August 28, 2008 | 2:20 pm

It was 45 years ago today

Posted by The Web Guy

It was 45 years ago today when Martin Luther King gave his famous “I have a dream” speech in Washington, D.C.

I was a 16-year old kid from the suburbs who came to the steamy swamps of the District to join in the historic demonstration and hear what he had to say. I took the bus from Philadelphia with my mom and lots of her lady pals from the American Jewish Congress.  The feeling of universal brotherhood, of people united in a common cause is one I can barely describe.  It was one of the best days of my life.

It’s hard to imagine now, but the TV news back then regularly showed cops beating African Americans because they demonstrated for equal rights, kids murdered by racists because they wanted change, troops escorting little black kids to newly-integrated schools past jeering mobs of racist ranters.  If you can remember how the footage of the Rodney King beating outraged America, you can begin to get an idea of how reports of the ongoing barbarity in the South began to burn the hearts of thoughtful Americans. Night after night on TV. 

A quarter million people came to the Reflecting Pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial that day, walking arm in arm, singing ‘We Shall Overcome.’  We were black and white, young and old, men and women, united with a single thought—we must make this country better.

The message was straight from the Torah: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself (Leviticus 19).

I remember Bob Dylan being there, and Joan Baez, and Peter, Paul and Mary, but mostly I remember The Speech.

MLK’s oratory that day brought tears to my eyes.  He captured the soul of America like few had done before.

Tonight, in Denver, another black American will be making a similar appeal to our consciences, our hopes, and our desire for change.

It’s time to stop dreaming and time to get to work to make a Better America real.

August 28, 1963, Washington D.C.

 

 

August 27, 2008 | 1:46 am

Old Jewish joke, new language

Posted by The Web Guy

TERÇA-FEIRA, 26 DE AGOSTO DE 2008

Piadas de judeu

Num banco de praça de Nova York, um velho judeu lê o jornal Nation of Islam, publicação anti-semita editada por Louis Farrakahn.

Outro judeu se aproxima e lhe diz indignado: “Por que você está lendo esta porcaria em vez de ler o Jewish Journal?”

O primeiro responde: “O Jewish Journal só publica reportagens sobre anti-semitismo, terrorismo em Israel , problemas e mais problemas do povo judeu no mundo inteiro.

Este jornal aqui, não. Diz que os judeus estão abarrotados de dinheiro, que os judeus controlam os bancos, que controlam a mídia, que controlam Hollywood ... Muito melhor ler boas notícias!”

According to Bablefish:

TUESDAY, 26 OF AUGUST OF 2008
Jokes of Jew

In a bank of square of New York, an old Jew reads the Nation periodical of Islam, publication anti-semitic edited for Louis Farrakahn.

Another Jew if approaches and it says to it infuriated: “Why you are reading this nastiness instead of reading the Jewish Journal”

The first one answers: “The Jewish Journal alone publishes news articles on anti-semitism, terrorism in Israel, problems and more problems of the Jewish people in the entire world.

This periodical here, not.

He says that the Jews are overloaded of money, that the Jews control the banks, that control the media, that Very control Hollywood… better to read good notice! “

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August 26, 2008 | 6:56 pm

Volunteers needed to search Lake Piru for missing father

Posted by The Web Guy

Naftoli ben Anna rescued his daughter when she fell out of the family’s boat on Lake Piru but was unable himself to climb aboard.  Volunteers are combing the area for any sign of the mssing man.

Yeshiva World News reports the following:

A massive search is underway in Lake Piru, California for a father who has gone missing after being swept away in a strong current, sources confirm to YWN. At approximately 5:00PM Monday afternoon, a 39-year-old father jumped into the waters of Lake Piru to rescue his daughter who had fallen overboard while on a boating trip. He successfully rescued his daughter, but was unable to climb back into the boat. Strong currents swept the boat away from the father. The boat was found by the Sheriff Patrol with the children inside a few hours later. A large search was initiated by the Sheriff Department, Fire Department, and Los Angeles Hatzolah dispatched numerous units as well. Divers were deployed into the waters, but as of 12 midnight, the search was called off until 6:00AM. Los Angeles Hatzolah plans on renting many boats on Tuesday morning when the search resumes. The rescue effort was concentrated on the north end of the lake, authorities said, in an area known as “The Narrows.”

