The Zionist Conspiracy |
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A clandestine undertaking on behalf of Israel, the Jets and the Jews. 
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Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Shavuos Night Jewboy posts in support of staying up all of Shavuos night to study Torah. From around 1985 through 1995, I stayed up every year on Shavuos night. The last time I stayed up all night, in '95, I was in Israel for the summer. At around 4:30, thousands of people walked to the Western Wall. As we walked through the Arab shuk in the Moslem Quarter, some made a point of singing and clapping, ensuring that the residents would be unable to sleep. As is usually the case, most of those morons were American or European Jews. Since then, I have tried to learn as long as I can, get some sleep, and then daven at a late morning minyan. For example, last year, I was in the Upper West Side, stayed up until around 2:30, and then davened at the Vorhand shteibel's 9:30 minyan. While I don't think it's necessary to stay up all night, and indeed think it's silly for those who aren't really learning to do so, I tend to agree with Jewboy that it is meritorious to learn the entire night. Furthermore, those who learn the entire night make it possible for those of us who stay up late but not all night to have places to learn as long as we wish. Toss Up, Fireman and Exterminator Elster recently reminded me that it's no longer 1986. Of course, he is right. If it were still 1986, I would not have spent $70 on the DVD set of the '86 playoffs and World Series, and the Mets would not have so many holes in their starting rotation. Nor would I have been nostalgic enough to have just spent another $70 on a vintage Time Out handheld game. As some may recall, around 1980-1981, a number of tiny handheld video games were quite popular, particularly Toss Up, Exterminator and Fireman. Toss Up was my favorite. It was quite simple, with a ball juggled back and forth, and a graphic reading 'Crush' when the ball was dropped and the game ended. I just spotted an eBay auction for Toss Up by a seller in Europe, and immediately purchased the item. I am looking forward to getting reacquainted with Toss Up soon. Monday, May 29, 2006
Does More Frum Equal More Coarse? Yesterday, I went with my wife and son to look at a couple of houses in a neighborhood that, while having an established modern Orthodox community, is not one that would be identified as a "frum" neighborhood. The houses we looked at were very small, on the outskirts of the neighborhood, with asking prices higher than we likely can afford, and clearly needed a significant amount of updating and/or repair that we definitely cannot afford. Upon leaving one of the houses, a modern Orthodox man and his teenage son who live next door came out to say hello to us. They talked to us for a few minutes about the owner of the house, the block and the shul. Nothing major, but certainly a very friendly gesture that was appreciated. I currently rent an apartment in Kew Gardens Hills. Though more diverse than other frum areas - with significant modern Orthodox, Israeli, and Bucharian populations - a plurality of the residents of Kew Gardens Hills can probably be described as left-wing charedi, or, for those who like the term, "charedi lite." This morning, I was walking with my not-yet 18-month old son in the area. On one of the narrow streets, young frum people were setting up for a Memorial Day barbecue. Between the grill the men were setting up and the beach chairs on which the women were relaxing, they were blocking virtually the entire sidewalk. The scene reminded me of Giants Stadium before a Jets or Giants game, where tailgaters routinely block three or four parking spots. I try to be cautious when I'm taking care of my son, and given the way people drive in the area, I wasn't going to walk with him in middle of the street, so I struggled to maneuver the stroller across a tree on the edge of the curb, ultimately lifting it carefully around the tree. When I passed by, one of the guys sarcastically said to me: "I hope that wasn't too difficult for you." I responded while walking by: "It's not just me. You're blocking everyone who's walking by." With that, he started yelling, "be a man," whatever that's supposed to mean. Obviously, there are obnoxious jerks everywhere, and it would be unfair to generalize about any group based upon an isolated incident, whether positive or negative. Nevertheless, it does seem to me that in areas that are populated mostly by frum people, the residents tend to be, overall, less friendly and more coarse toward others. While these neighborhoods have the advantages of choices in shuls and Jewish schools, and kosher supermarkets and restaurants, the areas in which frum people are a minority tend to have almost a "small town" mentality within shul, with people focusing less on their differences and accepting those with divergent backgrounds and approaches. Unfortunately, it seems that it is unrealistic to have a large frum neighborhood in which the residents are all part of one cohesive community. It seems inevitable that with growth, ultimately two new shuls are built for those who find the original shul too modern or too charedi, with the members of the different shuls having less and less interaction with their fellow observant Jews. Friday, May 26, 2006
Shemiras Halashon Those of us at The Zionist Conspiracy find the following terms offensive, inappropriate, inaccurate or annoying: -Ultra-Orthodox (As in: "Yigal Amir, an ultra-Orthodox extremist..." -East Jerusalem (As in: "Thousands of Jews live in Ramat Eshkol, located in occupied East Jerusalem.") -Walk-off (As in: "Carlos Beltran's walk-off home run won it for the Mets.") -Walk-out (As in: "How did you do in court?" "Awesome. We won the case on a walk-out motion for summary judgment.") -Peace Process (As in: "The peace process stalled as a result of Ariel Sharon's walk on the Temple Mount.") -Intifada (As in: "More than 1200 Israelis have been killed since the start of the Palestinian intifada.") -Died in the war (As in: "My grandfather's parents and baby sister died in the war.") -Disengagement (As in: "Sharon's disengagement will put Ashkelon within Hamas range.") -Convergence (As in: "I supported disengagement, but I'm not so sure about convergence.") -Realignment (Okay when: "I can't believe they charged me $150 for an oil change and a realignment. It's time to find a new mechanic," but not okay when: "I wasn't so sure about convergence, but I think realignment in the West Bank is inevitable.") -We battled and The guys never quit (As in: "Herm, why did you settle for a 45 yard field goal at the end of the 4th quarter tonight?" "We battled. The guys never quit. It don't matter why we lost. I'm proud of these guys. Real proud.") -110 percent - or any percentage above 100 percent (As in: "The only way we can win is if everyone gives 110 percent.") -Anti-Meshichist (As in: "Outside of Crown Heights, almost everyone is an anti-meshichist.") More On The Quietest Rally In shul last shabbos morning, an announcement was made about Tuesday's rally in Washington protesting Prime Minister Olmert's withdrawal plan. I immediately commented to the two fellows next to me that the rally was a terrible idea, and that no more than a few hundred people would show up. They both expressed strong disagreement with my view that there would be a very weak crowd. Until this morning, the only coverage I saw of the rally was a picture of the dozen or so Neturei Karta crazies who travel the world to express hatred for Israel. Within a long report about Olmert's meeting with President Bush, today's Haaretz finally provides some information about the rally. As Haaretz states: 100 Jews from the political right stood and demonstrated against the prime minister. It was a pathetic, disappointing gathering, which reflected the situation of opponents of convergence. 'Lakewood, Wherever That Is' A column by Phil Mushnick in today's New York Post includes the following item: Tuesday, Keith Hernandez and Cohen put the "gee" in geography. Hernandez said that in 2003, the Phillies' Chris Roberson stole 59 bases "for Lakewood, wherever that is." Thursday, May 25, 2006
