April 18, 2008 | 11:24 am

Baby Beckham’s badmotorfinger

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

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Well, I guess Cruz Beckham can forgo applying to top-tier Jewish day schools.

(Image: TMZ)

April 18, 2008 | 3:44 am

Dodgers strikeout adding Canter’s to Koufax

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Canter’s Deli and Sandy Koufax—two names that evoke the words ‘Jewish Los Angeles’ unlike any other. With the Tribe’s contributions to Los Angeles’ eateries and baseball team, it’s fitting that the Dodgers would offer the delicacies that seem as much a part of Judaism as the Passover story: salt-cured beef and matzah ball soup. It only took 50 years for that to happen.

Part of a multimillion-dollar field-level expansion project at Dodger Stadium, Canter’s Deli—an anchor of the Fairfax district since 1948, but with an L.A. history that dates back to 1931 in Boyle Heights—joined Gordon Biersch, Panda Express and all those Dodger Dog windows. Its menu is truncated but carries the essentials: matzah ball soup, corned beef and pastrami sandwiches and that marriage of the two meats, the Canter’s Fairfax.

An avid Dodger fan—the kind who takes his wife to games on their anniversary—I was eager to sample the new fare. The line was short and my Canter’s Fairfax was served up suspiciously quickly. Indeed, something terrible happens to thinly sliced, heavily salted meat when placed under a heat lamp. It doesn’t melt in your mouth—it flakes.

What I couldn’t find at Canter’s or any other concession stand was a kosher hot dog. Providing a kosher nosh would require renovating the kitchens at Dodger Stadium and peeling Farmer John’s grip from its hot dog monopoly. A Dodger spokeswoman said the club has “no immediate plans” for this.

Fortunately, I don’t keep kosher. But plenty of Angelenos do, and for years they’ve felt like they’re missing out of one of the most enjoyable elements of rooting for the Dodgers: Eating a lukewarm hot dog that is never as tasty as you remember.

This is from a piece I wrote for this week’s Jewish Journal. Plenty of other stadiums offer kosher nosh, including the Boston Red Sox, who just announced the additional menu item alongside the Fenway Frank. That makes Steve Getzug, an L.A. public affairs executive and founding member of the Lou Barak Memorial Hot Dog Committee (I could be so lucky in death), a bit jealous.

“Our field of dreams,” he said, “includes kosher hot dogs.”

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April 17, 2008 | 6:17 pm

Seven synagogues torched in Tehran

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Seven ancient synagogues in the Iranian capital, Tehran, have been destroyed by local authorities.

The synagogues were in the Oudlajan suburb of Tehran, where many Iranian Jews used to live.

“These buildings, which were part of our cultural, artistic and architectural heritage were burnt to the ground,” said Ahmad Mohit Tabatabaii, the director of the International Council of Museums’ (ICOM) office in Tehran.

“With the excuse of renovating this ancient quarter, they are erasing a part of our history,” said Tabatabaii.

That’s from Adnkronos International, via Solomonia. I noted in January a similar effort to destroy historical buildings in Old Damascus.

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April 17, 2008 | 5:28 pm

A porn-free Passover

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Passover, which begins Saturday night, is about being delivered from bondage, and Luke Ford blogs that this will be his first porn-free Pesach in six years, and only the second since 1995. He posts this reaction from a rabbi:

    Glad to see you cut your ties with the porn industry, that will make it easier for you to investigate your spirituality - it’s hard to ride with one foot on one horse & one foot on the other (esp. when the 2 horses are going in opposite directions).

Spirituality & sexuality are closely related, as Swaggart & Friends can tell you. But, out-of-control sexuality is probably the biggest enemy of spiritual connection.

The harder piece to shake may be the cynical attitude, esp. since you’ve seen so much hypocrisy & people not being what they claimed. If our Orthodox Jews had 100% integrity, that would be easy, but we’re as prone to human failings and hypocrisy as any other group. The only thing we claim is that we try to live with wisdom, try to do G-d’s Will, and every once in a while, get to establish a fleeting connection with the Divine (while attempting to achieve Deveikus, a constant and conscious connection with Him). It’s worth fighting that cynicism, even if only in the privacy of your mind, because the fruits of victory are close relationships with yourself, others and G-d.

