reelected) · Baltimore’s newly elected City State’s Attorney Gregg Bernstein · Baltimore County’s newly elected Executive Kevin Kamenitz · Or newly appointed Judge Karen “Chaya” Friedman The Governor politely dodged the question, saying that there were a… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 12/22/10 at 11:24 AM
Shining the Sheen
By the time I traveled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia a few weeks ago, the initial sheen on President Barack Obama’s presidency had long ago tarnished. For certain, he has not exactly been the next Robert Kennedy or returned our nation to the storied era of John F. Kennedy’s Camelot years. Still, when I walked the dirt streets of the African capital city, young men in the markets would approach me and ask my lone white face where I was from. My simple answer: “America.” “Obama for Hope and Change!” many shouted back with smiles. I hadn’t heard that phrase since about the time the oil started leaking from the BP oil wells. I looked at one teenage vendor in eye and told him, “Maybe your son can be president of United States.” (Obama’s father was from neighboring Kenya, something… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 12/20/10 at 10:53 AM
GOP’s Black Ops
Obviously the Democrats got trounced in the mid-term elections. Republicans claim that the major victory was a rejection of President Barack Obama’s vision for America. Democrats, including the President, counter they just didn’t get out message about all their accomplishments. It’s hard to tout saving 1.2 million jobs when the unemployment rate is still a whopping 9.6 percent. You can’t talk about education reform when people are still losing their homes. It’s hard to think about the benefits of healthcare in 2014 when the Great Recession essentially, though not technically, continues into its third year. On the other hand, the Republicans aren’t doing any great service to our country either. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is on record saying that he wants to ensure Obama is a one-term president. That’s not real helpful. What frightens me is that partisan… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/18/10 at 03:14 PM
The Israel Diet for America
Americans are fat and unhappy. A full two-thirds of our country’s citizens are overweight, including the more than one-third of us who are obese. This has all kinds of negative implications: skyrocketing medical insurance; increased likelihood of disease; shortened life span; and decreased productivity. It even makes it a challenge to field enough soldiers because so many young adults fail the military fitness tests. America suffers an array of problems: dependence on foreign oil, crumbling infrastructure, and a pro-longed, crippling financial crisis that’s keeping unemployment at a very high 9.5 percent (not counting the “under-employed” and those who have given up looking). I look at Israel’s model for some solutions to these problems. Israel currently requires military service for everyone (with the exception of the Haredi Orthodox and Israeli Arab communities). All young women serve for two years and… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/13/10 at 02:55 PM
Taking the Slow Road
I heard a lot of good chatter about the new BoltBus from Baltimore to New York City. The Greyhound subsidiary offers very inexpensive rides from Baltimore’s Penn Station to New York’s Penn station, ones clearly less than the cost of paying the tolls along the way. The tiered ticketing system offers the first seats for $4 and climbs to about $20 per seat. You’d be hard pressed to spend that little on gas alone. Plus there are other niceties: free Wi-Fi, leather seats and friendly employees. This is not a completely novel idea. Bus service is very old and for a while there’s been inexpensive service to NYC complete with free movies aboard from companies like Superior Tours. What’s new is the frequency of the bus and the many options to travel. So when I tried it out for… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/04/10 at 09:31 AM
Rosh Hashanah And Burning Korans
It’s just a few hours before the sun dips below the horizon, and I’m doing my best to reflect on the past year and set goals for 5771. As a people, we pray for peace. But it feels as if the harder we pray, the more distant the reality of peace becomes. The Israelis and Palestinians are finally back at the table, and expectations are extremely low for any substantial outcome. Meanwhile, the traditional media and the new social media are all abuzz over the Muslim cultural center to be built in the vicinity to Ground Zero. It shows that anti-Islamic backlash is becoming a real issue in this country. One innocent Arab American cab driver was stabbed by a drunken idiot in Manhattan. Now Terry Jones, pastor of the Dove World Outreach Center, is planning a Koran burning… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 09/08/10 at 10:32 AM
Unkosher Journalism
Several months ago, a new local Jewish website launched: BaltimoreJewishLife.com. As with all local Jewish media—radio, Eruv List, websites and others—we welcome any attempts to help strengthen our community. Examiner.com writer, Maayan Jaffee (one of our former colleagues), wrote that the new site would be a “Kosher Jewish Times” and that its owner, Jeff Cohn, would ensure the site will meet the highest standards of religiosity. But it didn’t take long before BaltimoreJewishLife.com started putting up BALTIMORE JEWISH TIMES content – protected by U.S. copyright law—without even asking our permission. Despite repeated attempts to contact the anonymous “staff,” it happened a few times. Here’s but the latest example. This week, JEWISH TIMES editor Phil Jacobs broke the news story on http://www.jewishtimes.com that Judge Karen “Chaya” Friedman was appointed the Baltimore City Circuit Court. Despite being on vacation, Phil even… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 07/28/10 at 10:09 AM
‘Stay at Home’ Commentators
In yesterday’s much anticipated, debated, over -analyzed, and much talked about meeting between the Israeli and U.S. leaders, my favorite moment was when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gently pressed the American President Barak Obama. Netanyahu didn’t ask for permission for his country to bomb Iran, or for more financial support, or even for the White House to ease up on promoting the peace process. Said Netanyahu: “You know, I’ve been coming here a lot. It’s about time you and the First Lady came to Israel, sir.” Obama, who hasn’t been to the Jewish state since he was running for president, quickly replied, “I’m ready. We look forward to it. Thank you.” “Any time,” Netanyahu said. That made me think. How many Americans – either those on the right or the left – who often put their two cents… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 07/07/10 at 04:16 PM
It’s Not Just BP’s Fault
I was having dinner with an old friend the other night. He glanced down at the menu and looked up in disgust. “I can’t do it. I can’t do it anymore. I’m going to have to become a vegan. I can’t eat seafood or meat. We’ve fouled up our environment so much, none of it’s healthy.” Now, normally, I like to prove my friend wrong, but not in this instance. I was in no mood to argue. Millions of gallons of oil had just spilled in America’s seafood basket; our Chesapeake Bay’s in horrible shape; and we treat our livestock so poorly, injecting them so much, it makes our food supply suspect. We’ve made such a mess of our land and sea that beluga whales living in the Arctic Ocean are now getting breast cancer. Everyone, on the left… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 06/20/10 at 09:42 AM
A Palestinian Exodus?
Am I the only one, but does the Mavi Marmara bring back memories of the famed Exodus ship, which launched from the Baltimore harbor in 1947? I’m not talking about good memories either. The former steamer SS President Warfield of the Baltimore Steam Packet Company was purchased by the pre-state Jewish military force the Hagannah and renamed the SS Exodus. It set out on a mission to pick up 4,500 Holocaust survivors, temporarily in France, and take them to then-British controlled Palestine. It was commandeered in international waters by the Royal Navy and the passengers were sent – of all places—to an interment camp in Germany. The huge international outcry was a lynchpin for the founding of the Jewish State a year later. Back then, the United States had been pressing Britain to allow more Jewish refugees into Palestine… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 06/03/10 at 11:37 AM
Why Don’t We Pray?