Yom Haatzmaut 1967 and Divided Jerusalem I wasn't born yet in 1967, but I do have a pretty large collection of memorabilia relating to the Six Day War. I have all of the issues of Life, Time and Newsweek magazines, as well as most of the issues of The Jerusalem Post from the period shortly before, during, and after the war. As a result, the Six Day War is an event that resonates deeply with me. Whenever I think about the liberation of Jerusalem, I also think about Yom Haatzmaut 1967. On Yom Haatzmaut (Independence Day) 1967, a day before Nasser demanded that the UN withdraw from the Egypt-Israel border, precipitating the events that led to the Six Day War, Naomi Shemer's song Yerushalayim Shel Zahav (Jerusalem of Gold) was released and first performed. Its lyrics, particularly that "the city square is empty, nobody goes up to the Temple Mount in the Old City," soon sounded prophetic. Also on Yom Haatzmaut 1967, in a lecture to his students, Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook lamented the loss of Jerusalem, Hebron and Jericho. Those words too would, weeks later, sound prophetic. I don't subscribe to the ideology of R. Tzvi Yehuda Kook's disciples, and I'm generally a rationalist and (try to be) a pragmatist. But a big part of me believes that Naomi Shemer's release of Yerushalayim Shel Zahav and R. Kook's speech were both divinely inspired. Yom Yerushalayim Yom Yerushalayim/Jerusalem Day is being observed today in honor of the 39th anniversary of the unification of Jerusalem. In a Jewish Press column two years ago, I included the following quotes about a united Jerusalem. I remain particularly moved by the (post-Oslo) 1995 Jerusalem Day statements of Prime Minister Rabin, of blessed memory. "Jerusalem is politically closed, religiously open. No serious person will suggest to make out of Jerusalem another Berlin, to have a wall, a split. Jerusalem is united politically, is the capital of Israel, and you cannot have two capitals in one city." - Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, in a July 25,1994 interview with MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour. "We did not then succeed [during the 1948 War of Independence] in liberating the Old City, and over the years, we lived with the painful feeling that the city was divided and that the remnant of the Temple was in the hands of foreigners. For 19 years, the paths to the Western Wall were desolate: 'The market square is empty, and no one visits the Temple Mount in the Old City,' in the words of poet Naomi Shemer. "We are divided in our opinions, on the Left and the Right. We argue over courses of action and over purpose. I believe that there is no argument on one matter - the wholeness of Jerusalem, and its continued existence as the capital of the State of Israel. I said yesterday, and repeat today, that there are not two Jerusalems; there is only one Jerusalem. From our perspective, Jerusalem is not a subject for compromise. Jerusalem was ours, will be ours, is ours - and will remain as such forever." - Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, in a May 29, 1995 Jerusalem Day address to the Knesset. "If they told us that peace is the price of giving up on a united Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty, my reply would be 'let's do without peace.'" - Rabin, in a speech to Tel Aviv students, on June 27, 1995. "Where do you exactly draw the line between calling someone a 'traitor' and saying [he will] divide Jerusalem? "These statements lead to [other] statements I've already heard: 'Peres wants to burn Jerusalem.' This whole campaign, with the slogan of 'Peres will divide Jerusalem,' is character assassination." - Peres, then Prime Minister, in February 1996, angrily rejecting the Likud election campaign slogan, "Peres will divide Jerusalem". "The government's position is clear. Jerusalem will forever remain the undivided capital of Israel. I call on everyone to show a sense of national responsibility and stop putting question marks around the subject of Jerusalem." - Prime Minister Ehud Barak, at a March 12, 2000 cabinet meeting. "Jerusalem shall forever remain ours because it is in our souls. Never again will Jerusalem be under foreign sovereignty. Only someone who has no sense of reality, who does not understand anything about Israel's yearning and longing and the Jewish people's historical connection to Jerusalem for over 3,000 years would even consider making any concessions over the city." - Barak, at a ceremony at Ammunition Hill on June 1, 2000 marking Jerusalem Day. Barak shattered the consensus on Jerusalem six weeks later at Camp David. "Yitzhak is certainly turning over in his grave. He never would have agreed to compromise on the Old City and the Temple Mount, because for him Jerusalem was sacred from a strictly national and historic point of view. He was thankful that in 1967 he was the army chief of staff who liberated it." - Leah Rabin, widow of Yitzhak Rabin, in a September 9, 2000 interview with Yediot Ahronot, criticizing Barak's concessions at Camp David. Is Olmert Already Abandoning Mass Unilateral Withdrawal? Last Friday, I posted about signals emanating from Kadima that Prime Minister Olmert would not, after all, be implementing a withdrawal from all Judea/Samaria communities east of the security fence. In particular, I wrote that Beit El, Kiryat Arba and Hebron's Jewish community would probably be among the areas that are retained in the event that Olmert is to backtrack. While Olmert himself has offered few specifics about his plan, in the days since my post, reports indicate that Beit El, Kiryat Arba and Hebron are indeed among the areas that Israel will retain. For example, according to a report in The Jerusalem Post, Uzi Keren, Olmert's adviser for settlements stated that "the Beit El group" would likely be retained. Today, Haaretz is reporting that Kadima's Otniel Schneller says that Israel will find "creative ways" to retain Kiryat Arba and the Hebron community. Again, these statements should be taken with caution, since Olmert has offered no particulars about his plans. However, in Washington, Olmert already began referring to his goal of achieving "secure borders" for Israel, rather than "permanent borders," as he had previously always called for. With little prospect of either U.S. financial support for a massive evacuation of tens of thousands of Jewish residents or U.S. political support for Israeli annexation of the large settlement blocs that comprise less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, Olmert will likely begin scaling back his plans, from a massive unilateral withdrawal to Israel's "permanent borders" to a much more modest unilateral withdrawal to "secure borders." Jorge, We Hardly Knew Ya Though reliever Jorge Julio has actually been pitching well of late, there's no question that the Mets trade of Julio to Arizona for Orlando Hernandez was a good one. Even at this stage of his career, El Duque should, if he can stay healthy, be at least an adequate number 5 starter for the Mets. Julio, in contrast, can be replaced by Heath Bell. Having said that, I disagree with Mets GM Omar Minaya that Hernandez is an upgrade over Kris Benson, who the Mets traded in January to acquire Julio. Benson is inconsistent, but he pitches a lot of innings, and in both 2005 and thus far 2006, his ERA has been 100 points or more below El Duque's. Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Accountability Of Bloggers This week's Jewish Press includes an editorial that refers to "the proliferation of 'gotcha' websites and bloggers - many of them anonymous and all of them accountable to no one." While I agree that anonymous bloggers are not accountable, I disagree with the notion that even bloggers like me, who write under our real names, are "accountable to no one." Indeed, I fail to understand how I am in any way less accountable for what I write on this blog than for what I've written in my columns that have been published in The Jewish Press. To be sure, there may be a lot more accountability to a publication for something it publishes than to a blogger for a post, since an offending article or report can result in cancelled subscriptions, pulled advertising, threatened boycotts, and/or difficulty in obtaining information from news sources. But it remains quite overbroad to say that bloggers writing under their names are "accountable to no one." For one thing, if someone believes that we have defamed them, we can be subjected to a legal action for libel. The Quietest Rally Did anyone go to yesterday's "mass" rally in Washington, organized to protest Prime Minister Olmert's unilateral withdrawal plan? While well-intentioned, this rally is another example of how the pro-Zionist right-wing in the United States simply doesn't get it, lacking any sense of political pragmatism. Saturday, May 20, 2006
