Rob Eshman

Sizzling Nude Bar Rafaeli..Commentary

Published on July 3, 2009

One Day

Published on July 2, 2009

I have seen the Jewish future — it’s loud, and hypnotic, and it reeks of pot.

Is Al Franken Jewish?  Are You Kidding?

Published on June 30, 2009

The Education of Roger Cohen

Published on June 24, 2009

Some of the most moving and fearless reporting out of Iran this past week has flowed from the pen of New York Times columnist Roger Cohen. Cohen was with anti-Ahmadinejad protesters as riot police chased them with electric batons and tear gas into a small hiding place.

Wolpe Calls Iranian Protest, “A Vision of Freedom”

Published on June 20, 2009

Three Speeches

Published on June 17, 2009

OK, let’s tally up the historic Middle East speeches this month. First, there was President Barack Obama’s June 4 address at Cairo University, where he charted a new course for U.S. policy in the Middle East.

Help Honor Stephen Tyrone Johns

Published on June 12, 2009

The Shooter Von Brunn: Not Just a Jewish Problem

Published on June 10, 2009

That’s the key phrase to remember in thinking about the attack on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial June 10 that left a security guard dead and another man wounded.
The shooter, an 88 year old white supremiscist named James W. von Brunn, entered the museum, leveled a shotgun at the two closest victims, and pulled the trigger.
Von Brunn decided to cap a long life devoted to the senseless hatred of Jews with a senseless act of violence.

Saul’s Children

Published on June 10, 2009

This is the week to honor a Jew whose influence extends from your neighborhood council, to the field where your grapes are picked, to city halls from Los Angeles to Newark, to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. This week, say a little Kaddish for Saul Alinsky.

Obama’s Cairo Speech: I Give It An “A”

Published on June 4, 2009

Iran First

Published on June 3, 2009

I’ve had six different conversations over the past two weeks with the leaders of six different pro-Israel groups, few of whom get along particularly well and none of whom work closely together.

The Runaway

Published on May 13, 2009

All great literature, and most good Disney movies, begin with a missing parent. And so “The Happy Life of Martin Manrique” begins with these words:

Outsiders Again?

Published on May 6, 2009

I love Los Angeles, but I hate the homeless problem, the school system, the traffic and, especially, Lincoln Boulevard. But after thinking about it seriously for two or three minutes, I went back to my day job.

Michael Oren Picked to Be Israel’s Next US Ambassador

Published on May 3, 2009

The Good Doctor

Published on April 27, 2009

I first heard about Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish when everyone else did. As he was being interviewed live, in Hebrew, on Israeli television describing the conditions inside Gaza in the midst of the last war, the news came in that an Israeli tank shell had landed on his home and killed his three daughters. It happened at 3:05 p.m. on Jan. 16, 2009.

Dr.Joel Geiderman Confronts Iran…and Obama?

Published on April 25, 2009

Smarty Pants

Published on April 23, 2009

So I woke up Saturday morning to discover I was brilliant. That’s what the Los Angeles Times reported, right there on the front page of the paper, Column One, Section A.

When Worlds Collide: Hollywood, Meet Hunger

Published on April 21, 2009

David Brooks Lands in Israel, Is Bemused

Published on April 17, 2009

‘My Name is Joseph Neustadt’

Published on April 16, 2009

When I finally spoke with Joseph Neustadt by phone, I told him how nice it had been to see him a few weeks ago in person.

“We’ve never met,” he said.

Obama’s White House Passover Seder: A Users Guide

Published on April 9, 2009

Two Words

Published on April 8, 2009

People who advocate on behalf of Israel are all telling me the same thing: Their job just got much, much harder. The reason can be explained in two words: Avigdor Lieberman.

American Idols

Published on April 2, 2009

Last Saturday night, I was at the Honda Center in Anaheim watching Billy Joel in concert. He was banging about the piano, singing his heart out, doing all those great songs about being young and horny and streetwise back in the old Italian neighborhood.

Is Pat Oliphant Anti-Semitic? No, He’s Pro-Stupid.

Published on March 26, 2009

Seizing an Opportunity

Published on March 25, 2009

Up until this week, if you had asked me how I rated President Obama on a scale of 1 to 10, I’d have said I give him a 2. That’s 2, as in Bush 2.

It astounded me that this president seemed to be making the same fundamental mistake the last one made: thinking he could handle this mess without us.