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April 17, 2008 | 1:11 pm

A Passover celebration with Jews and Rev. Lee

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Last month, at the invitation of the American Jewish Committee and the request of my editors, I agreed to attend a seder tonight that I would have a difficult time writing about. It was an interesting enough event—black Christians and Jews sitting together to remember our delivery from slavery—but it was one of innumerable seders happening all over town for 10 days.

The whole context of the Passover meal changed, of course, when an email from Jewish philanthropist Daphna Ziman began circulating a little less than two weeks ago.

You’re probably familiar with the story now: Ziman, who had been attending the annual banquet for a historically black fraternity, where she was honored for her charitableness toward foster kids, wrote that the keynote speaker delivered an anti-Semitic diatribe worthy of “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” That speaker, the Rev. Eric P. Lee, local head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, vehemently denied Ziman’s account of his speech and “unequivocally” denounced anti-Semitism.

“My entire reputation has been damaged,” the Rev. Eric P. Lee told me Monday. “This has really taken its toll on me. I’ve taken the brunt, and it seems there is no question about whether Ms. Ziman inaccurately heard, and I was misinterpreted. It has just been really rough to me and my family.”

In today’s paper I have a 2,000-word follow up that doesn’t answer the question of what Lee did or didn’t say—organizers say no recording was made and few people claim to have been paying attention—but explains the email’s seismic shocks and the cautious nature of community-leaders’ reactions.

Ziman’s e-mail soon moved across the globe, aided by dissemination on April 9 on StandWithUs’ 50,000-member listserv. Jewish organizations in Los Angeles heard from folks in Chicago and New York and the South, from Israelis and Europeans. It got additional attention when the Los Angeles Times reported the “rift” a week after it began. Many who shared the e-mail added their own commentary.

“It’s no secret: the black community is riddled with Jew-hatred,” Robert J. Avrech, a screenwriter who is Orthodox, wrote when posting the e-mail to his well-trafficked blog, Seraphic Secret. “And with so many apologists for Jeremiah Wright on the left and in the Jewish community, well, Jew-hatred has found a comfortable home not just in the black community but in the Democratic party.”

Larry Greenfield, California director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, added a similar sentiment in bolded letters when he forwarded Ziman’s missive: “Anti Americanism, Anti Zionism, Anti Semitism mark today’s left.”

In responding to the incident, many community leaders have had to traverse a minefield.

The mayor, Councilman Bernard Parks and state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas had been present at the gala, but all left before Lee’s address. In response to the controversy, Villaraigosa broadly condemned racism in any form and at any time. The AJCommittee and the ADL looked for a way to move forward regardless of what Lee had said.

“Unapologetic anti-Semitism has a much different feeling than this thing,” said Amanda Susskind, the ADL’s regional director, who has acted as a liaison between Ziman and Lee. “It doesn’t mean that either side is right or wrong, or what he said or she said—I wasn’t there…. But I would say there is always room for more discussion, dialogue and sensitivity.”

Also this week, Rob Eshman’s column focuses on Four Questions raised by Lee’s speech and its aftermath.

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April 17, 2008 | 10:47 am

Americans think highest of Methodists and Jews

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

I know it’s not all roses for Jews around the world right now. But in the United States, well, Jews are thought of more highly than any other religious group, save for Methodists.

And according to a new Gallup poll, only 4 percent of Americans have a “total negative” view of Jews, compared with 25 percent for fundamentalist Christians, 26 percent for Mormons, 34 percent for Muslims and 45 percent for atheists.

(Hat tip: Bible Belt Blog)

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April 16, 2008 | 2:12 pm

Heeb finds Chunk the Hollywood lawyer

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

How could anyone forget Chunk? After Data, Mikey and Mouth, the most memorable of “The Goonies” was Chunk, legendary for his Truffle Shuffle (like the Ickey Shuffle, but better).

His real name was Jeff B. Cohen, and unlike so many child actors, his life hasn’t been marred by the early fame, or, in his case, infamy, though he did perform his old dance on the sidelines of Cal football games. He was student body president at Berkeley, and went on to law school at UCLA. Now he’s an entertainment lawyer in Beverly Hills, which is where Heeb magazine solicited the legal queries of a few Hollywood wannabes. The feature is kind of a lame stretch, but I was thrilled to learn what became of Chunk.