Yom Kippur and the '86 Mets Toward the end of shabbos, I began reading Judaism's Encounter With American Sports by Jeffrey Gurock. The book is clearly very thoroughly researched, so I was surprised to find a glaring factual error on page 5. As Gurock writes, many Jews expressed frustration when Games 4 and 5 of the 1986 National League Championship Series between the Mets and the Astros were scheduled for Yom Kippur (Game 4 at night and Game 5 on Yom Kippur afternoon). (It was actually even worse, since Game 3 was played on shabbos afternoon, so all three Mets home games were scheduled either on shabbos or on Yom Kippur.) Gurock quotes a column by George Vecsey in the New York Times predicting rain that would spare Jewish fans from missing two playoffs games. Gurock then writes: "In the end, the proprietors of the national pastime did not fold to Jewish complaints and it did not rain on October 12-13, 1986." But it indeed did rain on Yom Kippur 1986. Game 4 went ahead as scheduled, with Mike Scott scuffing the baseball, cheating his way to victory over the Mets. The next day, however, it rained just enough for Game 5 to be postponed a day and rescheduled for the following afternoon. And so on Tuesday, October 14, 1986, the last day of yeshiva before the break for the succos holiday, as soon as the lunch break commenced, a 9th grader who loved the Mets took a bus home, hoping his mother wouldn't send him back to school. He walked through the door, and murmured something about having a stomach virus. 12 innings later, after a classic pitching duel between Dwight Gooden and Nolan Ryan, Gary Carter's single off of Charlie Kerfeld scored Wally Backman to win it for the Mets, and screams of joy emanated from the room of the (ostensibly sickly) 13 year old. Friday, May 19, 2006
Kadima: Withdrawal Not As Broad As Reported Today's Jerusalem Post has an important report that according to Prime Minister Olmert and additional unnamed Kadima sources, "the eventual number of settlers to be evacuated will be much lower than 70,000," as has been widely reported. There are now around 70,000 residents of Judea and Samaria living east of the proposed fence route, so this report probably indicates two things: First, that Olmert realizes that he will not be politically strong enough to implement a forced evacuation of 70,000 Jews and that he is seeking to reach some sort of unspoken compromise with the settlement movement, and second, that the security fence will in some areas be moved slightly east to include more settlements and settlers. In any scenario that Olmert has in mind, tens of thousands of Jews would be forced to leave their homes and at least dozens of communities would be razed. But while those who support the settlement project are therefore not likely to publicly rejoice, they should understand that working to limit the scope of Olmert's unilateral withdrawal is a vital interest of the settlement movement, and can be attempted without compromising political opposition to Olmert and the idea of unilateral withdrawal. For example, if Hebron's Jewish community, Kiryat Arba, Beit El and Ofra (all of which are outside the fence) can be spared destruction, the settlement movement will have secured a key achievement. In my opinion, Olmert will look to spare just those communities for three reasons. First, because giving up Hebron and Kiryat Arba will especially inflame religious and traditional Israeli Jews, second because Kiryat Arba and Beit El include more than 12,000 residents, and third, because many Yesha Council leaders reside in Beit El and Ofra, and Olmert realizes that removing them will result in an even more bitter political struggle that he may not win. Most likely, unfortunately, the settlement movement's leadership will refuse to even quietly hold a dialogue with Olmert. While as a matter of principle that approach would be understandable, it would almost inevitably result in a split within the settlement movement, with those within the fence (who comprise more than 70 percent of Judea and Samaria's Jewish residents) refusing to strongly oppose Olmert so as to protect their own interests, leaving those outside the fence completely politically isolated, and easily marginalized as extremist. Same Old Mets It's tempting to blame Elster for the Mets failures. After all, it was he who recently declared that losing Victor Zambrano for the season is not "such a bad thing" and that Jose Lima "can play on my team any day." Thus far, in three starts Lima is 0-3 with an ERA of 8.79. Of course, Elster is not (thankfully) the one making the terrible decisions that have led to the Mets slump. Willie Randolph, the Mets manager, said after Lima's latest debacle that "he did a pretty good job" and will "most likely" remain in the Mets starting rotation. Randolph refuses to put Aaron Heilman into the starting rotation, ostensibly because Heilman is too valuable is a bullpen set up man. But the Mets already have Duaner Sanchez filling the role well, and Pedro Feliciano has quietly been doing a good job too. In other words, Heilman is valuable, but replaceable in the bullpen. In the starting rotation, Heilman is way above Jose Lima and the others the Mets are trotting out. The other culprit is Mets GM Omar Minaya, who left the starting rotation without any depth when he gave away Kris Benson. After the Benson for Jorge Julio giveaway, I asked on this blog who would step into the Mets rotation when one or more of the starters went down due to injury. Minaya, apparently, had no idea. I still think Bobby Valentine would be the best fit for Mets manager, but my guess is that after the Mets fail to make the playoffs this season, owner Fred Wilpon will bring Minaya and Randolph back for one more chance. Monday, May 15, 2006
Nakba Day and Neturei Karta How do the members of Neturei Karta observe Nakba Day, which is observed on May 15 each year on the anniversary of the establishment of the evil Zionist entity? Do they fast? Read Lamentations? Hold a memorial for Palestinian martyrs who have fallen in the course of suicide bombings? Burn Israeli flags? Celebrate the murder of another Jew? Nets Should Bring Back KMart Now that Cliff Robinson's idiotically-timed marijuana use has doomed the Nets season (Robinson was suspended for five games beginning with Game 3 of the Nets series with Miami), the Nets will need to figure out how to get back to real championship contention. Going into the offseason, the Nets deficiencies are, yet again, the power forward position and their bench. Regardless of whether he is worth the money left on his contract, it's a no-brainer for the Nets to go after Kenyon Martin, who will almost certainly be traded by Denver. Martin has already proven to be a perfect fit for the Nets, and it's likely that he can be obtained for a reasonable package that would keep the Nets core intact, with the exception of Jason Collins. Even if the Nets had to give up Vince Carter, Martin is more valuable than Carter is during the playoffs, and a trade of Carter for Martin and another player might be beneficial. The question will be whether the Nets want to add to their payroll, particularly since Jason Kidd, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson are already making more than $11 million annually apiece. It will be up to Kidd to pressure Rod Thorn and Bruce Ratner to seriously consider bringing KMart back to the swamp. The Nets are unlikely to fire coach Lawrence Frank, but Frank has clearly been outcoached by Pat Riley, relying far too heavily on Carter and failing to adjust when Carter's shooting is off. Friday, May 12, 2006
