June 5, 2008 | 6:15 pm

Jewish Jordan to be messiah of NBA Finals?

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Follow me on

In less than an hour, the LA Lakers will take the floor for Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics. Coming off the bench at some point during the first quarter likely will be the “Jewish Jordan.”

That was once a name claimed by Tamir Goodman, a red-headed Orthodox kid from Baltimore who could seriously play back in the day. (Goodman is my age.) He had a scholarship at the University of Maryland, but that fell through when he refused to play on the Sabbath, and two years later he signed a contract with Israel’s top team, Maccabi Tel Aviv, and, surprisingly became the league’s first observant Jew. Here he is talking with Gelf:

Anything I’ve ever done, I only did for Judaism. All along, all I’ve ever said is, “I’m just trying to use my God-given talent.” I’m no different than anyone else—you’re a reporter, a lawyer is a lawyer; for me, my talent is basketball. I don’t know; it’s not like I wanted it, or asked for it. I try to be as simple and as humble as possible all the time.

Goodman is still playing, but he’s proven to be no Jordan. He was a standout high school player, and for the Tribe that was enough. Such hype is familiar to anyone who watches college hoops. Every year or so, there is a college player like J.J. Reddick or Adam Morrison, often dubbed Great White Hope, who receives all kinds of accolades only to fall flat in the pros. The optimism is all the more myopic, though, when it comes to Jewish basketball players, and athletes in general. But shortly after I graduated from UCLA, the Bruins picked up a legit point guard from Taft High School. And wouldn’t you know it, he wasn’t only good; he was Jewish.

Jordan Farmar might be a back-up point guard to Derek Fisher, but he’s made some clutch plays this year, including a ridiculous block on a player several inches taller. He has a crucial role as the Lakers vie for another championship, that of point guard relief and occasional shooter, and I’ll be rooting for him, even though I can’t stand the Lakers. If anyone deserves the nom de guerre “Jewish Jordan,” it’s Farmar. (Though, personally, I wish people would stop looking for Jordan; there will never be another, just at there will never be another Wilt or LeBron, being compared to Jordan here.) Three years ago, Farmar talked with The Jewish Journal about growing up Jewish:

Read more of this post

June 5, 2008 | 11:59 am

‘At this point, Hillary’s got it in the bag’

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Last night, “The Daily Show” offered tender remembrances of a better time for Hillary Clinton, when those silly cable pundits assured “she will crush Barack Obama.”  Jon Stewart also juxtaposed “the passion! the excitement!” of Obama with the dour, almost ghostly charisma of John McCain.

0 Comments — Leave your comment

June 5, 2008 | 10:49 am

Dog bites man, neo-Nazis support Israel

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

It seems in this day and age, even Nazis can be philo-Semites. A very strange story about the Web site launched by a new organization called National Socialists for Israel:

“Stop the hatred of the Jewish people,” the Web site reads. “The Jews are a healthy, strong nation.”

The organization - whose members have yet to reveal themselves to the public - claims that Israel’s right to exist is anchored in the principles of social Darwinism, the same principles which the Nazis adopted prior to the Second World War.

“Israel earned the right to live among the nations [after emerging] from unending wars,” the group writes on the site. “Israel also has a right to exist. This nation also has culture… The nation of Israel is appreciated… It is our duty, as neo-Nazis, to defend this supreme success. Not just for the German people and the European cultural sphere, but also, especially, for Israel.”

As such, “Nazis for Israel” also leveled criticism at their colleagues in the neo-Nazi National Democratic Party (NPD), calling them “politicos, cowards, and reactionaries.”

“Show us proof of a Jewish plot to dominate the world,” they wrote in a rare manifesto which was posted on their Web site.

These unusual statements on the internet compliment the group’s other public campaigns, including the dissemination of bumper stickers. One of the stickers features a picture of Reinhard Heydrich, the senior Nazi official who chaired the Wansee Conference where the Final Solution was hatched. Underneath the photo reads: “As a Nazi, I’m a Zionist.”

Another sticker shows a photo of Israel Defense Forces soldiers during the Second Lebanon War under the heading: “2,000 years of struggling to survive - respect to those worthy of it.”

