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

 
Sports Roundup

1. The attacks on Isiah Thomas for the Knicks drafting of Renaldo Balkman in the first round of Wednesday night's draft remind me of the reaction to the Jets drafting of Jeff Lageman in the first round of the 1989 draft.

Immediately after Lageman was picked, Chris Russo went on a foam-mouthed tirade, ripping the Jets organization to shreds.

Russo was right about the state of the Jets in the late 80's, as are current critics of the sorry Knicks. But just as Lageman became a solid starter for the Jets, I wouldn't be surprised if Balkman becomes a productive player - if not a starter - for the Knicks.

It's easy to say that the Knicks should have drafted Marcus Williams and perhaps they should have, but Balkman is a decent fit for them, and late in the first round, the key is finding a player who will have a chance to contribute.

2. NBA and NHL free agency both commence tomorrow, but unlike last year, there aren't too many rumors about the local teams. For the Rangers, a big defenseman is a must, and they will have decide whether to bring back their own free agents, particularly Martin Straka, Petr Sykora and Tom Poti. If they can somehow pry Patrik Elias from the Devils, that along would make the offseason a major success.

3. The Mets seem to be taking things easy now that the rest of the NL East has collapsed. It's possible that the Mets could simply play slightly better than .500 the rest of the way and coast to a division title, but it's more likely that one team will go on a run and put some pressure on them.

4. There's nothing new to discuss about the Jets. The big question for 2006 will be how quickly rookie left tackle D'Brickishaw Ferguson and rookie center Nick Mangold can adjust to the NFL. If it takes them most of the season, 2006 will be a long season, and Chad Pennington will likely suffer another serious injury.
posted on 6/30/2006

 
Edah

The demise of Edah is surprising, but is also consistent with the organization's failure to energize observant Judaism's left-wing sector, or to seriously impact modern Orthodoxy.

On certain important issues identified with non-charedi Orthodoxy, particularly Zionism and the ability of women to engage in serious Torah study, the battle has been won, but Edah's effect was probably nil and was at most marginal.

Instead, Edah became primarily identified with Orthodox feminism and with the vague ambitions of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. Unfortunately, particularly with regard to feminism, Edah failed to clarify the essential fact that while some modifications in practice might be appropriate, it is false that "where there is a rabbinic will, there is a halachic way."

Rabbi Saul Berman and other Edah leaders will, with G-d's help, continue to serve as leaders of Orthodoxy's left-wing, and it is hoped that their talents will be more effectively utilized in other endeavors and projects.
posted on 6/29/2006

 
Nets Analysis

The Nets got a huge break last night when Marcus Williams fell to them at the 22nd slot in the first round, the Clippers pick acquired via Denver in the Kenyon Martin trade. Williams should fill the role of backup point guard to Jason Kidd.

With the 23rd pick, the Nets selected Josh Boone. I'm not a big fan of Boone, and there were better players available. But despite the mantra of teams that "we pick the best player available, regardless of need," the Nets were right to pick someone at a position they need help at. Having drafted Williams, the Nets are solid at point guard, and while they can use a pure shooter, overall they need a big man much more than a shooting guard or small forward. If Lawrence Frank gives him a chance to work through the inevitable rookie mistakes, Boone should get a chance to be part of the rotation by the middle of next season.

Now the question is what the Nets next move will be. While I've seen nothing to indicate that the Nets are interested in bringing back Kenyon Martin, I'm still holding out some hope. Jason Collins, Antoine Wright, a first round pick and one or two expiring contracts (such as Cliff Robinson or Jeff McInnis) would make the trade work under the cap and provide value for Denver. It would also instantly propel the Nets to championship contention. Contrary to the opinion of naysayers like Elster, Martin's knee problems are minor, and his rapport with Jason Kidd is obvious.

If the Nets don't trade for Martin, they will hopefully utilize their mid-level exception on a solid shooter and/or another power forward.
posted on 6/29/2006

 
The Leader Of The Jews

We are tired of fighting, we are tired of being courageous, we are tired of winning, we are tired of defeating our enemies.

-Ehud Olmert, in a speech before the Israel Policy Forum.