A new survey released by LifeWay Christian Reources – an arm of the Southern Baptist Convention—shows that 72 percent of Christian Millenials (18 to 29-year olds) are more spiritual than religious. They are becoming more secular. USA Today reported on the survey and quoted the research group’s president, Thom Rainer, saying “the Millennial generation will see churches closing as quickly as GM dealerships, Most young adults today don’t pray, don’t worship and don’t read the Bible, a major survey by a Christian research firm shows. Among the startling data: •65% rarely or never pray with others; •and 65% rarely or never attend worship services This is consistent with the premise of Robert Putnam’s 1995 the book, “Bowling Alone,” which showed that the Millenials are not joining organizations as their parents did. And this is eerily similar to what’s been… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 04/27/10 at 09:08 AM
Ignorance Walks
Thomas Friedman’s been writing about the value on entrepreneurship to buoy our economy. He wrote today about how a start-up company founded by immigrants from Cuba and India are working on a cutting edge medical devise with the help of Israeli engineers. They are America’s future. Then I read on the USA Today website about a group of Neo-Nazis marching in LA against Jews and immigrants. They say that the immigrents are taking jobs and committing crimes, as if white people don’t commit crimes. Makes me realize that uneducated, ignorant people fear change. They also hate the fact that there are harder-working smarter people they they are. What are your thoughts on the immigration debate? read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 04/18/10 at 11:06 AM
Ignorance Walks
Thomas Friedman’s been writing about the value on entrepreneurship to buoy our economy. He wrote today about how a start-up company founded by immigrants from Cuba and India are working on a cutting edge medical devise with the help of Israeli engineers. They are America’s future. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/opinion/18friedman.html?hp Then I read on the USA Today website about a group of Neo-Nazis marching in LA against Jews and immigrants. They say that the immigrents are taking jobs and committing crimes, as if white people don’t commit crimes. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-04-17-nazi-los-angeles-rally_N.htm?csp=hf Makes me realize that uneducated, ignorant people fear change. They also hate the fact that there are harder-working smarter people they they are. What are your thoughts on the immigration debate? read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 04/18/10 at 11:06 AM
Ignorance Walks
Thomas Friedman’s been writing about the value on entrepreneurship to buoy our economy. He wrote today about how a start-up company founded by immigrants from Cuba and India are working on a cutting edge medical devise with the help of Israeli engineers. They are America’s future. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/opinion/18friedman.html?hp Then I read on the USA Today website about a group of Neo-Nazis marching in LA against Jews and immigrants. They say that the immigrents are taking jobs and committing crimes, as if white people don’t commit crimes. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-04-17-nazi-los-angeles-rally_N.htm?csp=hf Makes me realize that uneducated, ignorant people fear change. They also hate the fact that there are harder-working smarter people they they are. What are your thoughts on the immigration debate? read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 04/18/10 at 11:06 AM
The Vatican’s Vultures
What can I add to the latest flap over sexual abuse in the Catholic Church that hasn’t been digested on TV, in newspapers, blogs and preached about? I’m talking about how Pope Benedict XVI knew about pervasive child molestation while he was responsible for overseeing that matter in the Vatican. Then, when the memos were brought to the New York Times, the Vatican’s household priest has the audacity to say he now understood how Jews felt about anti-Semitism. What?! Which is it: that the Jews deserved the Holocaust because of something they did or was anti-Semitism so benign? Please. More news from the NY Times today has it that a priest who forced sex upon a 14-year-old girl is still counseling kids. What are you thoughts on this atrocious behavior? read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 04/06/10 at 10:50 AM
A Fair Shake
A nice Jewish boy from Howard County recently emailed me his opinion on the new health care legislation. Well, not just any guy. It was from Doug Ulman, president of the Lance Armstrong Foundation. His brother, Ken, is the Howard County Executive. Doug is a cancer survivor and had some interesting points to make. Here’s some of what he said in his email: “It was a long and difficult debate. We didn’t always agree on every detail. But we came together around the principle that discrimination against cancer survivors must end. This week, after many years of failed attempts, the President has finally signed into law a reform bill that will balance the scales and give those of us affected by cancer a fair shake when it comes to health care reform. “Do we agree with every provision? No.… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 03/31/10 at 12:32 PM
Jewish Vancouver
I lived in Vancouver from 1995-1997. It’s a great little Jewish community of 20,000. They were so welcoming and warm when I moved there not knowing anyone. I loved watching the Olympics there. I was bummed not to be have gone back to visit friends and see the games. A few friends shared pictures of themselves at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Risa and Ted Offit’s son Max, and Josh Wolberg, had a brush with fame. They posted this on their FaceBook page with Olympic Gold medalist Torah Bright And, my colleague from my days at the Vancouver Jewish Bulletin, Adam Rabiner, sent me this picture which he called, The Great One. Did anyone else meet any celebrities while in Vancouver? read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 03/01/10 at 03:06 PM
They Just Don’t Get it
Working for a media company, we get a lot of press releases. In the old days, people had to take the time to send or even fax them to you. Now, with a click of a button, thousands of releases are e-mailed with the click of a button. This morning while pleasantly reading a New York Times story about David Gelbaum, I also checked my e-mail. The story about Gelbaum, a little know philanthropist, was about how some recent financial constraints forced him to stop his multi-million annual gifts to several non-profits. Over the past four years, Gelbaum has donated $380 million to the ACLU, Sierra Club and an organization that provides financial assistance to families whose loved ones are deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. His main condition was adhering to Maimondes’ principals of the highest form of giving… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 12/10/09 at 05:10 PM
The Right Thing
Every once in a while, it’s nice to get a nod to know you’re doing the right thing. I mean, our mission is to strengthen the community that we serve. But it’s a difficult thing to measure. Today, we got a little validation. Right there on the front page of one of the leading dailies in the world—the New York Times—- was a story about how the fervently Orthodox are finally starting to change. They are now for the first time starting to report sexual abuse to the legal authorities, and not just to their rabbis. The Times credits the work of rabbis, social workers, and the Jewish press. They mentioned the New York Jewish Week by name for its work in outing Baruch Lanner in 2000. Much credit also has to go to Baltimore Jewish Times Editor Phil… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/14/09 at 03:02 PM
Sorry Saudi Excuses
I have this overwhelming urge to blurt out “You lie!” But, after all, I believe in the saying, “be the change you want to see in the world.” I want greater civility, so I won’t do it. Still, I’m incensed by the Sunday New York Times Op-Ed by Turki al-Faisal, a former Saudi Ambassador to the United States not to mention former Saudi intelligence service head. In the piece “Land First, Then Peace,”read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 09/14/09 at 01:42 PM
Trash Talk
This week Baltimore City’s controversial new trash collection schedule came into effect. Instead of getting two weekly pick ups and two bi-monthly recycling days, we now only have one garbage day. Plus, there is also a limit to how much can be picked up each week. Another bad move by Baltimore City? No, because it also made the change so that we get recycling every single week instead of every other week. Sure, it may take a few more minutes to sort your waste every day, but it makes total sense to do so. How often do we complain about city taxes? Now, as its tax coffers to pay for services are drying up, the City actually came up with a novel idea to prevent another tax hike. It only takes a few minutes to toss paper, plastic, and… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 07/15/09 at 03:12 PM
An Iceland Adventure
I recently returned from my annual fundraising expedition. Each year our group, Jodi’s Climb for Hope travels the globe to raise money for promising breast cancer research. Our mountain climbs often take us to remote, if not less developed countries. The past two years Jodi’s Climb for Hope journeyed to Ecuador and Tanzania. After fabulous experiences, it’s always nice to return to modern civilization for hot showers and fast internet connections. This year, we mixed it up a bit and hopped over to Iceland, a fabulously beautiful country where you have amazing diversity from barren lava fields to rich green fields, plentiful sea views and always a mountain in sight. Instead of going back to the future at the expedition’s end, I actually felt, we were going back in time returning to the United States. We had good look… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 07/01/09 at 09:42 AM
