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The Forward’s Philologos, Neshama Carlebach team up for Arab-inclusive ‘Hatikvah’

By Ami Eden · April 26, 2012

 These days media outlets are spending plenty of brain power trying to figure out the best way to make use of multimedia and the interactive potential of the Internet, while also mainting the depth and intelligence of print.

So kudos to the Forward for pulling off a great package for Yom Ha'atzmaut.

But let's start with Philologos, the Forward's language columnist, making the case last month for a slightly reworked version of Hatikvah, the Israeli national anthem:

I’ve changed my mind about “Hatikvah.” The successful integration of Israeli Arabs into Israeli life, on which the country’s future depends, has to have its symbolic expression, too. It’s unacceptable to have an anthem that can’t be sung by 20% of a population. Permitting it to stand mutely while others sing is no solution.

Should “Hatikvah” then be abandoned for another anthem, or sung to the same melody with new words? I don’t think so. There’s no point in accommodating the feelings of Arabs by trampling on the feelings of Jews. “Hatikvah” spontaneously became the Zionist anthem soon after an 1878 Hebrew poem by Naphtali Herz Imber was set to music in 1886, and it has the patina of historical memory and associations that only time can produce. A Jewish soul indeed stirs to it in a way that no substitute could evoke.

Fortunately, no substitute is needed. It would be enough to change two or three words...

And then the Forward willed Philologos' dream into reality -- with a video of Neshama Carlebach singing the revised version, along with English subtitles, with the changes shaded in blue.

And, of course, readers can weigh in with comments and/or send their own videos to letters@forward.com.

Now my two cents:

Has the Maccabiah Games developed an SI jinx? (Or is it us?)

By Ami Eden · April 26, 2012

You've heard of the Sports Illustrated jinx?

Well, we think there might be a Maccabiah Games curse...

First big-time college hoops coach Bruce Pearl coaches the 2009 U.S. men's basketball team to a gold at the so-called Jewish Olympics in Israel. Less than two years later the sometimes shirtless dynamo found himself plagued by scandal and eventually sent packing by the University of Tennessee.

Now, just weeks after being tapped to coach the 2013 team, Seth Greenberg is given the boot by Virginia Tech. 

The curse's gestation period is quickening at an alarming pace!

That said, there is another theory: Could it be a JTA curse? After all, we wrote about Pearl and Greenberg. And Ryan Braun didn't have any troubles until we put him on the Friday Five. Twice. Then again, Braun beat the rap in the end.

So it could be us, but might not be us.

So just in case ... if you're a college basketball coach and you see "Maccabiah Games" on the caller ID -- don't pick up the phone!

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Mad Men recap “Far Aways Places,” Part II: Ginsberg’s Holocaust backstory

By Ami Eden · April 25, 2012

So we learned something this week about Michael Ginsberg, the new hyper-Jewy copywriter at the firm formerly known as Sterling Cooper. The rub: not sure how much of it is true or what to make of it.

In a late-night-at-work moment of existential angst and confession, Ginsberg tells Peggy he is actually a "full-blooded Martian," but comes in peace -- he’s not part of an alien invasion, just displaced. In other words, he explains, he was born in a concentration camp that his mother did not survive. So he’s been told.

That guy he calls Dad? Not his biological father. He’s just the man who plucked him out of a Swedish orphanage when he was 5. That part Ginsberg remembers.

"Are there others like you?" Peggy asks.

"I don’t know. I haven’t been able to find any," Ginsberg answers, looking up to make eye contact, only through the reflection in the window. (Peggy seeing something of herself in Ginsberg? A remaining divide between them? His way of retaining a measure of privacy, even in that revealing moment?)

So, how much of this back story is true? I assume all of it, except the part about Dad not being dad (and Ginsberg's being an alien).

What to make of it?Read More >>>

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‘60 Minutes’ reports on Holy Land’s vanishing Christians—and draws criticism

By Daniel Treiman · April 24, 2012

This Sunday’s “60 Minutes” report on the Arab Christians in the West Bank and Jerusalem has drawn an angry response from Jewish groups. Indeed, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Michael Oren, launched a preemptive strike of sorts in advance of the report, complaining to the head of CBS News (an action that he was asked about in a segment of the show by “60 Minutes” correspondent Bob Simon).

The Forward’s Nathan Guttman has some of the background of the Israeli outreach to the network. He spoke to one unnamed Israeli official who warned in the strongest terms about the dangers of such a report:

An official discussing the issue likened the danger of such a report to a “strategic terror attack” against Israeli diplomacy.

The Washington Free Beacon rounds up some of the critical response from Jewish and pro-Israel Christian groups.

 

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So a ketubah doesn’t count as a form of ID?

By Ami Eden · April 24, 2012

 The Philadelphia Inquirer recently published a story on one 91-year-old Jewish woman's ordeal in attempting to navigate Bucks County's new voter-ID law.