Read more of this post

2 Comments — Leave your comment

June 4, 2008 | 11:14 pm

Obama the speech-topping, pro-Israel hawk *

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

There were two parts of Barack Obama’s speech today at the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee that resonated loudest and likely longest. First, that the United States must use all resources available—“all elements of American power”—to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. That sounds a lot like his opponent, Republican John McCain, but I can’t say I disagree.

The second point, though—that Jerusalem must remain the capitol of Israel and cannot be divided for peace—well, that seemed a bit disingenuous. Not only that, but it categorized Obama, a Democrat, as more of a hawk than President Bush or Israeli Prime Minister (for now?) Ehud Olmert. Why would Obama, who only months ago was the darling of pro-Palestinian activists and optimists, say this?

Read more of this post

9 Comments — Leave your comment

June 4, 2008 | 11:04 pm

Thieves cart off Jesus statue

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

A larger Jesus statue

Criminal idiocy, via the AP:

Thieves who stole an 8-foot statue of Jesus Christ off a crucifix in Detroit may have been seeking copper to sell as scrap. Problem is, it’s made of plaster.

You ask me, these guys got bigger problems than an 8-foot-tall plaster savior they can’t hawk.

1 Comments — Leave your comment

June 4, 2008 | 6:06 pm

The genius of ‘Arrested Development’—R.I.P.

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

I don’t watch much TV, but I do watch a lot of TV on DVD. I periodically pull the first season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” or “South Park” or “Seinfeld” off the shelf and work through the whole series in lieu of watching primetime, and then move on to the next. Yesterday for the second time I finished “Arrested Development,” easily the best new sitcom in a decade and tragic victim of its own brilliance. What made the show so hilarious were the running, inside and occasionally hidden jokes.

Example: In the final episode, George Michael Bluth (Michael Cera) is trying to get back with his frumpy, pious old girlfriend Ann—“Her?”—and he stops by her uncle’s house. With Ron Howard’s narration, we learn that Uncle Paul believes we only have three weeks left on Earth and “that fossils were just something the Jews buried in 1924.”

When the word “Jew” is mentioned, the viewer very briefly sees Ann’s uncle stick both index fingers above his ears.

I couldn’t find that clip online, but, for fans, the above appreciation is good for quite a few laughs. Man, I am really hoping for that rumored movie.

8 Comments — Leave your comment

June 4, 2008 | 3:41 pm

The flogging of Father Michael Pfleger

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Catholics have turned against Pfleger. Credit: Sun-Times

Things just keep getting worse for Father Michael Pfleger, the Catholic priest who made racially loaded fun of Hillary Clinton in a sermon two Sundays ago at Barack Obama’s (now-former) church

Yesterday, Cardinal Francis George placed Pfleger on leave:

“Fr. Pfleger does not believe this to be the right step at this time,” he continued. “While respecting his disagreement, I have nevertheless asked him to use this opportunity to reflect on his recent statements and actions in the light of the Church’s regulations for all Catholic priests. I hope that this period will also be a time away from the public spotlight and for rest and attention to family concerns.”

Pfleger’s reaction pretty much has been to blame everybody but himself. Cathleen Falsani, the Chicago Sun-Times’ phenomenal religion columnist details his reflections in this exclusive:

Read more of this post

1 Comments — Leave your comment

June 4, 2008 | 12:55 pm

School allegedly threatened boy wearing pro-life shirts

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

When I was at UCLA, students were constantly bombarded by activists and evangelists on Bruin Walk. I remember only one. It was an anti-abortion organization that showed up with the most disturbing supersized posters I had ever seen: the explicit images of blotted-out babies. I can still see the fractured fetus photographed beside a thumb, implying the digit had snuffed it out.

The posters, which made a lot of kids uncomfortable, raised an important question about free speech on campus. UCLA, to its credit and many students’ horror, let the protesters remain.

A slightly different scenario is playing out now in Minnesota, where a 12-year-old boy filed suit against his school for allegedly harassing him because of the pro-life t-shirts he chose to wear.

