csua.org/u/691 -> protocols.blogspot.com/2004_02_29_protocols_archive.html#107816650995403634
Weiss | 11 12:11 PM | 12 Comment 13 Jewschool posts the first of what is intended to be a weekly J-comic called 14 Shabot6000, by Ben Baruch, 15 a direct descendant of the Vilna Gaon. Weiss | 16 12:05 PM | 17 Comment A reminder that my AOL address will soon expire and that the e-mail address linked on the right is the best way to reach me. At least for the time being, I plan to keep my current AIM screen name. Weiss | 18 11:46 AM | 19 Comment Eurotrash sends in a link to 20 Ten Plagues Finger Puppets; There were 57 anti-Semitic incidents, primarily consisting of spray-painted swastikas and anti-Jewish slurs, from October to December - the highest number of anti-Semitic crimes since 2000, according to a study by Rep. The poll in the Yedioth Ahronoth daily found that 53 percent of those surveyed believe Sharon should resign as a result of the scandals, while 43 percent wanted him to stay on. Expect Sharon to move to the left, withdraw from some of the settlements, force the extreme right to pull out of the government and forge a new alliance with Labor. Weiss | 30 2:29 AM | 31 Comment Thursday, March 04, 2004 Criticism notwithstanding, the ADL is unrelenting in its campaign against the Passion. Check out todays 32 press release accusing groups of using the Passion to further their own agendas. Is this simply the doing of a techie or is it a bit telling about the ADL's orientation towards this issue? The current entry on antisemitism reads as follows: "1) hostility toward Jews as a religious or racial minority group, often accompanied by social, political or economic discrimination opposition to Zionism sympathy for the opponents of Israel. In correspondence with Dan Walsh, a Maryland graphics artist who has recently launched a public campaign to differentiate between antisemitism and expressions of opposition to Israel, Merriam Webster stated that the latter part of the definition is a "relic and "will most probably disappear from the next edition of the International dictionary. The publication house refused, however, to issue a public clarification or a correction. Weiss | 36 4:00 PM | 37 Comment 38 Allison Kaplan Sommer announces her belated blogoversary and has had a few interesting posts leading up to it, including a look into the sleazier side of the Ariel Sharon/Tannenbaum scandal, and the announcement that she's pregnant. So, on a fast day like 42 today's Ta'anit Esther, we're left searching for other resources; Weiss | 43 2:15 PM | 44 Comment 45 Rabbi Hershel Schachter on the cardinals in the Yeshiva University Beis Medrash. He doesn't address the issue directly, and this is to the fault of whatever point he's trying to make. The seeming implication is that those not believing in the validity of the Jewish faith in specific ways should be unwelcome in Jewish prayer and study halls: When King Solomon built the Temple, he welcomed non-Jews to come to pray 29 . A non-Jew who does not believe in the Jewish G-d, or who does not recognize our status as am hanivchar is not invited to come. The thing is, qua Vatican II, I'm not sure that a group of cardinals would be disqualified. I had a lot of discussions with people about how religion coverage is either poor or non-existent in mainstream media, and lots of people there seemed to agree. I think the arts pages tend to be an area where religion coverage has creeped in a bit more often. Overall, having attended some media events in the past and some bloggers' events in the past, this event was consistent with other bloggers' events in that it was more interactive, more engaging. Everyone was interested in everyone else, as readers, writers or others, in a way that people at mainstream media events don't seem to be. At those events, there's usually one or two "stars" generally somewhat cordoned off, and the mingling masses can talk to people they know or recognize. Here, bloggers from Terry Teachout up to Doug McLennan said hello to everyone and spoke to everyone. Gary Shapiro, who writes the "Knickerbocker" column for the New York Sun, was reporting on the event and seemed fascinated by it all. He was attending a book event later, and I pointed out to him how in all likelihood there was a lot more interaction at the ArtsJournal event than there would be at the book event. This is somewhat ironic in that non-Web types are always worrying about the isolation that the Web creates, with people behind screens instead of on the phones or whatever. The success of ArtsJournal in reaching everyone from arts journalists to museum directors to people with only a mild interest in art is something that serves as a great example for what religion Web media can do. J-blogging already has the ear of Jewish media, and is gathering the ear of the rabbinate; Oh, and both Teachout and Eskin said they'd visited Protocols in the past. Weiss | 52 1:18 PM | 53 Comment 54 WJC Tour Offers Crash Course in Judaism, my latest for the Forward. Of course, as a Web promoter, I'm a bit conflicted about this, because I still want the full story in the paper edition; Of course, perhaps this only reinforces for them how important Web content is, which would be a good thing. On the plus side, the story gets played high on the Web, I get paid the same amount I would have if it had run normally, and this becomes the first example of their having an article leading to the Web; Questioning Foxmans tactics now is easy Monday morning quarterbacking. I wonder why so many people hedged for so long and only now feel free to speak. The real issue that should be dealt with now is a matter of process: Who the hell authorized this campaign? Foxman order a survey of the 61 ADL membership and act on their approval? Did the ADL executives take orders from the board on this? How did this campaign begin, how was it approved, when was the plan designed, who was authorized to execute it and ultimately who is responsible for its outcome? In this era of corporate responsibility and responsive governance, the Jewish people have an obligation to demand a wholesale examination of the way organizations purporting to act in their name operate. For too long Jewish organizations have resembled the private fiefdoms of their masters and not the will and desire of the masses, this must change. I imagine it's not as big a deal as it could seem to be; And, again, once you're dealing with various health implications, you've got a whole lot of subjectivity weighed in. I thought I'd add the note that the possibility of a significantly higher number of Sunday circumcisions may also say something about the parents having such children, and the various fertilization methodologies utilized, which tend to be more likely to produce premature births. Weiss | 65 12:29 PM | 66 Comment An NYT 67 story on circumcision caused something of a stir this morning. The article features some certainly quirky errors (it provides two potential pronunciations for "mohel," neither the actually correct "MOH-hel"), but the most controversial element was this passage featuring a seeming permission on the part of Rabbi Adam Mintz for postponing a bris to Sunday: Rabbi Adam Mintz, who describes his congregation of 900 families at the Lincoln Square Synagogue on the Upper West Side as "modern Orthodox" and is president of the New York Board of Rabbis, said he doesn't think the world will end if a bris is postponed for the sake of the party. As you have probably guessed, as part of a longer interview, Alex Witchell asked me why Sunday has become a popular day for brises even among the Orthodox. I proceeded to explain to her when we allow for the delay of brises and the fact that the custom has developed, at least in certain circles in America, to be more flexible when rescheduling a delayed bris. Therefore, Sunday is often the day in which these brises take place. Witchell and asked that a correction be printed in the New York Times. She explained to me that this was not "correction material" as there was no fact that was incorrect, only an impression that was created by the article. In the end, I am confident that Jews will not draw this unfortunate conclusion from the article and that ...
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