How do we know that Joyce Block is Jewish? And what does it have to do with the story?

Well, according to the report, the woman had an old voter registration card, but never had a driver's license. And apparently inconsistent use of her maiden and married names on a variety of other documents was mucking things up.

Desperate times call for desperate measures... it sounds like she broke out her ketubah.

No dice:

Her Hebrew marriage license was rejected because the PennDot worker couldn't read Hebrew.

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10 photos of animals common to Israel doing awesome things

By Uri Fintzy · April 23, 2012

(This article was made in collaboration with 6 Degrees No Bacon, Jewish Celebrity Roundup)

I bet you thought Israel was home to only camels and street cats. Boy, are you wrong. Here are 10 animals that can be found in the Holy Land, hopefully doing what they are doing in these photos.

1. Hoopoe upset about having a bad feather day

(ynet)
The Hoopoe is known for its crown of feathers (usually more presentable than the one above) and its "hooping" sounds. The Hoopoe was voted Israel's national bird in 2008. In Hebrew: דוכיפת (Duchifat)

Mad Men recap “Far Aways Places,” Part I: Abe’s bracha and Jane’s Yiddish

By Ami Eden · April 23, 2012

I was out of town for three days and backed up at work, so I was hoping we wouldn’t need a “Mad Men” recap this week, but Matt Weiner & Co. gave us another Jewy episode Sunday night. So here we go…Read More >>>

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Urban Outfitters goes with Holocaust-style star

By Ami Eden · April 19, 2012

The ADL is unhappy with Urban Outfitters:

Today the Anti-Defamation League issued a strongly-worded letter of condemnation to Urban Outfitters charging that one of its products "…represents a new low."

Why? Check out the photo...Read More >>>

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Time 100: Stephen Colbert over Jon Stewart

By Ami Eden · April 19, 2012

Time magazine has released its annual list of 100 Top Most Important People in the World.

Yes, yes, there is the ode to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu written by U.S. House Majority leader Eric Cantor. But the big story from where we sit… Stephen Colbert in, Jon Stewart out.

There’s one comedian on the list, and it’s the Catholic funny man who got his break on the Jewish guy’s show? This is like the Russians beating the U.S. in basketball or the U.S. beating Canada in hockey.

Talk about shandas!

Here’s a snippet from Garry Trudeau’s entry on Colbert:

I'd like to add here that Stephen and I are old friends, but I can't. I barely know the man. But like millions of others, I revere him as the class clown I never knew — the one without a trace of mean. How he can be so devastating and endearing at the same time I cannot say, but it sure wears well. Look for him to hold down this spot on TIME's list for years to come.

Hey, Stewart, ya’ hear that. Years to come!

My two cents: From my humble perspective as a viewer, it seems that what Colbert is doing -- building and maintaining an entirely fake, but serviceable persona throughout interviews in addition to monologues -- has a higher degree of difficulty. But is he more important than Stewart? Maybe if he had won in South Carolina. Otherwise, day in and day out, Stewart is more often the one driving conversation, influencing the discourse. And in the grand scheme of things, Colbert’s impact is also a testament to Stewart’s influence.

We'll be discussing over on our at the JTA Facebook page, so click here to weigh in.

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Israeli band to perform on Holocaust Remembrance Day… in Germany

By Uri Fintzy · April 18, 2012

The globally acclaimed Israeli music group Balkan Beat Box is scheduled to perform in Munich Wednesday as part of its European tour. Normally, this would hardly merit an upturned eyebrow, but Wednesday evening is the start of Holocaust Remembrance Day -- which in Israel is marked by a complete shutdown of all entertainment and cultural venues. Shows go dark, restaurants close down and the TV networks broadcast solemn documentaries about the genocide of the Jews.

Band members (who at one point were performing under the now-defunct JDub label) said they weren't aware when the concert was booked of the problematic scheduling coincidence (both time and location). But they decided to perform anyway.

The group released a statement to Israeli media saying, "Balkan Beat Box is a group that is active in the international music market. Its activities and staff works in three continents. Since the release of the album 'Give,' the group went on intensive tour all over the world, which are booked by European and American staff months in advance. As part of that, the April tour was booked with the Munich show. When the Israeli band members received the schedule they realized that show was set for April 18, and a discussion over the question of whether to perform was made, with many serious issues considered. However, eventually it was determined to still put on the show.

"One of the main massages of the Balkan Beat Box, if not the main one - is the call for full equality between people of all colors, sex and gender, and also battling racism. Naturally, this show will be held in a different form than other nights, considering the timing and the importance of this day. The band apologizes for anyone who is offended by the decision." Listen to Balkan Beat Box song "What a Night" from their album "Give."

Cross posted from 6nobacon.com.

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