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

 
Michael Oren Needs To Watch More Football

In this week's Jewish Week, Michael Oren is quoted as saying:

When I say on TV in the U.S. that Israel runs interference for America against terror, people know I’m using a football phrase and understand what I’m talking about. I spent my youth in America. It’s a matter of language, of wavelength.

I am an American football fan (of the American version of football) and am not sure I understand what he's talking about. Is he referring to blocking? Has the terminology of football changed since Oren was a youngster?

And what, if anything, does this say about the efficacy of Israel's PR efforts?
posted on 4/30/2009

 
Four More Comments

1. Regarding Zionism, the theology of religious Jews is obsolete. The charedi anti-Zionist view became irrelevant after the founding of the State of Israel. The theology of religious Zionism was relevant and perhaps even necessary when charedim actively opposed Zionism, but today its dubious dogmas limit its credibility.

2. When I was a yeshiva student, there was a prevailing view that Jews are smarter than other people.

Over the years, I have largely dismissed that view, but prejudices of one's youth do not easily disappear completely. Happily, reading the comments on Jewish news sites has cured me of any notion that Jews overall are smarter (or less stupid) than any other group.

3. Henrik Lundqvist is not a franchise goalie. He has never carried the Rangers to a playoff series victory.

4. Citi Field is okay. Better than Shea, but nothing special if you've been to other new stadiums. I do like that it's closer to the train.
posted on 4/29/2009

 
Your Hockey Dollars At Work

Sean Avery received a six game suspension for his "sloppy seconds" comments.

Donald Brashear received a five game suspension (but no penalty) for elbowing Blair Betts in the head, causing broken bones in Betts' face on a cheap shot well after Betts had sent the puck down ice. (Brashear got a sixth game for a pre-game incident.)

Speaking of Avery, John Tortorella's Game 5 benching of Avery was a moronic decision. In the playoffs, you go with your best players. Avery took a couple of careless penalties; he didn't hit anyone in the head. In Game 6, a seemingly neutered Sean Avery was on the ice, afraid to finish his checks and hit anyone lest he be called for another penalty.
posted on 4/27/2009

 
Against The Sanchez Trade

The Jets gave up too much to trade up for Mark Sanchez. Not only did they give up their first and second round picks and three players, they all but ended the Jets career of Kellen Clemens, who they drafted in the second round three years ago, and then never gave a real chance to. Sanchez will take up a ton of cap room with guarantees of tens of millions of dollars. (I assume agreement on a new CBA with a salary cap will eventually be reached.) The trade reduces the Jets' depth and caused them not to address serious needs at other positions via the draft.

I also suspect that a dirty acronym called PSL might have something to do with this move.

Hopefully I will be proven wrong.
posted on 4/25/2009

 
Seven Comments

1. Michael Oren would be a good choice for Israeli Ambassador to the U.S.

Dore Gold would be the best choice.

2. The Obama and Netanyahu administrations likely will clash, just as the U.S. has clashed with every Likud government except for Ariel Sharon's - and even Bush and Sharon at times had strong disagreements. But the gleeful manner with which Israel's detractors - including, particularly Haaretz - portray any inconsequential divergence of views presents a gross distortion of reality.

3. Yes, Haaretz is among Israel's leading detractors. It is not a pro-Israel newspaper with a particular political viewpoint. It is a newspaper in Israel that deplores Israel and has for most of Israel's existence.

With a tiny circulation, Haaretz's influence is primarily felt outside of Israel, based solely on its disdain for Israel.

4. I have no confidence that the Jets will have a good draft. Indeed, I am bracing for some bizarre decisions and perhaps a stupid trade or two that Woody Johnson will foolishly think will stimulate PSL sales.

5. Apparently Sean Avery took two bad penalties last night. At MSG, we all were certain the penalties were bogus, and chanted a seven letter word to describe our sentiments about the ref.

Assuming the calls were good, Avery deserves criticism, but not the vicious attacks in the media that he's getting.

