A clandestine undertaking on behalf of Israel, the Jets and the Jews.

 
All About Shmuley

Shmuley Boteach is a talented person, which is why his self-obsession is so frustrating.

Yet another example concerns Shmuley's view of Michael Moore. A month ago, Shmuley had this to say about Moore:

"On the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Boston, from where I was broadcasting my radio show, I found myself sitting 10 feet from Michael Moore. He was chatting with journalists, so I decided to ask if he would agree to be a guest on my radio show. I wanted to debate him about his Bush-hating "Fahrenheit 9-11." But when he saw me approaching, he dismissed me with a single, condescending flick of his finger as if I were a bug crawling up his arm.

"I was initially offended by his arrogant gesture. And knowing of his hatred of Israel – he identified Israel as one of the three epicenters of evil in the world (New York Times, June 26, 2004) – I wondered if his attitude had something to do with my yarmulke and beard. But then I remembered a recent New Yorker profile of Moore that portrayed him as something of a monster who treats his employees like garbage...

"I certainly do not seek the respect of a man like Michael Moore, who profits from portraying the United States as a murderous dictatorship and Israel as its chief partner in crime."

On Monday night at the Republican National Convention, Moore was friendlier toward Boteach. Suddenly, Shmuley had warmer feelings toward Moore, as he told the New York Post's 'Page Six', which reports today:

DOLLAR signs were flashing in Michael Moore's eyes as boos rained down on the portly provocateur during Sen. John McCain's address to the Republican National Convention. "I just made another $20 million," Moore told his seatmate, conservative radio commentator Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, who tells PAGE SIX: "I asked him, 'how do you feel about getting booed like this?' And he said, 'Well, first of all it's flattering. These people love their country, and I bet if we sat down face-to-face they'd see that we agree on a lot of the issues.'" The radio rabbi took the opportunity to challenge Moore on his past anti-Israel comments, but usually feisty Moore wasn't in a fighting mood. "I challenged him: Why would you want to undermine your moral credibility by coming across as a Jew-hater? He said, 'I love Israel, I believe in Israel's security. In my opinion the Jewish people are the most oppressed people on earth.' I couldn't believe my ears!"

UPDATE: (6 P.M. 9/1) Boteach has a column in Thursday's Jerusalem Post about his encounter with Moore at the Republican National Convention. Boteach's questions relating to Moore's anti-Israel statements were not very substantive and allowed Moore to spin his way out of really responding, though perhaps the convention was not the best place for more than a casual discussion.
posted on 9/01/2004