The Real Work Begins
As a board member of The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, I had a front-row seat to the board’s dealings on the Owings Mills JCC Shabbat opening issue. Many things stand out in my head. People on both sides of this difficult issue had a great deal of passion and clear thoughts about it. While the debate was lively, it was always respectful and never heated. And in the meeting where the final vote took place last Wednesday afternoon, there was an obvious mixing of people on both sides, eliminating an “us-versus-them” attitude. A few comments also stuck out. Dr. Michael Elman called in from Jerusalem, pleading with the Associated board not to open the JCC. But what really stuck out was his admission that the community missed the boat 12 years ago when those who voted to… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 05/28/09 at 10:28 AM
Jodi Alter Buerger, 1963-2009
The following remarks combine the thoughts of Peter Augustini with mine on the loss of Jodi Alter Buerger, Mr. Augustini’s wife and my sister. Jodi A. Buerger lost her four and one-half year struggle with cancer ended early this morning May 8, 2009. My sister Jodi was the inspiration to create Climb for Hope. When she was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer in October 2004, I knew we had to move quickly to find a cure. Jodi was one of the greatest women you’d ever meet. Her courage and strength led me to put together an organization dedicated to speeding up work on a treatment for advanced breast cancer to give her more time with her family. Our precious and beautiful Jodi died only after exhausting every ounce of energy from her broken body. She never gave up… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 05/11/09 at 09:22 AM
Black Prophets
The Prophet Elijah came early this year. Well, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) was actually late to his own gala dinner of the Elijah Cummings Youth Program in Israel (ECYP), having spent the day dealing on Capitol Hill with the economic crisis. But he did make the appearance here two weeks before Passover. His event made me think: It would be great if Jews and African-Americans could simply rely on their shared history of oppression and civil rights to again bring them together. But the two ethnic groups have moved further apart since the ’60s. It doesn’t help matters in Baltimore that the Jewish community keeps moving to the exurbs and into gated communities, our children tucked safely into private schools — parochial and religious. Improving relations is even harder with little interaction. I’d love it if we could inoculate… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 04/06/09 at 12:48 PM
Investigating Israel’s Soldiers
Almost two weeks ago, the Baltimore Sun published an editorial applauding Israel for its investigation of alleged solider misconduct in its recent offensive into Gaza. I can’t say I disagree with that statement. CLICK HERE What troubles me in calling out Israel and writing “The military code of the Israel Defense Forces, the best army in the region, obligates its soldiers to protect human dignity,” is that there was no comment about Hamas’ conduct. Yes, we all hold Israel and its democracy to a higher standard. Still, where is the Sun or any human rights organization chastising the Islamic organizations that control power in Gaza? I recently attended an event for the Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces. The speaker, an IDF officer, told us how Israeli strategy has changed since the war in Lebanon in 2006. Strong navies… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 04/02/09 at 02:52 PM
Vengeance
There’s nothing more awful than hearing about a young woman who is beaten, raped and murdered. When the perpetrator is apprehended, you want revenge — an “eye for an eye,” as the Torah declares. I tend to be against the death penalty, but find myself hoping that the guy who tortured and ended a beautiful life suffers horribly. When you see the grief on the face of parents of the dead, pain that you realize will never go away, you don’t want that murderer’s life spared. Another sickening tragedy occurs when a person is finally freed after losing decades behind bars for a wrongful verdict. There have been instances of someone rotting for 10, 20, or even 30 years in jail, only to be released when the relatively new technology of DNA is applied to an old case. With… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 03/23/09 at 01:50 PM
What’s with Ron Smith?
During this whole recent Rush Limbaugh flap when he made all those powerful GOPers back down and apologize, I didn’t get worked up. Nor was I concerned when he publicly said he wanted President Barack Obama to fail at a time where we’re losing 500,000 jobs per month. He’s an entertainer. He gets paid more money according to how many people listen to his rants. Last summer, because he says so many outrageous things, he was able to sign an eight-year, $400 million contract for attracting a lot of ears at a time when people are filling those ears with sounds from iPods, satellite radios and cellphones. I felt the same way about Ron Smith, the conservative talk show host on WBAL radio. Now, though, he has a gig on Friday’s in the Baltimore Sun. The difference between radio… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 03/19/09 at 12:42 PM
Is the Pope for Real?
I realize coming from a person who followed a legend, people shouldn’t compare people to their predecessors. Heck, I had to follow Chuck Buerger as Publisher of the Baltimore Jewish Times. He was seen as the finest in his field. I know how Doug DeCinces – who replaced Brooks Robinson at third base for the Orioles—felt. But, I can’t help but see the let down with Pope Benedict XVI following Pope John Paul II, who made enormous strides in some many areas. Obviously I care mostly about the healing of the Catholic-Jewish relations. Pope Benedict XVI made a mistake concerning Bishop Richard Williamson’s Holocaust denial. Now, Benedict XVI goes to Africa to tell Africans that condoms aren’t enough to prevent AIDS. Perhaps, he didn’t ask Bristol Palin’s views on the issue, but she’s proof that “abstinence only” education is… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 03/17/09 at 03:59 PM
Dubai’s Fault II
UPDATE: New developments call for an update to my last blog entry about Dubai denying an entrance visa to Israel’s Shahar Peer to play in the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, which run Feb. 25 to March 9. CLICK HERE Since I wrote, several major sponsors announced they would pull out in protest, including the European Wall Street Journal. But lead sponsor Barclays PLC, an international bank, maintained is sponsorship claiming its agreement, “does not allow us to interfere with any actions or decisions that have to do with the tournament itself, or the players, or the regulations of the host country.” It’s more likely that, according to Reuter’s news service, Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family, made a significant investment in Barclays. The Sheikh, part of Dubai’s ruling family, now has 16.3… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 02/26/09 at 11:37 AM
Dubai’s Fault
In President Barack Obama’s inaugural address, he so eloquently remarked about “why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.” America now has a new sense of hope for equality. If an African American can live in the world’s most exclusive address, surely he can live in places such as Roland Park and elsewhere, which not long ago hung signs stating “No Blacks or Jews allowed.” Jews, too, have reached America’s highest offices — from a Vice Presidential candidate nominee to Obama’s current Chief of Staff. Sadly, this is not the case internationally, despite how Jews have… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 02/25/09 at 10:12 AM
Our Low Moment
There are some Jewish leaders who compare “Madoff-gate” to the Holocaust. Personally, I hate drawing any type of parallel about the worst event in the history of man to anything. To do so denigrates the memory of the 12 million who perished. I do agree, however, when I hear people describe this current economic crisis as “the worst since the Great Depression.” I believe that Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, which made billions disappear, is the most despicable incident to happen to the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Sure, there have been tragic events in Israel’s 60-year statehood, but the feisty little nation always seems to come out victorious. If the Holocaust was the nadir of the Jewish timeline, then the founding of Israel three years later was the zenith in 2,000 years, providing the tiniest bit of salvation for… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/05/09 at 10:08 AM
Hamas Tally
When I moved to Vancouver, B.C. in 1995 to take over management of the Jewish weekly there, the first decision I had to make was whether or not to eliminate the Jonathan Pollard counter. The previous publishers, a husband and wife team and ardent Zionists, felt Jonathan Pollard was wronged by the U.S. government. Every single week from 1984 through 1995 they kept a running tally on their front page of the number of days Pollard was in prison, or just over 4,000 days at the time. Whether or not I agreed about how Pollard was treated, I felt it was time to take the box off of the front page. It ran its course, and there was more pressing news to write about back in 1995, like innocent Israelis being killed at the hands of Palestinians. For a… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 12/29/08 at 03:27 PM
The Weinberg Bail Out?