Sports and Judaism Update Rabbi Mayer Schiller kindly mailed me a copy of his 1997 exchange with Rabbi Yosef Bechhofer about sports and Judaism. Rabbi Bechhofer's main point was that the adulation of athletes is antithetical to Judaism, and as a result, he expresses negative sentiments toward being a sports fan (he makes a point of stating that participating in sporting activity is generally something positive). While it's difficult to disagree with Rabb Bechhofer's views about adulation of athletes, I wonder whether his perspective was somewhat skewed by the fact that (i) he is presumably not a sports fan; (ii) he lives in Chicago; and (iii) he was writing in the late 90's. I don't think most sports fans really idolize athletes. If anything, we care mainly about the team, and individual athletes can go from loved to the epitome of evil quite quickly. (See Boston's relationship with Johnny Damon.) However, it is no secret that in Chicago, Michael Jordan was the subject of just the sort of adulation that Rabbi Bechhofer is, not unreasonably, quite wary of. In the late 90's, Jordan had returned from his first retirement (an ill-fated attempt to play baseball), and was in middle of winning another three championships for the Bulls, to add to the three he had won from 1991-1993. Most sports fans respect aspects of certain athlete's achievements. Wayne Chrebet, for example, beat the odds to go from a walk-on at Jets training camp to a mainstay who played 11 years for the Jets. Between 1999 and 2001, Mets fans were fond of Benny Agbayani, another player who seemingly overachieved and provided some memorable moments. Giants fans respected Lawrence Taylor for his enormous talent and desire to win, but few expressed adulation for LT, and while Phil Simms was well-liked even by non-Giants fans, he never became larger than life, not even after his MVP performance in Super Bowl XXI. The only New York player in recent memory who really was idolized was Mark Messier, but even that had less to do with Messier himself than with the fact that he brought the Rangers their only Stanley Cup since 1940. Ultimately, Rabbi Bechhofer is right that it's problematic when Orthodox Jewish teens (and certainly adults) know more about sports and athletes than about Judaism and gedolim. But I think that to some extent, he exaggerates the role of sports in this regard. Sports is an easy scapegoat, but while it is not entirely irrelevant to the problem, there are surely ways to engage Jews in their religion without demanding that sports be shunned. Menachem Begin's Psychiatric Condition Haaretz's weekend magazine features a long piece about a new book by a clinical psychologist that claims that Menachem Begin was a manic depressive from "early infancy." While there is much evidence that Begin was severely depressed from his last year as Prime Minister - after the death of his wife and the failures of the Lebanon War - the book's premise that Begin suffered from lifetime mental illness does not appear persuasive. To be sure, Begin was haunted by the murders of his parents and brother during the Holocaust - and the fact that he had fled Poland in 1939 while they had stayed. And it cannot be disputed that at times Begin behaved erratically. However, at least as likely as mental illness as an explanation for Begin's sadness were the personal losses he had suffered along with the losses of the Jewish people, and the overwhelming burden he imposed on himself as leader of the Irgun and later as Prime Minister of Israel. Wednesday, May 10, 2006
A.M. Rosenthal Longtime New York Times editor and columnist A.M. Rosenthal died today. During his tenure as columnist in the latter part of his career, Rosenthal was a fierce defender of Israel. Since he and William Safire left the Times op-ed page, it has become heavily stacked against Israel. Rosenthal was not afraid to be politically incorrect. Indeed, the most honorable aspect of his very distinguished career will be his outspoken opposition to the Oslo process and to Yasser Arafat, at a time when the Clinton Administration treated Arafat as a world leader and a heroic crusader for peace. In a memorable 1995 column, Rosenthal asked: Why has terrorism against Israelis exploded since the signing of peace principles between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization on the White House lawn on Sept. 13, 1993? Rosenthal explained the then Israeli government's response: Mind your own business. May the memory - and legacy of support for Israel - of A.M. Rosenthal - be a blessing. Human Trafficking in Israel Robert Avrech posts to urge readers to sign a petition by the Task Force on Human Trafficking demanding that Israel take steps against sexual slavery within its borders. A friend of mine serves as director of advocacy for TFHT. The continuing human trafficking in Israel is especially indefensible in light of the fact that Israel had little problem eradicating the phenomenon of foreigners illegally living there, the vast majority of whom were deported. Five years ago, the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv were filled with Romanians, Filipinos and Asians. That is no longer the case. Yet the sale of women by pimps and brothel owners continues. In 2002, my father wrote an article entitled 'Israel's Shame' about this issue. Monday, May 08, 2006
Avraham Burg Suspected Of Fraud In 2003, Avraham Burg, long among the leaders of the Labor party, wrote a scathing attack on Israel. The piece was first published in Yediot Ahronot, then in the Forward, then in The Guardian and the International Herald Tribune, and finally all around Europe and even the Arab world. According to Burg, Israel "rests on a scaffolding of corruption," is controlled by "lawbreakers" and is "a state lacking justice." Today, Avraham Burg was interrogated by police for 11 hours, who suspect him of fraud. He has not been charged with a crime at this time. Three Years Of Blogging - And Three Wasted Years In Yesha Today is the third anniversary of the formation of this blog. On May 8, 2003, I received a link to Hasidic Rebel's blog, which linked to some other blogs, like Protocols and Unbroken Glass. Prior to that day, I was vaguely familiar with blogs, but had never really read any. Almost immediately, I started this blog, with seven short posts on its first day, and seven more on its second day. In those days, Blogger was very user-unfriendly. I had to teach myself basic HTML to figure out how to link, how to place words into bold, etc. My first post - there have been 1030 more since - stated that "the trends currently are very unfavorable toward the Jewish communities ("settlements") in Judea and Samaria." I wrote that on the right, "there needs to be a pragmatic recognition that Israel is not forever going to retain all of the West Bank land it currently holds" and that supporters of settlements must "recognize and soberly accept the threat to the Jewish enterprise in Judea and Samaria, and act not to completely eliminate that threat, but to limit its results by fighting to save as much as possible." The sentiments expressed in my first post represent the ideas that are most important to me. That post was written seven months before Prime Minister Sharon offered the first hints of his "disengagement" plan. Unfortunately, those on the right have proven woefully inept at taking pragmatic political steps that would reduce the damage to the settlement enterprise. Instead, there are, at best, strident statements of rejection to the idea of any reduction of settlements, and, at worst, violent protests, references to soldiers and political leaders as traitors or Nazis, and moronic actions like blocking roads, all of which have accomplished nothing other than the alienation of the residents of Judea and Samaria from mainstream Israelis. The settlers and their supporters seem to think that we are still in the 1970's, and that demands and threats will work today as they did then. The opposition to the withdrawal from Gaza was based on the absurd notion that protesters would somehow block the IDF from reaching Gush Katif. But the days of Sebastia are over. A new direction and a new strategy are desperately needed. Over the last three years, in this blog and in my columns in The Jewish Press, I have tried again and again, in various ways and using various arguments, to make this point. Alas, pragmatism and reality are apparently inconsistent with the ethos of the settlement movement. Even the Gaza withdrawal has had little effect. And so even as Prime Minister Olmert goes about his plan for a massive unilateral withdrawal from Judea and Samaria, and the destruction of a majority of the Jewish communities there, those on the right are clueless as to how to respond. Sunday, May 07, 2006