What advice would you give a client who was interested in investing in secret pirate treasure? Tempted by Treasure

Dear Tempted by Treasure,
My advice here goes beyond the law. Watch out for blenders, booby traps and the Fratellis. Befriending large monsters can also be helpful.

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April 16, 2008 | 1:41 pm

Beckham’s boy to enter Jewish day school

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

If Jews and anti-Semites have one thing in common, it’s that they spend all day talking about who is and isn’t Jewish. David Beckham has been the subject of much of this discussion. Further fueling speculation that the Galaxy’s biggest salary is more than just “half-Jewish,” he and Posh Spice have decided to enroll their 3-year-old son at a Jewish school:

The former Manchester United and England captain moved to Los Angeles in 2007, after signing a five-year contract with L.A. Galaxy.

The Sun states that the couple last week visited the nursery school, which is “attached to a Jewish temple in Los Angeles,” to meet with staff.

However, the report quotes a source as saying that there is “no plan” for three-year-old Cruz “to be educated in the Jewish faith.”

David Beckham is often reported to have Jewish roots on his mother’s side, and, according to The Sun, he recently referred to himself as “half Jewish.”

The Beckhams have matching Hebrew tattoos showing a line taken from the Song of Songs. The tattoos read: “I am for my beloved and my beloved is for me.”

In Los Angeles, where schools are so bad, people go through a lot of measures to avoid sending their kids to public schools.

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April 16, 2008 | 12:53 pm

Study: Killing kittens cuts cancer risk

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Gentlemen, you may have heard that every time you pleasure yourself sexually, God kills a kitten. The guys from XXXChurch remind us of this reality—based on the biblical story of Onan, whom God deemed wicked for “spilling his seed” so his brother’s widow would not become pregnant— in the PSA above.

What then to make of this report from the BBC that masturbation “may” cut cancer risks?

Men who ejaculated more than five times a week were a third less likely to develop prostate cancer later in life. ... Dr Giles said fewer ejaculations may mean the carcinogens build up.

“It’s a prostatic stagnation hypothesis. The more you flush the ducts out, the less there is to hang around and damage the cells that line them.”

A similar connection has been found between breast cancer and breastfeeding, where lactating appeared to “flush out” carcinogens, reduce a woman’s risk of the disease, New Scientist reports.

Another theory put forward by the researchers is that ejaculation may induce prostate glands to mature fully, making them less susceptible to carcinogens.

To be sure, the next study on this topic will likely report auto-stimulation increases the risk of heart disease. Circumcision, for example, is a practice that, though conversely biblical, has been found to reduce the transmission of AIDS in Africa and to have little medical benefit; it depends on who performs the study.

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April 16, 2008 | 9:56 am

Pope Benedict’s White House address

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the United States has been getting seemingly wall-to-wall coverage on religion blogs and has supplanted religion coverage at major papers. Here is Reuters’ report on his speech at the White House this morning:

Saying he had come as a friend of the United States, Pope Benedict urged Americans and their leaders on Wednesday to base their political and social decisions on moral principles and create a more just society.

In an address to President George W. Bush at the White House on the first full day of his U.S. visit, the pope also called for “patient efforts of international diplomacy to resolve conflicts” and promote progress around the world.

“I come as a friend, a preacher of the Gospel and one with great respect for this vast pluralistic society,” Benedict said in a speech after Bush welcomed him to the White House at a ceremony that included 21-gun salute.

Bush cited the role of faith in U.S. life, which the pope had praised in remarks to journalists traveling with him as he crossed the Atlantic.

“Here in America, you’ll find a nation that welcomes the role of religion in the public square,” Bush said.

“In a world where some evoke the name of God to justify acts of terror and murder and hate, we need your message that God is love. And embracing this love is the surest way to save man from falling prey to the teaching of fanaticism and terrorism,” he said.

The pope, marking his 81st birthday, was full of praise for American society, sprinkling his speech with references to the founding fathers—citing the Declaration of Independence and the first president, George Washington.

But he made no specific references to issues such as abortion and the war in Iraq, appearing at pains to avoid saying anything that could be seen as taking sides in the presidential campaign apart from saying that freedom called for “reasoned public debate.”