My wife and I have a Sunday routine of making sure we’re awake, downstairs, have the coffee brewed, and the New York Times brought inside, all by 9:59 a.m. We don’t like to miss a second of “Meet the Press,” especially with so much unsettling economic news. We are glued to the discussions about the federal government’s role in bailing out distressed companies to buoy our economy. I must admit, though, I’m a little afraid to fire up my computer most mornings. I’m not sure how much longer I can read bad news: consumer spending, U.S. automakers, home foreclosures, Blagojevich in Illinois. What’s next? Now we know. News broke this past week that Bernie Madoff bilked up to $50 billion from affluent people — including noteworthy Jews such as Elie Wiesel and Steven Spielberg. In fact, Mr. Madoff allegedly… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 12/18/08 at 04:47 PM
Special Bar Mitzvah
Last Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008, Matthew Caplan and Evan Chernoff were called to the Torah at Beth El Congregation to become bar mitzvot. The two chanted wonderfully, making their families and everyone in the crowded sanctuary very proud. The 13-year-olds must have practiced for over 100 hours each in preparation for their simchahs, including their portion, Chayei Sarah. During the service, Rabbi Steve Schwartz called Matt and Evan together for a moment in what were otherwise equally joyous but separate simchahs. The rabbi introduced the two boys to someone else who had also practiced countless hours for parshat Chayei Sarah, “Life of Sarah,” for his bar mitzvah, but never had a chance to chant it in front of a congregation or make his parents proud. The bar mitzvah was supposed to take place on Nov. 9, 1938. Arnold Fleischmann,… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 12/01/08 at 06:37 AM
The Big O’s No-No’s
It didn’t take long for President-Elect Barack Obama and his team to make their first mistakes. During his much anticipated introductory news conference, Mr. Obama joked that he spoke with most of the living president—but didn’t pull a Nancy Reagan. He tried and failed to be funny in recalling how Mrs. Reagan reportedly held séances in the White House in the early 1980s. He later called and, appropriately, apologized to the former First Lady. The next gaff came from the father Mr. Obama’s newly minted Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel. Dr. Benjamin Emanuel, Rahm’s Israeli-born father, last week told the Ma’ariv daily, “Obviously he’ll influence the president to be pro-Israel. Why wouldn’t he? What is he, an Arab? He’s not going to be mopping floors at the White House.” The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee called the remarks “an unacceptable smear.”… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/18/08 at 11:50 AM
Obama Day One
Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, remarked about the importance of a two state solution to the Israeli/Palestinian issue earlier this week, “The single most important thing is that the new administration in the United States grips this issue from Day One.” As an American Jew, I can emphasis how important that is, and I’m sure the 47 million Americans without health insurance, the 6.5 percent of out-of-work Americans and the million employees who depend on the Big Three all think their problems should be addressed on Day One. Some people believe that energy independence trumps everything else. I think they have a real point. What if President Barack Obama made that his big, hairy, audacious goal of becoming energy independent by 2016 starting with the Big Three? Already he’s talking about providing loans to the car makers… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/13/08 at 07:29 PM
Rahm Emanuel
The 2008 presidential election wasn’t even a week ago, and it’s way too early to judge President-elect Barack Obama—although pundits on the left and right were impressed with his poise and demeanor in his first news conference. He has a large task in front of him and the nation is counting on him to deliver. From a Jewish perspective, Mr. Obama’s first steps were certainly newsworthy. During the campaign, his opponents tagged him as anti-Israel and anti-Semitic because of his association with the fiery Rev Jeremiah Wright for 20 years (and Wright’s praise of the Rev. Louis Farrakhan). That was a cause for concern, and Mr. Obama had to confront it head on. Still, I don’t think that the relationship made Mr. Obama anti-Semitic. It’s actions that count. So look at are Obama’s first two major decisions. 1. His… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/09/08 at 09:29 AM
After The Historic Election
Back in 2004 when George Bush was fresh off a victory over John Kerry, my friend Andy Colyer predicted that Bush’s incompetence would heavily damaged the Republican party, damaging our country which relies on a two party system. Part one of his prediction came true. Tuesday night was a huge referendum on Bush’s Republican Party. This is only two years after the GOP suffered terribly in the mid-term elections. Time will shortly tell if a Pelosi-Reid- Obama trio will damage the United States – as happened at other times when there was one party control such as from 1992-1994 and 2000-2006 (despite the Senate tipping to the Democrats for a while in 2002 thanks to an Independent Senator from Vermont). The post-mortem on the 2008 election reminded me of former Maryland Lt. Governor’s recent book “Failing America’s Faithful: How… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/06/08 at 11:17 AM
Joe The Middle East Expert
It all started innocently enough. Joe Wurzelbacher, now affectionately known internationally as Joe the Plumber, approached a campaigning Barack Obama to question him about his tax policy. John McCain quickly picked up on his remarks and used him as an example of how Obama’s tax plan would stifle small business. Joe said he didn’t want to be in the spot light after his 15 minutes faded. Well…he wasn’t in rush to fade away. He seems to have a fascination with microphones. He then accused Obama of being a socialist. The problem is that he got the facts wrong about Obama’s economic plan, which lowers taxes on individuals making less than $250,000 a year. Even Joe admitted that he makes less than that. Nonetheless, Obama The Socialist seems to be making its rounds. Forget the fact that George The Fiscal… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/29/08 at 10:14 AM
Arab States Win Again
Within several days of each other, Tesla Motors, makers of the hottest car to hit Hollywood, announced it was scaling back on production and oil prices dipped 50 percent below their recent high. While the latter sounds like good news, it’s not. Just as is the news that Tesla is floundering. You see, Tesla makes a great little car that goes from zero to 60 in four seconds and runs 100 percent on electricity, just the product we need to wean ourselves off of Middle Eastern oil. But the tight credit markets are making it tough to grow. OPEC, which is mostly comprised of Arab nations unfriendly to Israel, saw global movement to conserve energy… permanently. That’s bad for their illegal cartel. So they increased production, causing oil prices to fall. Fall they did to $75 a barrel, down… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/20/08 at 02:20 PM
A Winning Debate
Upon entering the hall at Chizik Amuno Synagogue last Monday for the debate involving surrogates Gov. Bob Ehrlich and Sen. Ben Cardin as stand-ins for presidential candidates John McCain and Barak Obama, I asked if there was separate seating. Not for men and women but for Democrats and Republicans. After scouting things out, the answer was no. Myrna Cardin sat next to a gentleman proudly wearing a McCain sticker. I sat next to Rob Frier and his son Ethan. Unfortunately for the Beth Tfiloh student, he won’t be 18 until shortly after the election, so he can’t vote yet. It says a lot about the young man who took the time to hear about the candidates. When I tell people that I attended the Jewish community event, the first question they ask is who won? After pondering that question… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 09/18/08 at 04:00 PM
News from Denver
I caught up with my friend Alan H. Fleischmann from Denver where he was attending the Democratic National Convention. He was Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend’s chief of staff from 1996 to 2002. He reported to me: “I am with Tony Lake and Tony Blinken. Lake is Obama’s chief foreign policy advisor. Tony Blinken is an old friend and Biden’s closest foreign policy advisor. I am stunned to learn that Tony Lake converted to Judaism two years ago. He took to Judaism on a very spiritual journey.” As I save been saying all along, judge Obama’s Middle East policy, not from his middle name, but from the advisors he’s listening to. read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 08/27/08 at 10:16 AM
Drilling for Sanity
In April 2006, I attended a Thomas Friedman keynote speech at Hillel’s annual D.C. conference. As usual, he didn’t disappoint. Friedman is the three-time Pulitzer-prize winning columnist for the New York Times and author of timeless books, including “From Beirut to Jerusalem” and “The World is Flat.” His theme was that when countries can drill for oil, they never drill their people to do better – via education, invention and production. And it corrupts. He repeated the mantra over and over of how much oil producing nations changed when the price of oil went from $40 to $70. He cited a few examples such as Venezuela, Iran, and Russia. He reminded the young audience that when oil was at $40 a barrel, President George W. Bush looked into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s eyes and, in Bush’s words, saw a… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 08/14/08 at 09:41 AM