The site is asking for additional volunteers:

UPDATE 2:30PM EST: The Los Angeles Hatzolah Command Center, along with local authorities have renewed their search efforts with a vigor, and are requesting as many volunteers as possible to assist.

If you are available to assist, please bring the following items with you:
*Hiking shoes
*Binoculars
*Hat (the sun is very strong)
*Flashlight with batteries

 

 

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August 23, 2008 | 6:03 pm

VIDEO: Joe Biden (a self-declared Zionist) is good for the Jews

Posted by The Web Guy

In an April 2007 interview, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) declares “I am a Zionist’ and discusses his support for Israel.

Sounds good to me!

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August 22, 2008 | 7:01 pm

Thirteen million Jews worldwide don’t sign ‘don’t bomb Iran’ petition

Posted by The Web Guy

In what must be a contender for most understated headline and sub-head of all time, our friends at the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) offer this:

Group of Jews oppose Iran attack

More than 150 Jews around the world have signed a statement calling on Israel not to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The article does not mention the real story—out of 13.3 million possible Jewish signatories to this statement, only 150 people signed on, including the notorious anti-Zionist radical Noam Chomsky, not-a-household-name Canadian concert pianist Anton Kuerti, and two semi-famous Israeli wack jobs.

To me, that’s the story, and the headline.  It’s Sherlock Holmes’ dog that didn’t bark:

If 150 names is the best Middle East Crisis Committee can do in this age of the Internets, then Iran can’t be counting too heavily on support from Jewish peaceniks.

John McCain sings ‘Bomb bomb bomb, bomb Iran’

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August 21, 2008 | 10:40 pm

I’m feeling lucky—Google searches gone bad

Posted by The Web Guy

Call me Fishmeal, but I love looking at visitor logs for JewishJournal.com. That's why I'm The Web Guy.

I check the logs over and over during the day to see what's popular right now, who is linking to us, top key words, etc.

The MOST box* tells you which stories are popular, and the blog box on the home page does the same thing for us bloggers.

But none of them give you the detail I get from the logs. Some of the information I can't share -- we protect the IP numbers (Internet addresses) persuant to our Privacy Policy.

But I do know where visitors come from (which site or search referred them and where they are located geographically) and what they do when they arrive.

What do they think when they read what they've found?

We'll never know, of course, but the vast majority of these drive-by visitors are never seen here again.

This is a bad thing, since I am constantly trying to improve site 'stickiness,' to present JewishJournal.com as a wonderland of webbish wows, a site where every click brings you to something you never knew before. Interesting stuff. Cool stuff. Amazing stuff. I know, it's a journey not a destination. *sigh* A recent sampling of visitors:

LOCATION	KEY WORD/REFERRER	LANDING PAGE	HELLO/GOODBYE
Pompano Beach, Fla	nude jewish girl	Getty nude	buh bye
Clarksville,Tenn	bikers run drug trade	Set free ministries arrest	a dios
Livingston, NJ	david goldstein duke	Duke Jewish geneticist, African Kohanim	shalom
Norway	israel sex	letters to the editor	au revoir
Ottawa, Canada	dress code jewish wedding	Jewish wedding dress code	have a nice day

* The MOST box is here ----->

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August 21, 2008 | 4:01 am

Letters, we get letters . . ..

Posted by The Web Guy

Re: you jews
Yeah one should not type out of anger. You are gods people and i am a gentile. I see you and the others fighting its crazy. I have no faith and nothing to fight about. I dont trust you or what is going on with america, Obama will win.. i am cursed when i gave my soul to away, I get dreams of what is coming.. The dollar with drop and the usa will go to a card number system, UFO;s will be sighted, and russia, and iran and other will join togther, And the ones who put us here will come. Get a pair of night vison 4 googles and look at a star filled sky away from everything a open field. And tell me what you see! I worked for gas co sending gas to fort carson air base. and i have seen and heard everything. They where looking at the sky with head gear and calling on the radio because radar was not working and there where things flying in the sky. I know so much now. It helps sleeping with the file clerk for fortcarson, next to norad. There is another base with out a name or on any maps. I got photos of it, and weird weird things. this is no live, i got gear ready and waiting.