It is a special honor to be the guest of a man who is among the world's great fighters against anti-Semitism.

-Ehud Olmert, referring to French President Jacques Chirac.

The rest is commentary.
posted on 6/28/2006

 
Time For A New Likud

Two months after he took office, Prime Minister Olmert's unilateral withdrawal plan is being ripped apart not only by right-wingers, but also by mainstream leftists like Haaretz's Ari Shavit and Ze'ev Schiff.

Olmert has already abandoned his promise to achieve international - or at least U.S. - recognition of permanent borders and annexation of settlement blocs. He no longer speaks about building E-1 to connect Maaleh Adumim and Jerusalem, or retaining the Jordan Valley.

Doubts are cropping up within Kadima about Olmert's plan, which is a clear deviation from the path of Ariel Sharon.

Ehud Barak was elected in May 1999 and was gone by February 2001. Olmert can be deposed within a similar time frame.

The question will be whether the next prime minister is Labor leader and defense minister Amir Peretz, or someone from the political right.

Having been decimated in this year's election, a bold step will be necessary for a Likud return to power. Indeed, a move similar to the formation of Likud in 1973 - when Menachem Begin's Herut joined with several small parties - will be needed.

The new Likud would merge Likud with Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party. Russians are already disenchanted with Olmert, with more than two-thirds opposing his withdrawal plan. The merged party would include Binyamin Netanyahu in the top slot, and Lieberman second. It would be a mainly secular moderate right-wing party, with the National Union and the National Religious Party on its right.

Once Olmert is close to falling, it will be time to bring in some new talent, such as former Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon, who would got a top slot and be a prospective defense minister. It will also be time to engage in the painful but also necessary task of bringing back Likud politicians who defected to Kadima. In exchange for whatever promises those people would receive, their role would be to tell the country that they left Likud to join Ariel Sharon, and that Ehud Olmert is no Ariel Sharon.

If these maneuvers are implemented correctly, by early 2008, Ehud Olmert could be out, Kadima could all but disintegrate, and Likud could regain its place as one of Israel's two dominant political parties.
posted on 6/23/2006

 
Baseball Games Are About Baseball

I had the misfortune of watching Billy Wagner give away another game last night.

As frustrating as Wagner's performance was, any long-suffering Mets fan (except Mr. Sunshine, a/k/a Elster) is jaded enough to know that whoever closes for the Mets will blow lots of saves and put fans through intense stress even when the save is preserved.

What I can't tolerate is the apparent dreadful return of the wave. Last night, a crowd of nearly 50,000 packed Shea Stadium. Alas, even in the 9th inning, many of those "fans" were more focused on the wave then on the game.

If people enjoy standing up, lifting their arms and then sitting down again, aren't there more appropriate venues than Shea Stadium at which this could be accomplished, such as the beach? Can't those of us interested in the game be allowed to watch the game?

Certain stadium rituals are fun, like the singing of 'Sweet Caroline' at Fenway Park (and in the past, at Giants Stadium for Jets games in the 4th quarter). Others are tolerable, like the 7th inning stretch. Still others are ridiculous but essentially grandfathered in, sort of, l'havdil, part of the mesorah, like shouts of "Potvin sucks," at Rangers home games.

There is no place for the wave during play.

And - as long as I'm ruining my fingers and wrists to feed my blogging addiction - nor is it tolerable for people to enter and exit rows during play.
posted on 6/22/2006

 
Pink Floyd Hates Israel

Haaretz reports that Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters scrawled "tear down the wall" on a portion of Israel's security barrier. Waters attacked Israel, calling the security barrier "extraordinarily oppressive" and "a horrific edifice."

Pathetically, an Israeli producer has brought Waters to Israel for a performance this week. Waters refused to play in Tel Aviv, which is presumably too militant for his taste. A nation with a modicum of pride would instead boycott Waters and dispose of Pink Floyd tapes and CDs.

Presumably, Waters won't find the time to visit Israeli hospitals or cemeteries. There, he would fine plenty of Jews who have been murdered and maimed by the violent and evil people living on the other side of Israel's security barrier who are known as Palestinians.