Rabbi Mayer Schiller On Sports and Judaism (Sent by Rabbi Schiller via e-mail and posted with his permission.) When I was working with the editor of [the Torah u-Maddah] journal on the original piece I said to him that I was writing it in order to explain why I coach (now "coached" I retired after the 1996 season) the MTA hockey team. Essentially, the article put forth my belief that non-prohibited aspects of the beriah were given to us by G-d to bring us joy, and uplift and insight and that all three must make us better ovdei Hashem. Your two examples of persevering with the Rangers till '94 and, of course, the wondrous tale of Herb Brooks and his young dragon slayers are each important in their own right. There are shining instances of dogged loyalty, in the case for those who remained with the Blueshirts from 1940, and, of prevailing against all odds in the case of Eruzione, Craig, Pav and the others. However, most Orthodox Jews believe that outside of Torah study and parnosa needs, nothing in G-d's world has value. Following this position the world is fall of things that strike us powerfully as beautiful, tragic, uplifting, yielding love and a sense of the Divine but are really just a trick of the yetzer horah. This always struck me as a very nasty image of the Creator about Whom we say, three times day, that he is "Good to all . . . ." Of course, I could be wrong. But a man can only grasp reality as he grasps it and pray to Hashem that he protect us from error. The Elster Jinx Strikes Again Despite the havoc it is wreaking on the teams he purportedly roots for, Elster refuses to stop The Elster Jinx in its tracks. The latest victims of The Elster Jinx are the New York Mets and pitcher Victor Zambrano. Ten days ago, Elster ripped Zambrano, and it was hardly coincidental that Zambrano responded with his best performance of the season. The day after that game, Elster wrote a long rambling post celebrating the victory. When I asked Elster to stop posting what he absurdly refers to as his "good vibes," he stubbornly and thoughtlessly posted again to insist that he would continue to spew "positive Karma." As if on cue, Zambrano started Saturday's game, injured his elbow in the second inning, and is out for the season. The Mets, having traded Kris Benson for the awful Jorge Julio, are now stuck with Jose Lima in their starting rotation. Thanks, Elster, for another job well done. We can only hope and pray that Elster will cease and desist forcing his so-called "good vibes" and "positive Karma" on the rest of us. Friday, May 05, 2006
moChassid and Baseball Further to my last post, moChassid writes today that "there is nothing like a beautiful night at the ball park ... especially when you are with your kids." Last year, when I posted 'Ode to Shea', moChassid commented: "They can't bulldoze Shea fast enough for me. It's a dump that has outlived its usefulness." And yet even he realizes that on a warm clear night, there is nothing like being at a baseball game with your kids, even at a dump. Of course, taking a 4 month old to a baseball game may not be the best idea, as none other than moChassid himself warned me last year. Sports and Judaism If my memory is accurate, sometime around the late 90's there was an exchange in the Torah U'Muddah Journal between Rabbi Mayer Schiller and Rabbi Yosef Bechhofer about sports and Judaism. Unfortunately, it's been nearly a decade since this exchange was published, and it does not appear to be available anywhere online. Therefore, my memory of the exchange, as set forth in the next paragraph, may not represent the actual exchange with precise accuracy. I believe that within a longer piece about another subject, Rabbi Schiller expressed positive sentiments toward going to baseball games. Rabbi Bechhofer wrote to object, essentially arguing that sports is a complete waste of time, and that high school students - presumably referring to Rabbi Schiller's own students at MTA - idolize athletes in a manner that is antithetical to Jewish values. In his response, Rabbi Schiller conceded that teens (and others) can take sports too seriously, but took the position that there was something valuable about a father and son spending the day together at a baseball game, and that memories of those days together remain cherished ones decades later. Indeed, I think Rabbi Schiller pointed out that a charedi rabbi expressed positive memories of watching the Brooklyn Dodgers play at Ebbets Field. Other than this exchange, I cannot recall anything else of substance in an Orthodox publication about Judaism's views toward being a sports fan, and/or attending or watching sporting events. This is unfortunate. We who are religiously observant believe that Judaism is an essential part of our everyday lives. And sports is something that, probably more than any other form of leisure, religious Jews take a strong interest in. Go any night to Shea Stadium or to Madison Square Garden, and you'll see a very disproportionate number of frum Jews. Around a year ago, I briefly discussed this matter with a person for whom I have respect. He contrasted going to a football game with going to a movie. As he saw it, while a movie might have objectionable material, it could have artistic value, while football is merely a bunch of men attacking each other. Before I could really respond, he conceded that his view was based on his lack of interest in sports. Obviously, those of us who are sports fan would completely disagree with his take. While I don't claim to be objective on the matter, I can hardly see how going to a movie, which usually contains all kinds of curse words, sexual scenes, and violence, is less problematic than attending a sporting event. Certainly, watching a football game on TV would seem to be less objectionable than watching an uncensored movie on TV. One rationale offered for people to watch sports is that G-d created pleasurable experiences, and there is nothing inherently wrong with partaking of something we find enjoyable. This, of course, may or may not apply to being a fan of teams like the Jets or the Rangers, who most years provide a lot more pain than pleasure. Any analysis of sports and Judaism would have to deal with several issues. First, there is the issue of simply watching professional (or college) athletes play, whether on television or at a sporting event. Second, there is the matter of following and rooting for a particular team. Third is the question of being a big fan of a particular athlete. Except for the most strident, watching a game should not be seen as objectionable. On the other hand, being a big fan of a particular athlete could be seen as inappropriate for a frum person, though even there, the matter probably needs to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis. For example, one of the most inspiring sports stories has been the incredible feat of Lance Armstrong, who beat cancer and won the Tour de France seven consecutive times. Then again, some aspects of Armstrong's personal life may not make him a perfect role model. Rooting for a team is tricky. Clearly there are people like me who take this to another level, obsessing about every aspect of a team even in the offseason, and going through year after year of angst and frustration at their teams' ineptitude. But perhaps there is value to this too. After all, after decades of frustration, in 1994, the Rangers had a stated goal of winning the Stanley Cup. At times things looked bleak, but they persevered, worked hard together, and