Olympic Sized Jewish Pride
In the good old days when the Former Soviet Union existed, it gave Americans someone to root against. (Who can forget that amazing 1980 hockey game?) Now that East Germany and Soviet sports machines are gone, the Olympics can seem slightly less fun. But for Jewish Americans, the 2008 Beijing Olympics have given us a little extra to cheer about. In last week’s BALTIMORE JEWISH TIMES , we previewed several Jewish athletes competing for the U.S. And, unlike the being on the cover of Sports Illustrated, it didn’t jinx them. On the contrary, they did quite well. We featured: • Dara Torres: She led the women’s 4x100-meter freestyle relay to a silver medal finish. • Sada Jacobson: Lost out to a fellow American, giving her the silver in fencing as part of an American sweep. • Ben Wildman-Tobriner :… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 08/12/08 at 11:52 AM
Voting Against Anti-Semitism
I’m not normally a huge fan of New York Times columnist Bob Hebert. Yet his piece on Saturday caught my eye when its call out in large type had the words “anti-Semitic campaign.” When I saw the African-American OpEd writer tackling the nasty congressional primary in Memphis, Tenn., I assumed he would side with candidate Nikki Tinker, the challenger to freshman Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.). Tinker, an African-American, ran TV ads that compared Cohen, who is Jewish, to the Klu Klux Klan. That’s because in 2005, as a member of a development board in Memphis, Cohen didn’t vote to remove a Confederate General’s name, statue and body from a local park. That long-dead general is one of the men who formed the Klan. In Hebert’s great column, he takes Tinker to task for this ugly campaign for distorting a… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 08/11/08 at 09:43 AM
Forget Paris
Shortly after Barack Obama returned from Paris, France, the ads started running about Paris, Britney. Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, acted like he was already elected on his recent tour of Europe and the Middle East. That didn’t sit well with John McCain and his newly recruited band of ex-Karl Rove employees. Out with the nice guy campaign team, replaced with the veteran Swift Boat Veterans for Truth team and a powerful wave of negative ads. They ran over 4,000 TV commercials comparing Obama’s celebrity treatment in Europe and Israel to the empty, sinful ways of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. The Straight Talk Express ran out of gas. This should be no surprise to Americans. It’s difficult for the person behind the media attention category to remain positive. What surprises me has been the ugliness I’ve heard in… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 08/08/08 at 06:28 AM
Noah’s Ark
You can learn a lot from reading books. I find you can learn even more by doing and seeing. I’ve been fortunate that my travels have taken me to some very special places like the Galapagos Island, where Charles Darwin initiated his theory on evolution. And, I just returned from Tanzania in Africa where I enjoyed a three day safari. In the case of the Galapagos and Tanzania, I experienced something that was contrary to what one reads in books, and one book in particular, the Bible. When you see examples of evolution with your own eyes in the Galapagos, it’s hard to ignore the reality that evolution happens, challenging the creation story in Genesis. And, when I saw hundreds of different species of animals in one small area – I realized how impossible it was for Noah to… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 08/05/08 at 03:36 PM
It’s Not Kosher
It’s funny. In Baltimore, many people who keep kosher scrutinize the hechsher (rabbinic approval) of their products by which rabbi supplied the OK. There are some perfectly “kosher” caterers and products unallowed because some rabbis veto it for political reasons. Yet, some want to look the other way when the largest supplier of kosher meat, Agriprocessors, provides perfectly acceptable food created in what increasingly appears to be a less then kosher environment. Sunday’s New York Times again highlighted the many alleged violations allowed under the Jewish family’s ownership of the huge operation. They include: child labor, sexual harassment, unsafe conditions and cruel treatment, among others. There were many reasons why Jews long ago were first commanded to observe kashrut – cleanliness, proper treatment of animals and health being some. (Eating pork used to make one prone to the disease… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 07/30/08 at 10:23 AM
Deal with the Devil
It’s official. Ehud “Udi” Goldwasser and Eldad Regev are dead. Their bodies were handed over by Lebanon’s Hezbollah guerrillas to Israeli officials on Wednesday. This ends the hope that their families, all Israelis, American Jews and many others had that the Israelis would be reunited, alive, with their loved ones. Worse yet, in exchange for the soldiers’ remains, Israel is turning over Samir Kuntar to Hezbollah. Kuntar is alive and well despite having killed three Israeli civilians in 1979, including smashing the skull of a four-year-old girl with his rifle butt. Israel captured and tried Kuntar. He was found guilty and has spent the last 29 years alive and healthy in an Israeli prison. Since Israel doesn’t have a death penalty, he’ll return to Lebanon with a hero’s welcome. Udi and Eldad didn’t have the same fate. The two… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 07/16/08 at 12:42 PM
Keep Gas Prices High
I’ve been making my rounds meeting with Jewish elected officials from Attorney General Doug Gansler to Dels. Jon Cardin (D-11) and Dana Stein (D-11). Each time I do, I pitch my idea of how to make Maryland safer, cleaner, and more prosperous. They all listened and were amenable, but they’re savvy enough to know that my idea would never make it through the Maryland Legislature. Still, now is the time to strike. See, with sky rocketing gas prices, people are actually changimg their habits; they’re driving significantly less, shunning SUVs, and dare I say it in Maryland, taking mass transportation. Meanwhile, lower and middle-income earners are pushing their elected officials to give them some relief from gas pains. I can appreciate that. However, now is the time for the state to raise its gas tax by 10 cents. It’s… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 07/08/08 at 09:38 AM
Giving Unil It Hurts
Anyone who gives to charity asks himself or herself, “How much is enough?” Unlike taxes there is not set amount. Several religions say 10 percent of one’s net income is the mark. (Following Talmudic guidelines, many traditional Jews do just that.) That’s a very generous number. Still, if you’re Bill Gates you can obviously still dig a little deeper. My friend Drew Staffenberg, who was the Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, used to say, “Don’t give until it hurts; give until it feels good.” Then, of course, he’d ask me for a painful amount of money. I just returned from a climbing trip to Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Our expedition company, EarthTreks, told us before we left to bring one extra clothing item to give to our porters. They are extremely poor people and are… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 07/03/08 at 09:46 AM
Celebrating Celebrations
During this beautiful spring season, there’s no shortage of family activities from youth sport championships to graduations. The only shortage is finding enough time to spend relaxing outside. That’s why it was so heartening to see two sell-out indoor events on the past two consecutive Sunday nights. Last week, more than 1,000 people – and virtually our state’s entire political leadership—flooded Beth Tfiloh to pay tribute to Howard “Tzvi” Friedman’s two-year tenure as President of AIPAC, the nation’s most important pro-Israel lobby. It was a terrific event for an amazing guy. Howard has worked for years for various Jewish causes, each with great success. This time he took the national stage in support of Israel, during a critical time in the nation’s 60-year history. There were so many things to celebrate and to be proud of for our native… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 06/02/08 at 11:39 AM
Boys’ Latin Saga
We obviously touched a nerve in the Boys’ Latin School community, judging from many comments posted on our website. (http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/news/jt/local_news/painful_episode/) Once so many missives are launched to and fro, it’s hard to ascertain the reality of the situation. I think I can provide some insight based on my experience. I attended Gilman School which the JEWISH TIMES had written stories about in the 1980s concerning anti-Semitism with the predominately Blue Blood institution. Personally, in my seven years as a student there, I never once experience anti-Semitism, nor did my friends. But, I knew it existed. Even though it never affected me, it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. It did. Reddy Finney, one the finest men you’d ever meet would have no part of it. One time an incident occurred, which I had not been aware of, and Mr. Finney… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 05/15/08 at 02:11 PM