Admittedly, having murdered six million of us, dead and wounded Jews might be a less "horrific edifice" to Europeans like Waters than a wall that prevents a few more Jews from taking what is seen as our natural place six feet below ground.
posted on 6/21/2006

 
Blogger DL

There are a couple of topics about which I'd like to post. Unfortunately, I've been experiencing significant numbness, tingling and pain in the right wrist and several fingers on my right hand.

My symptoms are consistent with carpal tunnel syndrome. Years of having to do lots of typing, combined with too much time spent on the Internet, appear to be taking their toll.

I therefore need to limit typing to necessary functions and take a break - hopefully a short one - from blogging.
posted on 6/21/2006

 
What Kind Of Yeshiva Education Is Best?

I've never really identified as modern Orthodox, and if I ever identified as charedi, I ceased doing so years ago.

My approach in my religious observance and religious ideology is to try to adopt what I see as the best of all observant Jewish sectors, and reject what I see as the negatives or erroneous positions of those respective sectors.

I therefore am a Zionist who does not say hallel on Yom Haatzmaut, a person who rejects religious pluralism but embraces pluralism in civil society. I reject overly broad interpretations of daas Torah, but accept that rabbis do have the final say on issues of halacha and hashkafa. I'm a big sports fan, but believe that much of modernity is inherently antithetical to traditional Judaism and that modernity and Judaism often cannot be reconciled. I'm not comfortable with Orthodox feminism, but I believe that women should be encouraged to actively participate in Torah study and in communal life.

I'm comfortable picking and choosing from within divergent Orthodox positions and practices.

However, now that I've started to think about what kind of school to send my son, I realize that I may be forced to make a choice between the respective ideologies of the charedim and the modern Orthodox.

On one hand, my instinct is to err on the side of sending my children to schools that are too religiously right-wing rather than too left-wing. The hope is that if children rebel, they'll become more modern than I may like but remain observant Jews.

I'm not saying that this instinct is correct. But it is one that many have.

On the other hand, I would not want to send my children to a charedi school in which the rebbis rail against television and the Internet, demonstrate a lack of respect for the modern Orthodox or the less observant, and/or refuse to teach basic science. I certainly would never ask my children to lie about things like whether there is a TV in my house so that they can enroll (or remain enrolled) in a charedi school. Nor would I want the principal of my son's school to say in a school forum that parents who have televisions in their homes are "either hypocrites or idiots," as my high school principal did.

Ultimately, my own experience in charedi schools causes me to have both comfortable familiarity with those schools, along with discomfort about their rigidity and intolerance.

Fortunately, there is still some time for me to sort all of this out.
posted on 6/19/2006

 
Rav Hutner, Rabbi Hartman and Sports

One of the most interesting aspects of Jeffrey Gurock's book about American Jews and sports are the anecdotes about Rav Hutner's acceptance of Chaim Berlin high school's participation in a yeshiva basketball league, even when cheerleaders participated and post-game social events occurred.

At some point, the charedi world - including Chaim Berlin - lost Rav Hutner's brand of tolerance. Hopefully that is changing.

Somewhat (albeit unintentionally) amusing was Dr. Gurock's writeup about David Hartman, a star of Chaim Berlin's high school team who later became Rabbi David Hartman of the Shalom Hartman Institute and a leading advocate of religious pluralism.

As Dr. Gurock wrote, after leaving Chaim Berlin, Rabbi Hartman studied for a year in Lakewood and was ordained at YU. He then notes that Rav Hutner surely recognized that Rabbi Hartman's participation in basketball had no adverse effect and that Rav Hutner was surely proud that Rabbi Hartman became a rabbi.

Suffice to say that Rabbi Hartman's ideology is as far within Orthodoxy from Rav Hutner's as could be. Indeed, Rav Hutner was a staunch opponent of religious pluralism, and was among the 11 leading rabbis who signed the 1956 ban on participation in the New York Board of Rabbis.
posted on 6/19/2006

 
Legal Advocacy and Halacha

My goal in litigation is to win the case and/or achieve the best possible settlement for clients.

That goal is anything but unique. Indeed, any lawyer who does not have that goal is not serving as a proper advocate for clients.