The Messiah Was Here, and Traffic Is Still Bad

Published on March 20, 2009

Hollywood and the Jews

Published on March 19, 2009

Shortly after she received her Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her work in the 2007 movie, “Michael Clayton,” Tilda Swinton spoke to reporters at the Governor’s Ball.

Job Opening

Published on March 18, 2009

If you really want to see tumbleweeds blow through an auditorium, ask an audience of L.A. Jews who their leader is.

Roger and Me

Published on March 16, 2009

Surviving Madoff

Published on March 11, 2009

On Tuesday came word that Bernard Madoff, accused of running the largest Ponzi scheme in history, would plead guilty to charges that would result in a life sentence.

Cohen Bombs v. Real Bombs

Published on March 4, 2009

The anger in a significant portion of the Los Angeles Jewish community this week is not about the economy, Hamas or Bernie Madoff — it’s about Roger Cohen.

In the Age of Lieberman

Published on February 25, 2009

A Winning (and Kosher) Oscar Bash

Published on February 18, 2009

At this time last year, Matt Accarrino was gearing up to throw the most talked-about Oscar party in town.

Double Fault?

Published on February 18, 2009

Whether as an individual or a group, you only get a handful of chances to stand up for something in this life. It’s easy to say or write what you believe, a lot harder to stick by it in the crunch.

Shahar Peer, Dubai, and WTA’s Gutless Choice

Published on February 17, 2009

Kligfeld Speaks

Published on February 11, 2009

Two thousand people showed up at Temple Beth Am this past Shabbat, and not just to see Shifrah Harris become a bat mitzvah.

Best Jewish Pic: 103 Year Old Iranian Woman Rescued

Published on February 2, 2009

Synagogue Attack in Venzuela

Published on February 1, 2009

Teresa Strasser Shines…and Bows to Robin Quivers

Published on January 28, 2009

Who should replace John Fishel?

Published on January 28, 2009

Jews Without Money

Published on January 28, 2009

Last week, a couple of days after President Barack Obama took the oath of office and set about trying to straighten out the country, I was in a meeting room at the elegant Brandeis House on Manhattan’s Upper East Side with a small group trying to do the same for the Jews.

The Other Invocation

Published on January 14, 2009

The swearing in of the 44th president of the United States will be a moment freighted with enormous expectation, trepidation, relief and significance.

For your consideration

Published on January 7, 2009

Hollywood and the movies still cling to the image of the Jew-as-victim, while in the world beyond Blu-ray the reality is much more ... complicated.

Gaza outcomes

Published on December 31, 2008

I deeply believe Israel has the right, the obligation,to stop Hamas from its capricious acts of terror.

Jewish Money

Published on December 23, 2008

If you scroll through the list of Madoff's philanthropic victims, you'll find plenty of evidence that even Jews who have shed every vestige of their ancient practice short of circumcision still resonate to the prophetic call to heal the wider world.

Madoff

Published on December 17, 2008

I wish Jews believed in hell, because then I could take comfort that Bernard Madoff will go there.

Is Bernie Madoff Jewish?  Very. Oy.

Published on December 12, 2008

"It's all just one big lie."

With those words Bernard Madoff confessed to senior executives of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities that the $17 billion hedge fund he founded was nothing more than a Ponzi scheme. Madoff is at the center of "the largest investor swindle ever blamed on a single individual."

The news that broke today on the front pages of the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reverberated in Jewish communities across the world. "A lot of Jewish charities had investments with him," one prominent investor told The Jewish Journal. "So did a lot of Jews."

UPDATE: Among the victims was the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles.

2009

Published on December 10, 2008

The image of oil sheiks lighting campfires to keep warm beside their indoor ski slopes comforted me for only an instant. The truth is, their pain and our pain are interconnected, as it is with the fate of those striking Chicago factory workers, the college grads unable to find decent jobs and, of course, our own Jewish community.

Open House

Published on December 3, 2008

Whether in Thailand or San Francisco, when I wanted a place to spend a holiday, to pray on Shabbat or just to connect, there was always one of those perennially cheerful Chabad rabbis, a motley collection of tossed-about Jews and some schnapps. And I was home.

D I Y

Published on November 26, 2008

There are good things we can only achieve together -- if we can first come together. It's not clear how we do this when 10 friends, some cash and a Web site are enough to create a Jewish world unto themselves.