Israel at 60
Tonight at sundown marks the start of Israel’s 60th birthday. Last week, the JEWISH TIMES Jewish cover story celebrated the relatively young Jewish state with 60 great things about Israel. The 100,000 Jewish Baltimoreans – and anyone reading this around the world – can each add one thing they love about Israel. It may be its natural beauty or how it is the birth place of the world’s three great religions. It could be the Zionist spirit or the wonder of what the Jewish people have done in what was once an arid, desolate dessert. Each time I go to Israel or learn about it, I find another thing to love. Unfortunately, I found another by accident. One of my loved ones was just diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). It’s a horrible disease with no treatment or cure. Thankfully,… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 05/07/08 at 08:42 AM
Tax Breaks A Bunch Of Gas
People rag on Sen. Barack Obama, asking, “What has he done?” My question isn’t what has he done, but, “what will he do.” If the election campaign is any example, I like his thinking. He says what’s on his mind and mostly avoids pandering, or I should say, less so than the other politicians. Take, for example, the most recent notion of some to help the American consumer. Both Sens. John McCain and Hillary Clinton are not backing off their stupid idea of providing a “gas tax holiday” this summer. They want to suspend the 18.4 cent federal gas tax to help working Americans. Obama is opposed. Obama says it like it is: The relief is only $28 per driver! Now the conversation is working its way into our state. Some elected officials want to also suspend the 23… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 05/06/08 at 03:15 PM
Getting Plugged In
It’s 2008. That’s almost seven years since 9/11, when President Bush declared a war on “terrah.” Our enemies are funded by oil. Yet it is miraculous that we are consuming more and more oil every year. Of course, our auto industry is in the tubes, bleeding billions of dollars in losses over the past few years. What’s so laughable is that two college-age brothers transformed their parents’ hybrid car into a “plug-in hybrid” that gets 100 miles per gallon because it can go 40 miles on a charge. Then the hybrid gas engine kicks in. Why is it that a pair of 20-something guys can build a hybrid for $3,000 and “The Big Three” can’t get one to market? Why do we spend $100 billion a year fighting a war in Iraq that is about oil and terror, but… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 04/30/08 at 02:47 PM
China Syndrome
The 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin were supposed to be the showcase for the Nazi concept of Aryan supremacy. That was dashed in about 10 seconds when black sprinter Jesse Owens took the gold medal. We need that kind of moment for the upcoming Summer Games in Beijing. Just as Americans debated whether to attend the games 72 years ago, we are confronted with the same problem: are the Olympics purely an athletics event or is it an opportunity for the host country to show its wares? This year, China’s support of Sudan and its human rights violations against the Tibetans give us pause as to how we approach the games. Hindsight has shown us that boycotts – such as the Moscow games in 1980 because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan—aren’t helpful and often create a backlash. As… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 04/03/08 at 09:00 AM
Maryland: Stop Aiding Iran
I don’t think it’s just me, but during the five minutes or so I that I’m filling my gas tank, I watch the pump’s numbers move so fast now that they’re a blur. Since I’ve heard it’s not safe to use your cellphone near a gas pump, my mind wanders to thinking about cash registers ringing in Iran – thanks to me and some 300 million other Americans. I feel as if I’m just transferring my hard earned money straight to the mullahs, who then transfer it to al-Qeda in Iraq, Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad. In case you’ve missed it, as Hamas’s biggest backer, Iran is basically handing over to the radical Islamists our oil money to launch missile after missile into Israel towns. (That is, except for when Sen. John McCain is touring those towns. Even for… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 03/20/08 at 03:10 PM
Swing Set and Missles
Only two months ago, 250 Baltimoreans joined with their Israeli counterparts in our sister city, Ashkelon to build a playground in a wonderful mission by the Associated. What a beautiful and peaceful act. Nearby, just south of where Baltimore’s lasting ties to Israel are now enjoyed every day by children, peaceful acts don’t seem to exist. In Gaza, the preference is to build weapons to murder innocent children rather than building infrastructure that will make lives better. Yesterday, an Israeli man died when a rocket – one of dozens fired that day—struck his minivan just in Sederot, which is just south of Ashkelon. In Ashkelon itself, eight Hamas rockets fell on Thursday, destroying homes and injuring people. (Read more about this.) These events are now daily occurrences. Less than three years ago, Israel walked out of Gaza, leaving the… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 02/28/08 at 11:22 AM
Ugly Politics Reigns Again
During the past December holiday season, I ran into Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) a few times. I asked how it was going with his new gig as the state’s newest U.S. Senator. I figured that going from being a Congressman in a minority party to this new job in the now majority party must have been heaven. He said it was. As someone who’s served in Congress since 1987, he said he’s never seen the U.S. Capitol so ugly and partisan as it is right now. The animosity across the aisles, he said, is mean-spirited and makes it near impossible to get anything significant done. I’d go farther. It’s getting down right gross and dangerous. Like “Extreme Makeover,” the reality shows on TV, the most extreme one wins. Did you see those commercials that State Sen. Andy Harris (R-7th)… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 02/13/08 at 12:37 PM
Palestinian Suffering
It’s terrible to see the way the people in Gaza are treated. It’s inhumane. Shame on the way those perpetrators are keeping the Palestinians in those conditions. Call the UN. Alert Amnesty International. Why would I condemn Israel? I’m not. I’m pointing my finger at Egypt and the rest of the Arab world. Hamas’s recent forced opening at the Egypt/Gaza border – the literally blew open the wall—highlighted how much the Palestinians need help. When the wall came down, literally hundreds of thousands of Gazans went surging into nearby Egyptian towns, seeking basic provisions such as food and gasoline. So we see how easily the Palestinians could have been helped – if they had a responsible government in control and true friends. That is, if the Arab world was not too busy trying to score PR points against Israel.… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 02/08/08 at 11:14 AM
Gandhi’s Self-Inflicted Wound
On January 9, I blogged about an awful post on the Washington Post’s website by Arun Gandhi, grandson of the famous Indian preacher of non-violence. Bizarrely, he declared that Israel harps too much on the Holocaust and should simply lay down its arms to get along better with its neighbors. The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far from the Tree Arun was the president of M.K. Gandhi Institute. Some called his remarks anti-Semitic; I called them plain ignorant. Well guess what? Arun Gandhi offered his resignation and it was accepted on January 24. I welcome that news because there is no room for such uneducated discourse, especially from the leader of a “non-violent” institute. My only concern is that the announcement came from Joel Seligman, President of the University of Rochester, home of the Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence. Seligman is Jewish… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/28/08 at 10:45 AM
They Said No
George W. Bush went begging to Saudi Arabia in hopes that his friends would help him with a problem. The high cost of oil was affecting the one thing he hoped he could leave as his legacy: a strong economy. Bush and the conservatives believed his tax cuts that helped only the wealthiest Americans would benefit the entire nation. Six years later, we’re heading for a recession with the challenge of threats of inflation due to higher commodity prices like oil. So Bush tries to butter up his friends to increase oil production to meet growing global demand. An increase supply would lower the cost of oil. Just after Bush left, Saudi Arabia made news. It would now be legal for women stay in a hotel by themselves! Huge. Gee, what rights women are now garnering in the Islamic… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/25/08 at 11:08 AM
Some Energy Plan
Finally, President George W. Bush has an energy plan. Almost seven years to the day that he took office, six years and four months after 3,000 Americans died on 9/11, and after hundreds of innocent Jews have been killed in Israel in a bloody intifadah, the man has a plan. Here it is in simple terms: The most powerful man on Earth goes to a leader of a country that can’t feed its people and begs him to produce more oil so gas prices drop. There it is! Like it? President Bush was in Saudi Arabia after a photo-op trip to Israel and other Middle Eastern countries. He dined with the King and told him that it would help Americans if oil prices were lower. (Remember: Most of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudis. Remember: Every gallon of gas/oil we… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/16/08 at 09:18 AM