However, while zealous advocacy is expected in the secular legal system, some rabbis have indicated in a cryptic manner that this is not consistent with the demands of halacha.

Over the years, I have heard several rabbis question whether several aspects of legal practice conflict with halacha. More recently, a rabbi whom I respect suggested that according to halacha, a legal system must strive to achieve the appropriate result, and that an attorney therefore must not primarily serve as an advocate for the client, but to facilitate the equitable result.

Often, it is possible to both zealously represent a client and achieve the most equitable resolution without any conflict. But sometimes it's impossible.

For example, what if the client possesses information that is not helpful to his case? If the other side asks for that information, it generally must be provided, but if the information is not requested, it is not to be offered voluntarily. Furthermore, if the information is a communication between the attorney and the client, it is privileged and need not be provided at all even if requested.

Similarly, secular law includes many technical defenses, such as the statute of limitations, in which a claim cannot be made after a specified period has elapsed. If someone has an otherwise proper claim against one's client, but neglects to bring the claim in a timely manner, it would be legal malpractice not to assert the statute of limitations. On the other hand, perhaps the most equitable result would be for the plaintiff to be paid appropriately.

Sometimes, working toward the most fair result can result in a client getting shafted. Once, for example, a person was sued for something like $50,000. The plaintiff's lawyer indicated that his client would compromise and take less than 100 cents on the dollar. After conferring with our client, it became clear that he had indeed originally owed $50,000, but had already paid $15,000 to the plaintiff, and therefore owed $35,000. I suggested offering a certain amount, but the client, an earnest observant Jewish man, insisted on paying the full $35,000 he owed, not a penny less, and would not countenance even offering a penny less. Nor, he made clear, would he pay a penny of interest, so the settlement offer and the actual settlement would both have to be for exactly $35,000. So I went ahead, offered the plaintiff's lawyer $35,000 - every penny my client owed - and, predictably, since we offered $35,000 that lawyer responded by demanding more. Ultimately, the plaintiff took the $35,000, but not until the client had incurred relatively significant legal fees.

The typical approach, of course, is to initially demand more or offer less than the maximum amount one would take or pay in settlement. But what if, in the example set forth above, we had offered $15,000, and ultimately settled on $25,000, with the client paying $10,000 less than he really owed. A good deal like that would certainly have been appropriate from a secular perspective, but would it have been halachically problematic?

Ultimately, there are countless examples of how the duty for attorneys to zealously advocate on behalf of clients might not be consistent with achieving the fairest ultimate result. Particularly in light of the number of observant Jewish lawyers, it is to be hoped that serious halachic consideration and analysis of this important issue will be undertaken in the near future.
posted on 6/14/2006

 
Ben Roethlisberger

For the third time in three years, a high-profile young professional athlete has suffered career threatening injuries as a result of a motorcycle accident.

First, it was point guard Jay Williams three years ago after his rookie season. Williams plans to attempt to come back next season.

Next it was Kellen Winslow, who hopes to return in 2006 after missing 2005 with severe knee injuries.

Today, Ben Roethlisberger incurred severe facial and head injuries.

There are the obvious questions, particularly why a star athlete poised to make tens of millions of dollars would risk his immense God-given talent by riding a motorcycle.

Obviously, Williams, Winslow and Roethlisberger never seriously considered the possibility of an accident.

Hopefully all three will be able to come back, and others will think twice before engaging in high-risk activity.
posted on 6/12/2006

 
The Orthodox Response to Chabad Messianism

Among most observant Jews, there seem to be two approaches to Chabad messianism.

First, there are zealous critics of Chabad, such as Professor David Berger, who argue that (1) the vast majority of Chabad rabbis are messianic, with the debate within Chabad relating to whether to publicly proclaim that the rebbe is Moshiach, rather than whether the rebbe is Moshiach, and that (2) Chabad therefore falls outside of mainstream Orthodoxy and is to be condemned and shunned as outside of legitimate Judaism.

Then, there are the majority of observant Jews, who tend to disagree that most Chabadniks are really messianic, and essentially argue that Chabad does too much good and is too important to Jewish outreach for us to focus on some silly messianic beliefs.