Benedict and Bush both oppose abortion and embryonic stem cell research, but differ on questions such as the Iraq war and capital punishment.

Instead, the pope concentrated on America’s religious roots, which he said were a driving force in a process that “forged the soul of the nation” and won the admiration of the world.

(Photo: New York Times)

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April 15, 2008 | 5:35 pm

Ed Koch’s war against anti-Semitism

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

The Forward Q&A returned this Tax Day, adding more good company to the interview they did with me last summer, the headline for which—“Funny, Brad Greenberg Doesn’t Look Christian”—still makes me chuckle. The latest subject is Ed Koch, the former New York mayor and anti-Semite skullcracker. He’s got a new book out, which sits on my desk, called “The Koch Papers: My Fight Against Anti-Semitism.”

How did you come to be so committed to this issue — to fighting antisemitism?

Well, I’ve only been subjected to one antisemitic situation in my whole life, and that was when I was in basic training in World War II. I was 19 years of age, and about 25% of the young men in the platoon were Jewish from New York City, and many of them were refugees from Germany, and the rest of the platoon was from all over the country. There was one guy who was antisemitic, and he would make fun of the Jewish young men who couldn’t get over the obstacle course. I could get over it; I’m not even that great an athlete, but I practiced so I could get over the course.

But the Jews excelled in the afternoon, when they had some learning in map-reading and other things of that kind, lectures. They’d get up and ask questions, and nobody else got up. I could hear this guy say loudly, “Who will be the next yid, the next kike, to get up?” And I said to myself, “I can’t take this.” And I knew that if I went over, he’d beat the hell out of me. I was not in great shape; he was in great shape. So I decided to practice and exercise and build myself up.

Basic training was 17 weeks; in the 15th week, he was doing this, and I went over to him and I grabbed him by the collar, and I said, “When we get back to the battalion, we’re going to have this out.” And he said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Why are you doing this?” He didn’t put me in the same category as these other kids. And I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. So all I could say was, “You know, you know!” And then he realized what it was, and so did everybody else. And when we got back to the battalion, they gave us leather gloves to fight, and we fought three rounds, and he beat the hell out of me. But I got up whenever I was knocked down, and I fought as well as I could, which wasn’t so terrific. And from that point on — just two weeks left — there was not one antisemitic remark. And it taught me the lesson that you must stand up, you must stand up no matter what, no matter whether you will be beaten or not, you’ve gotta stand up. And I would say that’s basically the beginning.

(skip)

With the outbreak of the intifada and 9/11, there has been a surge in antisemitism around the world. Some in the Jewish community have taken to saying that the threats now facing Jews are analogous to those we faced back in the 1930s —

They’re right. They’re absolutely right. Antisemitism is rising in Europe and has reached proportions in Great Britain where it’s not yet violence against Jews, but in the academies and the colleges, it’s terrible. And Tony Blair appointed a commission of parliamentarians — none of whom were Jews — who reported back that they saw antisemitism escalating like they had never seen before. That’s one. In France, up until Sarkozy, who is, I think, changing things, but before him, under Chirac, antisemitism was violent, the violence coming from French Muslims who assaulted — and still do — French Jewish children and adults on their way to the synagogue. And it’s true in other countries.

And in other countries, and in France and England, it takes the guise of being anti-Israel. And people say to me, “Can’t you be anti-Israel and not be antisemitic?” I say, “Sure.” I’m critical of actions and policies of the Israeli government, but the difference is this: that when you criticize the Israeli for doing things which you don’t criticize other countries for doing, that’s antisemitism. I say to people, “You criticize Israel for going into Gaza to punish them when they are lobbing artillery shells and rockets at Sderot and Ashkelon, as [Israelis] have every right to do under the rules of self-defense that apply to every other country. But nobody has criticized — nor should they — Turkey for doing the same thing, going into Iraq to kill the Turkish Kurds who are part of a terrorist organization.” And that’s the best illustration. What the Turks are doing is exactly what the Israelis are doing vis-à-vis the Palestinian terrorists.

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April 15, 2008 | 1:38 pm

‘Family Guy’ finds ‘Jewish’ doc

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

You know, I’ve really been looking for a Jewish ophthalmologist who performs laser eye surgery.

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