6. In a very depressed market, the Mets signed journeymen Alex Cora and Tim Redding for $2 million and $2.25 million, respectively. Then they couldn't find any more money to sign Garret Anderson, who the Braves picked up for a bargain at $2.5 million - or solid lefty relievers Joe Beimel ($2 million) or Will Ohman ($1.35 million).

Paying $12 million to Oliver Perez didn't help either.

Redding, by the way, is - even when healthy - no better than Nelson Figueroa, who is now leaving the Mets organization.

Of course, the Mets front office is run by Omar Minaya, who kindly provided both the Marlins and the Padres closers with fastballs in the high 90's - Matt Lindstrom and Heath Bell - without asking for anything back.

7. How does Lawrence Frank still have a head coaching job?
posted on 4/23/2009

 
Giants Upset About Home Games On Jewish Holidays

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (TZC) - The New York Giants, upset about being scheduled for home games on three Sundays in direct conflict with Jewish holidays, sent NFL commissioner Roger Goodell a letter Friday asking that one of the game times be changed.

The Giants Week 5 game is at 1 p.m. on October 11 against the Oakland Raiders, which falls during Simchat Torah, the Jewish celebration over the completion of the annual Torah reading cycle. On Week 14, the Giants play the Eagles at 8:20 p.m. on December 13, during the Chanukah holiday. The Giants are also home at 1 p.m. on December 27, during the Jewish fast day of Asara B'Tevet. That game, against the Carolina Panthers, could determine home field advantage in the NFC playoffs.

In the letter to Goodell, owners John Mara and Steve Tisch suggested the game against the Panthers be changed to an 8:20 p.m. start to give Jewish fans time to eat following the fast day.

"We were not contacted prior to this decision," Mara said. "We are flexible and would have been more than happy to work with the league to accommodate as many of our fans as possible."

Brian McCarthy, the NFL's vice president of corporate communications, said the league received the letter and was reviewing it.

The Jets are on the road for all three weeks, with games at Miami on October 12, Tampa Bay on December 13, and Indianapolis on December 27.

Some modern Orthodox Giants fans residing in Teaneck, New Jersey have announced plans to light a jumbo menorah at halftime of the Eagles game, and to observe the Asara B'Tevet fast day at Giants Stadium, complete with prayer services and a Torah reading. However, others have scoffed at the idea of going to a game on the solemn fast day. Superfeldman, who was spotted wearing a black hat and gartel along with an Earnest Byner jersey on Main Street in Queens, remarked, "Just great, Orthodox Jews at a Giants game on a Jewish fast day. And a minyan there with a Torah! What a disgrace! And lighting a menorah at a stadium?! The Greeks would be proud!"
posted on 4/17/2009

 
Minyan at Giants Stadium

Along with jetsphan, superfeldman and a group of fine individuals residing in Teaneck, we are arranging minyanim at Giants Stadium for the second day of Rosh Hashanah and for Kol Nidre amd maariv services on Yom Kippur.

On the second day of Rosh Hashanah, there will be a tailgate kiddush in the parking lot right after mussaf, and we will daven mincha following the game.

On Yom Kippur, Kol Nidre will take place at the kosher food stand at the conclusion of the third quarter, to be followed by maariv right after the game.

We expect to have a minyan and have secured a sefer Torah and a chazan. We are in need, however, of a second sefer Torah for Rosh Hashanah services, and of someone who can blow shofar. While we are unable to pay for a ba'al tokeah, we will consider granting rights to purchase PSLs for Jets games at the New Meadowlands.
posted on 4/17/2009

 
Undoing Oslo and Breaking the Backbone of the PA

Which militant Israeli extremist said the following? The choices are:

(a) Meir Kahane
(b) Avigdor Lieberman
(c) Yigal Amir
(d) Binyamin Netanyahu
(e) Ariel Sharon
(f) Baruch Goldstein

If the Palestinians want to hold onto Gaza and Jericho, eventually
assuming power in other parts of the occupied territories, they
will have to prove to us, to themselves and to the whole world,
that they have abandoned violence and terror, that they are
capable of suppressing their fanatics, that they are renouncing the
destructive Palestinian Charter and withdrawing from what they used
to call "the right of return." They will also have to show that
they are willing to tolerate in their midst a minority of Israelis
who may choose to live where there is no Israeli government.