I happen to be quite confident that Berger is right that the vast majority of Chabad rabbis are messianic. However, I don't know what the implications of that should be. Is Berger also right that Chabad is therefore outside the margins of acceptable Jewish thought and practice? Or has Chabad's vicious bashing of critics like Berger resulted in a skewing of Berger's perspective, causing him to take and call for an uncompromising anti-Chabad position? Could Chabad's belief in the rebbe as moshiach be seen as wrong, but not something that merits shunning Chabad?

I'm not qualified to answer the question, but it's time for mainstream Orthodoxy to deal with this matter, since it won't be going away.
posted on 6/12/2006

 
Collateral Damage

Here are a few of my sentiments regarding the Palestinian civilians who were killed by an IDF shell on Friday:

1. Sympathy for the victims as fellow human beings.

2. Thoughts as to why the victims have gotten so much media attention, in sharp contrast to thousands of nameless Iraqi civilians killed by the U.S. and Britain.

3. Certainty that Palestinian society - Gaza residents especially - is fully responsible for these deaths, for responding to Israel's withdrawal from Gaza by continuing to attack Israel and by electing Hamas.

4. Certainty that the State of Israel has a moral duty to continue to protect its citizens.
posted on 6/11/2006

 
Update

I've been very busy trying to win a few cases for the good guys - and trying to understand why Elster responds to a Mets bullpen collapse as "flying pretty high" and "good times." So blogging has had to take a timeout. Here are some quick thoughts on a few events:

1. The liquidation of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, while certainly significant, ultimately evidences the overall U.S. failure in Iraq. Zarqawi has been the top target there since the capture of Saddam Hussein, and was closely tracked for a long period. That it took so long to eliminate him only shows how difficult it is for the Western occupation to operate in a territory as vast as Iraq.

2. I don't usually comment on the hated Islanders, but they made two very good moves today. Neil Smith, their new GM, was a bit out of control in the latter portion of his long tenure as Rangers GM, but he was fantastic in building the 1994 Stanley Cup team with a mix of solid drafting of players like Alexei Kovalev, as well as free agent acquisitions of young players like Adam Graves, and trades for veterans like Steve Larmer and - of course - Mark Messier. The Islanders are in a somewhat similar situation to that of the Rangers when Smith took over in 1989, with some young talent but also some grossly overpaid veterans on the decline.

New Islanders head coach Ted Nolan did a good job for the Sabres in the late 90's, and then disappeared after losing a power struggle with John Muckler (who later coached the Rangers and now serves as Ottawa's GM) and earning a reputation as a backstabber. The bottom line is that Nolan is an excellent hockey man, and nearly a decade later, he deserves a shot.

3. Aside from bringing back longtime cornerback Ray Mickens, making the retirement of Wayne Chrebet official, and wild but uninformed media speculation about Chad Pennington, things have been quiet around the Jets. I like Mickens and did not like the way the old evil regime let him go when Ty Law was signed last August. I'm still holding out hope that the Jets can pick up one or two veterans who become salary cap casualties, particularly on the defensive line.

Speaking of the old evil regime, MSNBC published an article proclaiming Herm Edwards to be the new head coach most likely to succeed in 2006, stating that even if the Chiefs decline on offense, they can make a Super Bowl run.

I can't wait for Chiefs fans and the clueless media to express bewilderment when the Chiefs stumble to a 9-7 season.

One thing I do know, is that Herm will be "proud, real proud" of his players and that those players will "battle."

4. Also in NFL news, as Jewboy writes, the "Ravens-Steve McNair odyssey finally came to an end."

Outside of Tennessee and Baltimore, I doubt many were aware of this particular "odyssey."

5. The impending Stanley Cup victory of the Carolina Hurricanes makes the Rangers collapse all the more frustrating. The NHL was as wide open this season as any professional sports league in memory, and Carolina wasn't seen as much more of a contender than the Rangers back in October. Had the Rangers not sustained so many injuries and had Henrik Lundqvist been at his best, they could have had a chance.

6. We at The Zionist Conspiracy despise Alonzo Mourning, so let's hope to see a Mavericks victory tonight and in the NBA Finals.
posted on 6/08/2006