By George, The Anti-Bill
Some times, we have customs in Judaism that are the result of wanting to be different than Christians. Take flower giving: before embalming, Christians would use flowers to cover up the smell of a decaying body. Now, it’s just a kind gesture. Jews had no real need to use flowers because we traditionally bury our dead within about 24 hours. Still today, Jews don’t give flowers to honor a person’s death. It’s just too Christian. Now take presidential legacies. When Bush 43 moved into the White House, he set himself up to differentiate himself from his predecessor. What ever Bill would do, Bush would do the opposite. Clinton worked well into the night and was a 24/7/365 kinda guy; Bush was more of a 9 to 5 man. In fact he took the summer of 2001 off while al-Qaida… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/15/08 at 09:56 AM
The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree
I have writer’s block. It’s not that I don’t know what to write about; it’s just that I’m speechless. I just finished reading a blog on the Washington Post/Newsweek website written by Arun Gandhi, grand son of the famous Mohandas K. “Mahatma” Gandhi. He is president and co-founder of the M. K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, at the University of Rochester in New York. His blog is on the On Faith section with international religious leaders commenting on the PBS series The Jewish Americans. Rather than focus on the great contributions Jews have made to American society – in the arts, civic, and medical arenas, Mr. Gandhi preferred to make up commentary about Jewish aggression in the Middle East. Apparently, he won’t let the facts get in the way of a good argument. Nor does he explain why he… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/09/08 at 04:25 PM
Little Sister’s Baby
In case you’ve been living in a cave or spent the holiday season on a deserted island, I have big news for you: Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant. Yes, it’s true; the younger sister of celebrity train-wreck Britney Spears is going to be an unwed mother. Jamie Lynn, 16, the wholesome star of the Nickelodeon television series “Zoey 101,” somehow is having a baby herself. It’s hard to generalize about one case of teen pregnancy, and it’s a reminder of the hard work we still need to do to reduce teen pregnancies in this country. What really bugs me is President Bush’s policy that 100 percent of federal money must go to abstinence-only programming. I understand that abstinence programming is important, and that some parents want it, but 100 percent of federal dollars? There is a time, place and… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 12/27/07 at 03:15 PM
Blame the Media
It’s an easy solution to all our ills. Bad politicians—it’s because of the media. Homicide rates are increasing—it’s those pesky journalists. Sure, some news programs and publications focus way too much on negative news or reveal more than we need to know about celebrities’ personal lives. Overall, in America we’re blessed with First Amendment freedoms and some of the world’s best publications including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post. The BALTIMORE JEWISH TIMES, the leading independent Jewish publication in North America, has been accused of lowering its standards in the past year during its historic enterprising journalism on the allegations of sexual molestation by prominent local rabbis. Executive Editor Phil Jacobs has had the courage to use his name publicly, and protect the victims of these crimes providing anonymity. Interestingly, our website allows people… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 12/21/07 at 02:35 PM
Meet The Man
One of the most influential men in the United States came to Baltimore last week to speak at an Associated Jewish Community Federation event Tuesday. Tim Russert, host of Meet the Press, is known for asking the tough questions to wanna be presidents. But, on Tuesday, he did something he doesn’t do on his Sunday morning TV program: he gave his opinion on world affairs. Speaking to a mostly Jewish audience, he advocated for a lot of different things and spoke of the important of instilling values and character in our children. He asked us to do that by leading by example. He also spoke about the importance of acting now to ensure Iran doesn’t develop nuclear weapons. Russert said that the U.S. faced a “big decision” about how to handle the Islamic nation that supports terror. The moderator… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 12/14/07 at 02:50 PM
Annapolis Sure Wasn’t S.M.A.R.T.
S.M.A.R.T. Anyone who has ever attended an off-sight planning retreat basically knows what that acronym means: • Specific • Measurable • Attainable • Realistic • Timely You may not be able to recite those words by heart, but you know what they mean. Basically, when setting goals, you must be able to understand them, measure them and attain them. That’s why most off-sight retreats fail, wasting billions of dollars a year and immeasurable hours. And, that’s what just happened in Annapolis this week with President George W Bush’s last push for lasting Middle East peace. The big takeaway: We’ll commit to ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by the end of 2008? Huh? You mean we tied up traffic and overburdened Annapolis police and residents for this? If this were the result of any retreat I was associated with, heads would… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/28/07 at 09:28 AM
Over a Barrel
OK, you know it’s bad when third-rate despots are taunting us. Sure it hurts when a guy like Osama bin Ladin hides in a cave and makes videos criticizing the U.S. Even with the most sophisticated technology and most advanced army in the history of the world, we can’t find this guy hiding in a cave for six years. What’s up with that? Now, the dynamic duo of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are taking potshots at us during an OPEC meeting, at what is usually a staid conference about supply-and-demand of oil. This year, a year when Canada’s dollar became on par with the U.S., it created fodder against the perennial sole superpower. Chavez said about America, “The dollar is in free fall, everyone should be worried about it. The fall of the dollar… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/21/07 at 05:02 PM
Raise Maryland’s Gas Tax
Wow! I got great feedback – pro and con, and on-line and in conversation—on my last blog about boosting the Maryland gas tax to raise much needed funds for our state’s infrastructure. I suggested ways to find expense cuts as well. The purpose was not only to close the budget gap, but to help fight terrorism. This week I heard Richard Foltin, legislative director and counsel for the American Jewish Committee’s Office of Government and International Affair, speak at the Associated. His message: the importance of reducing oil consumption. His premise: the greater the demand for oil on the global market, the more money flows in the coffers of terrorist states. How can Maryland help? We should raise the state tax on gasoline by another 10 cents per gallon. That will help Israel and the United States fight terrorism… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/15/07 at 01:09 PM
O’Malley’s Mistake
Maryland seems to be in a bit of a financial challenge – one that affects all Marylanders, including the Jewish communities of Baltimore and suburban Washington. Over the years, the Jewish communities have become increasingly dependent on state dollars to help provide services from drug counseling to programming for the developmentally disabled to creating infrastructure to support our institutions. Jews not only care about themselves; we have a commandment to make the world a better place. That means helping out the sick, elderly, and those can’t help themselves. It also means providing support for our civic and cultural institutions that make Baltimore/Washington so special, from the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall to the Weinberg Building at Catholic at Mercy Medical Center, historically a Catholic hospital. That’s why a sound solution to our budget crisis is so important. We need a balanced… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/08/07 at 02:48 PM
An Oily Problem
I intended to take a break from beating on my reduce oil consumption/reduce terrorism/save Israel/help the environment drum. Actually, I really wanted to follow up my last blog on the Dalai Lama with another one. I attended his Gold Medal Gala sponsored by International Campaign for Tibet. I was impressed with the Jewish representation there, especially Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Cal.), who is an Hungarian Holocaust survivor. Jews, of all people, should be leading the international effort to allow Tibetans religious freedom in their homeland. But on the way to writing about that, too many other things have happened: • Turkey’s army and Iraqi-based Kurds fighting for an independent Kurdistan began a dangerous build up to war; • An analysis came out that the Iraqi war will cost the U.S. $2.4 trillion; • A… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/26/07 at 04:11 PM