achieved their goal. Isn't there something worthwhile in the experience of the '94 Rangers? A better example might be the 1980 USA Olympic Hockey team. Even today, 26 years later, this incredible achievement by a group of college kids remains a fabulous story, and not only for sports fans. Hopefully, before too long, someone with rabbinic ordination and a serious interest in sports will give this issue the thorough analysis that it merits. Jerusalem Report Letter The lead letter in the current issue of The Jerusalem Report is a sharp critique from a writer in New York. Alas, the Report's web site is under construction, so all are urged to head immediately to their nearest newsstand and purchase a copy of the magazine. Avoiding The Elster Jinx Following up on my post about The Elster Jinx, it is no surprise that unlike the teams that Elster and I are both fans of, the Nets have been winning, defeating the Indiana Pacers tonight to advance to the second round of the NBA playoffs. Last week, after the Nets lost Game 1 of the series with the Pacers, jetsphan asked me who I thought would win the series. Without hesitation, I responded that I felt "Indiana will win the series." In sharp contrast, if G-d forbid he were a Nets fan, Elster would, G-d forbid, have expressed confidence in a Nets comeback, ensuring their demise. The Nets will be moving on to play the Miami Heat, who also advanced tonight to the second round. Clearly, the Nets have nobody to stop Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade, and as occurred in the playoffs last season, the Nets season will unfortunately end against Miami. Thursday, May 04, 2006
Jewboy and Ger Tzadik Jewboy recently started to comment on this blog, and the other day I checked out his blog and was quite impressed. In particular, Jewboy has just the right mix of posts about Judaism and sports. I also like that his blog is only semi-anonymous. One Jblog I miss is Ger Tzadik. After posting on an almost daily basis, Ger Tzadik has not updated his site in nearly two months. I don't want to speculate on why GT has been absent, but his posts, and his comments on my blog, are missed. Wherever you are, Ger Tzadik, congratulations on the Devils' humiliation of the Rangers, and good luck in the NHL playoffs. The Elster Jinx Elster claims to be a fan of the Mets, Jets, Rangers and Knicks. I can't speak about the life of an unfortunate Knicks fan, but as a long-suffering fan of the Mets, Jets and Rangers, one thing I know is to never publicly express optimism (and to try to even refrain from thinking optimistically), for something terrible is surely about to happen. This appears to be lost on Elster. Just two days ago, in a post about the Mets, he wrote that "there is just something about this team that makes it different than some of the disasters of years past." He offered a few reasons, and said that "most importantly, when you can give the rock to Billy Wagner and his sub-1 ERA, you know that the game is pretty much over. What a pleasure as a fan it is to know that if the Mets are up in the last inning, you can breath a sigh of relief." I was going to remind Elster that Wagner had already blown two saves in the ninth inning, but he's been a tad touchy about my corrections, and I didn't want to upset him further. Of course, the Mets lost on Tuesday night. Last night, I went to Shea, sitting through the steady rain (unlike the vast majority of wimps there, who apparently confuse rain with tear gas). With the Mets up 3-1 going to the 9th inning and the Pirates showing little sign of offensive life, in came Wagner. Of course, Wagner proceeded to promptly give up two runs, including run scoring singles by light hitting Jose Hernandez and Ronny Paulino, both of whom had no problem catching up to Wagner's fastball, a rather disturbing sign. So much for knowing "that the game is pretty much over" and breathing "a sigh of relief." This is not the first time Elster has jinxed his purported teams. On March 24, he informed us that "the Jets are relatively close to signing a deal with free agent lineman John Runyan." A few hours later, Runyan signed with the Eagles. Similarly, the Rangers won their first game after the Olympics, prompting Elster to celebrate and write that the Rangers had incurred "no ill effects of the 2 week Olympics layoff" and that "this spells good times." Good times, indeed. The Rangers immediately went into a complete collapse. G-d help Chad Pennington if he successfully returns from his rehab and wins a few games for the Jets next season. I can already envision Elster's post proclaiming Chad the comeback player of the decade, and in the very next game, Pennington crumbling to the ground after D'Brickashaw Ferguson is beaten by the defensive end. Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Tony Judt and Yom Haatzmaut Tony Judt's latest attack on Israel appears in Haaretz. In this piece, Judt attacks Israel by proxy, by referring to purported criticism of Israel by others who are to remain unnamed. For example, Judt informs us that "it has become commonplace to compare Israel at best to an occupying colonizer, at worst to the South Africa of race laws and Bantustans" and that as a result "dead Israelis ... are typically perceived abroad not as the victims of terrorism but as the collateral damage of their own government's mistaken policies." According to Judt, at a recent meeting, "one speaker" - again, the speaker is to remain unidentified, described Israel as "Serbia with nukes." Next, Judt writes that during a course at New York University he was teaching, he referred to the Spanish Civil War and General Franco, and told the class that he cannot think "of any country that occupies such a pejorative space in democratic public consciousness today." Many of the students, Judt writes, replied that Israel was just such a country. Judt's vitriolic screeds against Israel cannot go unanswered. But today, on Yom Haatzmaut, Israel's Independence Day, the fact that - for better or worse - an Israeli newspaper has published Judt's rant should serve as a reminder that whatever its imperfections, Israel is exactly the opposite of how Judt claims it is perceived. Israel is a country in which an enemy like Tony Judt who has explicitly called for its destruction can have a column published in an Israeli newspaper that attacks its moral right to exist, and there are no riots, murders, or kidnappings. It's a country in which thousands of yeshiva students go to study Torah, and in which thousands of secular (and religious) students go to study at universities like Hebrew University. It's a country in which 18 year old boys and girls devote years of their lives to national service. It's a country in which a Jew wearing a kippa, a Muslim wearing a hijab, a Christian wearing a cross - or someone not identifiably religious at all - can walk on the same streets in the Old City of Jerusalem, or hang out in downtown Jerusalem at the same street fair. It's a country in which technological, scientific and medical breakthroughs occur routinely. It's a country in which six decades after the Holocaust, and after one war after another aimed at Israel's destruction, and after a terror war meant to destroy the lives and the psyche of its people, people are living their lives, going to work, going to shul, going to the mall, going to cafes, and going to the beach. Israel has many enemies, including formidable ones like Tony Judt and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Today is a day to reflect on Israel's achievements, and on why Israel must maintain the resolve necessary to continue to defeat its enemies and to add to those achievements. Tuesday, May 02, 2006