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August 14, 2008 | 4:36 pm

The Land of Hollywood—Eretz Hollywood

Posted by  Orit Arfa

Recently, I met with a headshot photographer in the Hollywood hills, off Laurel Canyon. I had already taken headshots with another photographer, but I wasn't thrilled with them. They weren't cheap either, so I was frustrated to chart the photography frontier yet again and shell out more money. But headshots are the actor's crucial business card.

I stepped out onto his loft patio and soaked in the view of the Hollywood hills. Mediterranean and Spanish style homes were tucked away behind dark green leaves. The ground sparkled with magenta-colored bark. This is the land of Hollywood, and it's beautiful.

People often say the land of Israel is beautiful too -- and yes, it is. As a travel writer, I was privileged to travel throughout Israel and enjoy the forests of oak and pine, rolling hills of mint-colored brush, peach-colored sand dunes and vast deserts.

But whenever I'd look at those landscapes, especially those dotted with homes, I couldn't fully relax to the physical beauty. I'd see much more than earth. I'd wonder who lives in those homes and if they are happy. I'd wonder if they lost anyone to wars or terror. I'd wonder how they came to this land, where they trace their Jewish history. I'd wonder how many fought and died for the earth. Who sowed it? Who wants it?

In the Hollywood hills, I don't ask those questions. I see pretty homes and foliage and feel confident people are generally content, living their lives without too many existential fears, without too much historical baggage. My mind doesn't go into a deep place where I think about the fate of the Jews and humanity.

Likewise, my apartment in Jerusalem faces the entire city: the walls of the Old City straight ahead, the villages of East Jerusalem to the right, the Knesset building to the left. It's a stunning cityscape, but there too, I could never just enjoy it.

The white, tubular solar heaters on the rooftops disrupt some of the organic beauty of the golden Jerusalem stone and pointy tips of the cypress trees. But I also look at the heaters in wonder too. They are symbols of the modern achievements of the Jewish State. The trees don't know it but they started as a seed planted into a Jewish dream coming true--lining paved roads named after great Jewish sages and thinkers.

Then I'd look to the less tended landscapes of Arab East Jerusalem, and I remember how some unenlightened people living there are trying to kill me for wanting to live that dream, for recognizing it.

In short, in the land of Israel, no matter where I look, I'm always thinking or feeling deeply--hardly relaxing.

Now that I'm moving back to Los Angeles to pursue my long-lost dream to act, many people try to discourage me. It's a hard and frustrating business, they say. Case in point--I have to hustle and spend a ton of money to find the right photographer. Fortunately, I landed a commercial agent pretty quickly, but so far I haven't been sent out on auditions (hence new pictures). Sometimes I feel like I'm waiting by the phone for my next job notice, and it's just as bad as a single girl waiting for that guy who promised he'd call.

But the pain I'll experience to get an acting job is a different kind of pain than developing the land of Israel. Right now I'd rather feel the pain of hearing a casting director reject me rather than feel the pain of hearing about a suicide bombing. I'd rather feel the fear of falling flat on my face in an audition rather than the fear a rocket falling on me. I'd rather feel the sadness over not watching myself on my favorite show rather than the sadness over watching a funeral of yet another widow who lost her husband in war.

And I'd rather look at the land of Hollywood and enjoy simple nature rather than look at the land of Israel and constantly ponder its complex meaning. So for now the land of Hollywood heals me. It lets me relax and enjoy. It may embody some fascinating stories, but I don't yet find in it sweeping dramas, epic mysteries, or dark villains.

And maybe that's why this land does such a wonderful job creating them.

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