Armenia, Darfur And The Jews
The United States is in a bit of political tough spot these days. We have had to make some tough choices, and they’re particularly vexing for American Jews. One situation is Congress’ upcoming important, yet toothless vote on whether to officially proclaim the Ottoman-Turks’ murder of 1.5 million Armenians during World War I a “genocide.” This is prickly issue for Jews because we like to think our Holocaust is unique. But many Jews of conscious speak out against all systematic slaughter. Normally this would be no-brainer for the U.S. and the majority of Jews, but this resolution would anger Turkey, a key ally in the war in Iraq. The United States cannot afford to alienate them right now. The Turks also have specifically warned that the vote could harm Turkish-Israeli ties. Meanwhile, Turkish Jews are nervous about their fate.… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/18/07 at 08:17 AM
Dissing Baltimore
All of the leading Republican presidential candidates decided to skip the debate scheduled for tonight at Baltimore’s own Morgan State University, a historically black college. I’m sure all of their excuses are valid – they all had scheduling conflicts. Just like they happened to have scheduling conflicts recently for the Hispanic issue debate as well. You know they’re wrong when members of their own party like Newt Gingrich chastise them. Former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, who is African-American and a Republican, told the New York Times that he was disappointed and that this is a bad reflection on the GOP. Even Steele’s ex-boss, former Gov. Bob Ehrlich, posted in the unfriendly confines for a debate against Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. Sadly, this is the direction our national political climate is moving. The man who pioneered this behavior is none… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 09/27/07 at 08:44 AM
Lebanon, Gaza And The Jews
It seems as if Lebanon is quickly spiraling into another civil war. The last one, which raged from 1975 to 1990, changed a Beirut from the “Riviera of the Middle East” into a synonym for a bloody war zone. After relative calm in recent years, the serenity appears to be quickly falling into the hands of Hezbollah – one of the world’s veteran terrorist groups—and its main supporter, Syria. Yesterday, Antonine Ghanem, a Lebanese Member of Parliament was killed by car bomb. He was a supporter of the current Prime Minister, putting him at odds with Hezbollah and Syria. Two years ago, a moderate, anti-Syrian prime minister also was killed. Other anti-Syrian, anti-Hezbollah legislators have been assassinated as well. The situation is not dissimilar to Gaza, which also is involved in a civil war between Fatah and Hamas. Of… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 09/20/07 at 02:47 PM
3,000 Memories, 3,000 Reasons For Optimism
I spent my 9/11 memorial morning running in Josh Levenson’s Run to Remember. The money from the race goes to support the police and firemen. I love that run. It has you up before the sun along with hundreds of like minded people. For 25 minutes you can concentrate on the 3,000 who lost their lives that day. And, running along side police and firemen remind me who the real heroes are in this world. Tonight, I’m heading for Baltimore Hebrew Congregation’s Rosh Hashanah Under the Stars. My co-worker Joe Sugarman heard I was going and approached me saying, “Dude, got any extra tickets for the thing at Oregon Ridge?” like he was trying to cop some tickets to a Phish show. What? Baltimore Hebrew sold out of its 3,000 tickets more than a week ahead of the Jewish… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 09/12/07 at 02:00 PM
City Council President
After Michael Sarbanes, candidate for Baltimore City Council President called us for a meeting, we reached out to his main opponent, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. The two are locked in a very tight race, and with good reason. Both are qualified for the position. As I wrote in my last blog, Michael would bring a wealth of ideas and a strong resume to the position. Stephanie, too, is very impressive. The youngest person ever elected to the City Council, since age 25 she’s worked her way towards leadership positions on that legislative body, calling herself “a work horse not a show horse.” Over her 12 years in the City Council, Stephanie has learned when to compromise with her colleagues and when to stand up for what she believes is right. She’s passionate, tough, and focused. She knows the system. This primary… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 09/06/07 at 12:32 PM
An Impressive Politician – At Last
We get a lot of politician making their way through our office, particularly during election season. That’s smart on their part because the Jewish community plays a central role in elections, and candidates want to state their case through the JEWISH TIMES. Over the years, we’ve met with everyone from presidential candidates to Baltimore City Council hopefuls. When political scandals with politicians (see Larry Craig, David Vitter and Mark Foley) are more common than with professional athletes, things have gotten pretty bad. That’s reflected in how the combined approval rating for the President and Congress is only 60 percent. So it was refreshing yesterday when Michael Sarbanes stopped in to share his agenda should he be elected to Baltimore City Council President. Michael was a year ahead of me at Gilman, and back then was known for his academic… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 08/30/07 at 11:32 AM
PR as a Weapon
PR As The Best Weapon I’ve always said the Israel needed a better PR agent. After all it’s the best country on earth, and yet it’s had one of the worst international reputations. Being in the media, I always wondered why Israel couldn’t find something to help them. Remember those Israelis that would come on TV with the heavy accidents explaining why they were killing innocent Palestinian children? Enter The Israel Project. In 2002, before, Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi started TIP, only 40 percent of Americans have a favorable view of Israel. Since then, they have educated the international media, coach Israel spokespeople, and have assisted journalists in new gathering, all in the hopes of giving a more balance view of the Jewish State. In 2007, one year after the Israeli war with Lebanon, over 60 percent of Americans have… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 08/23/07 at 04:14 PM
Why Jews Walk Away
The name Noah Feldman suddenly swirled around the country. He had written a lengthy story in the New York Times Sunday Magazine claiming he was edited out of a photo in his high school alumni publication. He believed it was because his fiancé, an Asian-American and non-Jew, was a no-no for his Orthodox Jewish day school. It subsequently came out in reporting from the New York Jewish Week that perhaps a different photograph was used and his likeliness was not deleted. Even if it were indeed the case that he was not deleted, for many American Jews it still strikes a chord as a symbol of inclusion. This is certainly not the first time someone’s made a claim of the organized Jewish community not accepting non-Jewish spouses. I remember when I first returned to Baltimore a decade ago; a… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 08/16/07 at 10:16 AM
Boycott This!
Britain’s new University and College Union voted in advance a boycott of Israel’s academic institution in support the Palestinians’ plight. Our editorial page applauded the international backlash against the British. Yesterday, the American Jewish Committee paid for a full-page ad in the New York Times written by Lee Bollinger of Columbia University and signed by 286 presidents of major U.S. universities asking to be boycotted as well. The ad headline proclaimed, “Boycott Israeli Universities? Boycott Ours, Too!” It went on to say, “Boycott us, then, for we gladly stand together with our many colleagues in British, American and Israeli universities against such intellectually shoddy and politically biased attempts to hijack the central mission of higher education.” By late yesterday afternoon, the AJC was flooded with phone calls of support and requests from 17 more universities, including Johns Hopkins, to… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 08/09/07 at 04:18 PM
Don’t Forget US
The two leading Baltimore mayoral candidates called for meetings with our Jewish leadership. Interim Mayor Sheila Dixon met with a group of Baltimore Jewish leaders last week, and the meeting with Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr., who’s currently a city councilman, was postponed due to high demand but too many vacations. It’s a great sign that Dixon, the front-runner by a large margin, and Mitchell, the #2 candidate, find it important enough to have a dialogue with the Jewish community. Of course, it’s no surprise that any candidate would say anything to get elected. The important thing is what happens with him or her once in office. We saw our former mayor (and current governor) make his obligatory rounds in the Jewish community while campaigning for his first term and initially after he was elected. Then, Martin O’Malley seemed to… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 08/04/07 at 10:06 AM
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