John McCain: All Settlements Must Go Jews who have convinced themselves that the Republican party is necessarily pro-Israel will hopefully sober up after reading John McCain's informal comments to Haaretz. According to McCain, Israel should: "Defend itself and keep evacuating." As president, McCain says he would "micromanage" U.S. policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and would send Brent Scowcroft, or James ("F*** The Jews") Baker to the Middle East. McCain indicated that he supports a "step by step" Israeli withdrawal toward the 1967 armistice lines, with minor modifications. The notion that Israel could unilaterally withdraw from 90 percent of Judea and Samaria and gain U.S. support to permanently retain the rest is clearly inconsistent with McCain's thinking. Yom Hazikaron More than 22,000 Israeli soldiers and civilians have been killed since the establishment of the State. Many more have been maimed. Today is Yom Hazikaron, Israel's Memorial Day. Following are just a small number of those who were murdered following Yasser Arafat's September 2000 commencement of the Palestinian terror war. Yosef Tabeja - It's hard to remember that IDF soldiers used to go on joint patrols with Palestinian Authority officers. On September 29, 2000, Yossi, an immigrant from Ethiopia, was shot and killed by the Palestinian with whom he was on patrol. Hillel Lieberman - An immigrant from the United States, on October 8, 2000, Hillel headed toward Shechem (Nablus) upon learning that Palestinians were destroying Joseph's Tomb. He was brutally murdered by a Palestinian mob. Yosef Avrahami and Vadim Norzhich - On October 12, 2000, two IDF reservists made a wrong turn into Ramallah. They were brought to the PA police station, where they were lynched by a Palestinian mob, their bodies mutilated. On television, members of the mob excitedly displayed their hands that were full of the blood of Yosef and Vadim. Arye Hershkowitz and Assaf Hershkowitz - On January 29, 2001, Arye was shot dead while driving north of Jerusalem, near Ramallah. His son, Assaf, sat shiva for his father. Three months later, on May 1, 2001, Assaf was shot dead while driving on the Beit El-Ofra bypass road, very near the location of his father's murder. Shmuel Gillis - A hemotologist at Hadassah Hospital, Shmuel was driving home after a night shift on February 1, 2001, when he was shot dead while driving to his Gush Etzion home. Among Shmuel's patients were Palestinians and Arabs from neighboring countries. Shalhevet Pass - On March 26, 2001, Shalhevet was shot in the head by a Palestinian terrorist on a Hebron hilltop while she was sitting in her stroller. Koby Mandell and Yosef Ish-Ran - On May 8, 2001, Koby and Yosef - both 13 - cut school to hike near their Tekoa home. They were found the next morning stoned to death, their bodies essentially unidentifiable. Sara Blaustein - In the summer of 2000, Sara and her husband made aliyah from New York. On May 29, 2001, Sara was shot dead while they drive from their Efrat home to Jerusalem. Shoshana Greenbaum - Shoshana was visiting Israel from New Jersey, and was pregnant with her first child. She was killed in the Sbarro bombing on August 9, 2001. Frieda Mendelsohn - Frieda had just undergone medical tests, and her daughter suggested they stop off at Sbarro, since Frieda had not been permitted to eat prior to completion of the exams. Frieda was killed in the Sbarro bombing; her husband was the long-term sexton of a major Jerusalem synagogue. Her daughter was wounded. Michal Raziel and Malki Roth - Michal and Malki were close friends who went for lunch at Sbarro. Michal was 16, Malki was 15. Mordechai, Tzira, Ra'aya, Avraham and Chemda Schijveschuurder - The Schijveschuurder family stopped off at Sbarro. Ra'aya, Avraham and Chemba were 14, 4 and 2. 5 surviving children were orphaned. As he was dying, Mordechai recited the shema prayer with his children. Keren Shatsky - Keren's family immigrated from the United States. On February 16, 2002, Keren was murdered in a suicide bombing in the pizzeria in the Karnei Shomron shopping mall. She was 15. Shlomo, Gafnit, Shiraz, Liran and Shaul Nehmad and Lidor and Oriah Ilan - The Nehmad and Ilan families had come to Jerusalem for a family bar mitzvah. On March 2, 2002, Shlomo and Gafnit were killed in a suicide bombing along with their two children, Shiraz and Liran. Also killed was their nephews Shaul and Lidor, and their 18 month niece Oriah. Oriah was in her father's arms when the bombing occurred. Rachel Levy - Rachel was a high school senior. On March 30, 2002, she went to a Jerusalem supermarket. She and the supermarket's security guard were killed by a female suicide bomber who the guard prevented from entry. Later, the New York Times and other media outlets ran stories that obscenely compared Rachel and her murderer. Shiri Negari - Shiri was among the 19 people who were murdered by a suicide bombing of a bus in the Gilo section of Jerusalem on June 18, 2002. She was calm and assisted paramedics while taken to Hadassah Hospital. It turned out that she had severe internal bleeding, and she died on the operating table. Later, an ER doctor at Hadassah stated that Shiri's death was among the most painful for him, because he had spoken to her and gotten to know her briefly upon her arrival at the hospital. Marla Bennett - Marla, a resident of San Diego, was studying at Hebrew University and Pardes. She was murdered in the bombing at Hebrew University on July 31, 2002. Yoni Jesner - Yoni, who lived in Scotland where he was a religious youth leader, was in his second year at Yeshivat Har Etzion. On September 20, 2002, he was murdered in a suicide bombing of a Tel Aviv bus. Noam Apter - On Friday night December 27, 2002, Noam was working in the kitchen in the yeshiva in Otniel when terrorists infiltrated. The terrorists sprayed the yeshiva dining room with bullets. Noam quickly locked the door to the dining room and threw away the key, giving up his own life to spare the students in the dining room. Daniel Mandel - As a child, Daniel made aliyah from Toronto with his family. On April 15, 2003, while serving in an IDF operation against Hamas, Daniel was shot dead. Noam Leibowitz - On June 17, 2003, the Leibowitz family was driving home from a family bar mitzvah in Jerusalem. Terrorists sprayed bullets at the car. 7 year old Noam was shot dead, and her 3 year old sister Shira was seriously wounded. Goldie and Shmuel Taubenfeld - Visiting Israel from New Square, Goldie was murdered on August 19, 2003, in a suicide bombing of the Number 2 bus in Jerusalem, returning from the Western Wall. Her 3 month old son Shmuel was also killed, and her daughter was wounded. David and Naava Appelbaum - With Naava's wedding set for the next evening, the Appelbaum family spent the night of September 9, 2003 making final preparations for the wedding. Dr. David Appelbaum, head of ER at Shaarei Zedek Hospital, had just returned from New York, where he gave a lecture at NYU about running an ER that routinely treated terror victims. David and Naava went to Cafe Hillel on Jerusalem's Emek Refaim Street to buy drinks. As they entered the shop, a suicide bomber blew himself up. Tali, Hadar, Hila, Merav and Roni Hatuel - On May 2, 2004, Tali Hatuel and her four daughters - ages 2-11 - and her unborn son - left their Gush Katif settlement to campaign for Likud voters to vote against Prime Minister Sharon's proposed withdrawal from Gaza. Terrorists shot at the car, forcing it off the road. Then, terrorists approached the car and shot all five occupants dead at close range. Tali was 8 months pregnant with her first son. Jets Offseason Analysis Now that the draft is over and most free agent moves have been made, following is a position-by-position review and analysis of the Jets offseason moves: Quarterback: After successfully restructuring Chad Pennington's contract to an incentive-based cap friendlier one, the Jets looked for a potential starter. Their preference was to sign a free agent like Jon Kitna, but they ultimately sent their 6th round pick to Washington for Patrick Ramsey. Then, the Jets selected Kellen Clemens with their 2nd round pick. Unless Pennington proves that he is healthy, there's a strong possibility that the Jets will carry four quarterbacks in 2006, meaning that Pennington, Ramsey, Clemens and Brooks Bollinger will be on the roster. Clearly, however, the drafting of Clemens and the trade for Ramsey indicates that the Jets don't see Bollinger as more than a third-string quarterback. Kliff Kingsbury also remains on the roster, but is a longshot to make the team. Almost certainly, either Pennington or Ramsey will begin 2006 as the starter. One of those two will probably be gone after '06, with the other competing with Clemens for the starting spot in 2007. Overall, while the Jets have improved their quarterback situation, it remains to be seen whether their long-term answer has been acquired in Clemens. Running back: For the most part, the Jets have stood pat at RB, with Curtis Martin, Derrick Blaylock and Cedric Houston returning, and 4th rounder Leon Washington competing for a role. The Jets released Jerald Sowell, opening the way for B.J. Askew to step in as the Jets starting fullback. The Jets probably still will have to find their future starting running back. LenDale White was available in the second round, but the Jets were apparently not interested. Wide receiver: The Jets still need a number 1 wide receiver, and they passed on Chad Jackson in the draft. Laveranues Coles, Justin McCareins, and Jericho Cotchery are returning, while Wayne Chrebet retired. The Jets made a nice move signing ex-Patriot Tim Dwight to be their fourth receiver and punt returner. 