What if they cheat? What if they take whatever we give them
and demand even more, still exercising violence and terror?

Within the proposed settlement, Israel will be in a position to close in
on Palestine and undo the deal. If the worse comes to the worst,
if it turns out that the peace is no peace, it will always be
militarily easier for Israel to break the backbone of a tiny,
demilitarized Palestinian entity than to go on and on breaking the
backbones of eight-year-old stone-throwing Palestinians.

Actually, the answer is (g), peace-loving Meretz supporter Amos Oz, who wrote the above in The Jerusalem Post upon the Oslo accords. As Oz also wrote in that piece:

Once peace comes, Israeli doves, more than other Israelis,
must assume a clear-cut "hawkish" attitude concerning the
duty of the future Palestinian regime to live by the letter
and the spirit of its obligations.

posted on 4/08/2009

 
Memories Of Shea - The Last Game

Shea was tense and excited on Sunday evening, September 7, 2008. After entering the weekend series with a three game lead, the Mets had lost the first two games to the Phillies, including that afternoon's opener of a day-night doubleheader.

The lead was down to one game. And the pitching matchup was Johan Santana vs. Cole Hamels.

Santana was shaky in the first, lucky to escape with only a one-run deficit. But the Mets scored three in the bottom of the inning. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel was ejected, to the delight of the very loud Shea crowd.

From then on, Santana was masterful, pitching into the eighth and giving up only one more run. Carlos Delgado's two homers sealed the win for the Mets, who could exhale just a little with a two game lead.

As I was leaving, it sort of occurred to me that this could possibly be my last visit to Shea. But there were still three weeks left in the season, and then hopefully the playoffs - to which I had tickets.

I long ago lost count of the number of times I've been to Shea. A rough estimate would be 175 Mets game and three Jets games.

Last week I visited Citi Field for the first time. It felt cold and distant, like the way it felt when my parents upgraded from our close-knit dumpy Monticello bungalow colony to a nicer place in South Fallsburg. As for Shea, most of its remains hadn't yet been paved for parking.

A few have quoted Joni Mitchell. They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot.

Shea wasn't really paradise, not for a long time. Soon enough, Citi Field will feel like home, and it will probably be a better place to watch a game.

Still, for those of us whose earliest sports experiences were at Shea, who had a sense of wonderment at the first glimpse of the stadium from the train or car and loved watching the planes, no new stadium can replicate the memories.
posted on 4/02/2009

 
Israeli Lawyer Looking For Work

A few days ago, attorney and ex-Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert revealed that he had offered unprecedented concessions to the PA: Together with land swaps, 98.5 percent of the territory of Judea and Samaria, and a divided Jerusalem. That was around six months ago, Olmert said, and he had never received any response from PA leader Mahmoud Abbas.

Olmert then suggested that Binyamin Netanyahu make similar concessions to Abbas.

A talented man like Olmert probably won't be out of work long. Even in this terrible economy, surely someone will hire him and utilize his superb negotiation skills.
posted on 4/01/2009

 
Change Of Venue

For nearly five years I have posted on a wide variety of topics at The Zionist Conspiracy. The time has come for some changes that, I am confident, will provide a significant upgrade from this site.

After Passover - just in time for the NFL draft and the NHL playoffs - The Zionist Conspiracy will shut down, to be replaced by two new sites.

One site will include posts about sports. I will be joined by at least two (and possibly as many as four) knowledgeable fans, who will offer their own unique commentary about the Mets, Jets, Rangers and Nets - and even the Yankees, Giants and Knicks, and on occasion, perhaps the Devils too.

A second site will present two additional bloggers, and will cover Israel, politics, and Jewish life.

Posts about Morton Downey, Jr. will be absent, to nobody's chagrin.

The advantages are obvious. Readers interested in sports will no longer have to muddle through posts about Israel, and vice versa. And the addition of new bloggers with different viewpoints will allow for intelligent discussion and debate.

More details will follow shortly.
posted on 4/01/2009