Read more of this post

1 Comments — Leave your comment

June 4, 2008 | 10:11 am

At AIPAC, Obama talks tough and promises an undivided Jerusalem

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

At AIPAC last year; Obama returned today

After John McCain, now Barack Obama’s sole rival in a two-man race for the presidency, attacked him Monday at the annual AIPAC conference as being weak in plans to deal with Iran and endangering Israel by wanting troops out of Iraq, Obama wasted no time this morning parroting his opponent’s hardline rhetoric.

“We will also use all elements of American power to pressure Iran,” Obama said. “I will do everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. That starts with aggressive, principled diplomacy without self-defeating preconditions, but with a clear-eyed understanding of our interests. We have no time to waste. We cannot unconditionally rule out an approach that could prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. We have tried limited, piecemeal talks while we outsource the sustained work to our European allies. It is time for the United States to lead. “

On Iraq, he attacked McCain: “Sen. McCain offers a false choice: stay the course in Iraq, or cede the region to Iran. I reject this logic because there is a better way. Keeping all of our troops tied down indefinitely in Iraq is not the way to weaken Iran. It is precisely what has strengthened it. It is a policy for staying, not a plan for victory. I have proposed a responsible, phased redeployment of our troops from Iraq. We will get out as carefully as we were careless getting in. We will finally pressure Iraq’s leaders to take meaningful responsibility for their own future.”

He also proposed giving Israel foreign aid without requiring that Egypt get similar aid (a policy that goes all the way back to Camp David.) And he pledged to support keeping Jerusalem as the capital—and having it remain undivided—which would pre-empt most diplomatic paths currently on the table.

Read more of this post

1 Comments — Leave your comment

June 3, 2008 | 11:31 pm

White supremacist loses judicial race

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Bill Johnson, the candidate for the Los Angeles Superior Court bench who had advocated restricting U.S. citizenship to non-Hispanic whites, appears buried in tonight’s election. With 12.3 percent of precincts reporting for judicial office No. 125, Johnson had garnered only 28.8 percent of the vote; James Bianco had received 71.2.

5 Comments — Leave your comment

June 3, 2008 | 5:53 pm

It’s almost official: Obama to get nomination

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

This shouldn’t surprise anyone.

Despite all Barack Obama’s religious controversies during the past few months—the Rev. Jeremiah Wright; rumors that he’s really a closet Muslim; the Rev. Jeremiah Wright; Luttwak’s he’ll-be-assassinated op-ed; the Rev. Jeremiah Wright; an endorsement from Hamas and claims he’ll abandon Israel; the Rev. Jeremiah Wright; the perception Jews don’t trust him; and, finally, Father Michael Pfleger’s outburst—Obama is one concession speech away from battling John McCain for the presidency.

Slate reports that not only has Obama beaten Hillary Clinton, but he’s slain Clintonism:

Read more of this post

1 Comments — Leave your comment

June 3, 2008 | 2:52 pm

‘Jewish hustler’—potty mouth and pervert—means no offense

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Another lawsuit against Charney

When I read about the latest lawsuit, filed last week, against American Apparel founder Dov Charney, I thought there must have been a mistake. It sounded too much like previous lawsuits: Charney allegedly had screamed at a female employee, Jeneleen Floyd, to pretend to masturbate; she got offended and refused but another colleague obliged. Turns out this is a recurring theme:

Floyd is just the newest member of a rapidly growing sorority, having filed the fifth suit against American Apparel for sexually explicit offenses. Though so far no one has had a jury trial against American Apparel, Charney has freely admitted he uses words like “slut” and “c*nt” around the office, saying that they’re not necessarily meant pejoratively: “some of us love sluts,” he said in a recent deposition. He’s also open about conducting meetings in his underwear and posting pornographic magazine images in his stores.

Indeed, the self-styled “Jewish hustler” has shown a real penchant for perversion, quite memorably telling The Jewish Journal after being served with the first lawsuit:

“I could pull my penis out right now, and I guarantee you no one would be offended.”

Glad he cleared that up. But, mores aside, in what world would business leaders flash their signs of covenant without causing offense?

43 Comments — Leave your comment