4th round pick Brad Smith will have a chance to make the team as the fifth receiver if he can make the conversion from quarterback. While the wide receivers are okay, it will be important for Cotchery to step up and exploit his speed to give the Jets a legitimate deep threat. Going forward, wide receiver is a position that the Jets will need to upgrade. Tight end: The Jets were stymied in their attempts to sign a free agent tight end, and ended up bringing back their own free agent - Chris Baker. Doug Jolley also will return, but he could be challenged for a roster spot by Joel Dreeson and 5th round pick Jason Pociask. Neither Baker nor Jolley is a particularly effective blocker. Hopefully, the improvement on offensive line will mitigate the effects of this weakness. Offensive line: The Jets released center Kevin Mawae and tackle Jason Fabini, and allowed Jonathan Goodwin to leave as a free agent. They tried but failed to sign Eagles tackle Jon Runyan, ultimately settling for ex-Bills center Trey Teague and veteran tackle Anthony Clement. Pete Kendall will return at guard after agreeing to restructure his contract. D'Brickishaw Ferguson should start immediately at left tackle, with Adrian Jones playing right tackle. Kendall will be joined at guard by Brandon Moore. Teague and late first round pick Nick Mangold will compete for the starting center position. The release of Mawae was very surprising, but makes more sense now that Mangold has been drafted. Overall, the Jets have significantly improved at offensive line, and have much more depth than they previously did. Defensive line: The departure of John Abraham will take away much of what was left of the Jets already meager pass rush. Nevertheless, Abraham had become a liability against the run, and his loss is therefore tolerable. Unfortunately, the Jets did not seriously address this position in the draft, and their only noteworthy free agent signing was of ex-Steeler Kimo Von Oelhoffen, a pretty good player but clearly toward the end of his career. Monsanto Pope was also signed, and provides depth, but hopefully won't start for the Jets. The Jets will desperately need Shaun Ellis and DeWayne Robertson to play to their talent, in contrast to their mediocre performances in 2005. It will also be time for 2005 3rd round pick Sione Pouha to step up and show that he was not one of many players the Jets fell in love with, reached for way ahead of their projected draft position, and then proved the Jets wrong. Ultimately, defensive line is now the Jets biggest weakness, and will likely have to be the main priority in the 2007 draft. If any decent players are cut after June 1 (when the cap hit of released players can be split between '06 and '07), the Jets should attempt to sign them. Secondary: Ty Law left as a free agent, and was replaced by Andre Dyson. David Barrett and Justin Miller will return and likely compete for the other corner spot. The Jets have a number of young safeties, including Erik Coleman, Kerry Rhodes and Andrew Maddox, and drafted another when they selected Eric Smith in the 3rd round. They also picked up corner Drew Coleman in the 6th round. While the Jets can use a veteran safety, they are hoping that Coleman can rebound from a disappointing second season and that at least two of their four young players can do the job. Linebacker: Jonathan Vilma and Eric Barton lead the Jets linebacker corps. Victor Hobson remains on the roster, and the Jets added depth by signing free agents Brad Kassell and Matt Chatham at reasonable prices. 3rd round pick Anthony Schlegel will be expected to provide additional depth. Mark Brown, who saw a lot of playing time last season, will not be back. Overall, the Jets should be solid, if not spectacular, at linebacker. Special teams: Mike Nugent and Ben Graham will return at kicker and punter, respectively. Nugent's field goal attempts were inconsistent in his rookie season, and his kickoffs were short. Punt returning was a disaster last season, and Tim Dwight should stabilize that role. Justin Miller is a threat as a kickoff returner, but the Jets cannot afford - and should not tolerate - additional fumbles by Miller. Leon Washington, Brad Smith and Derrick Blaylock are also potential candidates for kickoff return duties. Monday, May 01, 2006
My Yom Haatzmaut Confusion When it comes to religion and Zionism, I have no real mesorah (religious tradition) or minhag (religious custom) that I can follow. Years ago, I came to the conclusion that the charedi world's view toward Zionism is outdated and has little practical relevance today. I also came to the conclusion that Zionism and the State of Israel were and are good things for the Jewish people. I therefore began saying Hallel on Yom Haatzmaut, usually quietly by myself in Boro Park shuls during the recitation of the amidah prayer. Some years, I said hallel in a fervently anti-Zionist chasidic shul at which I often attended morning services. After a while, I started saying hallel but without the blessings. Then, I stopped saying it altogether, for two reasons. First, because I became aware of Rav Soloveitchik's position on the matter, and secondly, because the more I knew about the theology of religious Zionism, the more I felt that theology to be no less outdated and impractical as the charedi view toward Zionism and Israel. As I see it, Israel is a good thing from both a secular perspective and from a religious perspective, and that's enough. It does not necessarily have any relevance to the beginning of a redemptive messianic era. So I'm religiously observant and a Zionist, but not a "religious Zionist." I therefore won't be attending the Yom Haatzmaut service in Forest Hills tomorrow night, which at least to me includes too much of the messianic aspect of religious Zionism, and I won't recite hallel on Wednesday morning. I will certainly be observing the 58th anniversary of the formation of the State of Israel, but my observance of Yom Haatzmaut will be done privately in my own way. Steve Howe In the summer of 1991, Steve Howe - once among the best young relievers in baseball - was making his major league comeback with the Yankees, after a four year absence following numerous suspensions for drug use. After one game, I was loitering around the Yankees clubhouse with my press credentials around my neck and my velvet yarmulke on my head. Howe cheerfully walked by and said to me: "Wanna talk to me?" I politely declined. By the 1992 season, Howe had been suspended yet again and was making yet another comeback. After watching batting practice on the field, I walked into the dugout with a friend for whom I had gotten press credentials. (The dugout led to the locker rooms, the press area and the elevator to the press box.) As we entered the dugout, Howe spit out some tobacco juice, a bit of which landed on us. After a slight pause, Howe sort of apologized. Then, we talked for around a minute with Howe and Yankees coach Frank Howard, before exiting for the press box. For whatever reason, these rather innocuous encounters always left me with a positive impression about Howe, and I was sorry to read of his death at the age of 48 after a car accident a few days ago. We offer condolences to his family. | "
