A Southern flight attendant assumed a passenger on a flight to Louisville, Kentucky was a terrorist because he was wearing a kippah and praying in Hebrew with tefillin.
The media is acting as though this is a non-issue; they say the boy was extremely cooperative, and once the pilot and crew realized the passenger was a Jewish boy praying and that tefillin are for prayer purposes and not bombs, everything was fine.
But it took police taking him into custody and questioning him to find this out. The FBI questioned nearly everyone on the plane, and some people had their flights cancelled. Seemingly, the passengers were not scared of the suspected "terrorist;" they were annoyed by the employees. None of the flight attendants asked him what he was doing or requested to look at the tefillin.
A passenger on the plane who sat next to the Jewish boy told the website Jewcy, "There was no problem with [the Jewish passenger] at all." He also said the flight attendant didn't understand the Jewish faith and reported the "suspicious activity" out of anti-Semitic bias.
So instead of just being worried about real terrorists, we can now also worry about being suspected of being terrorists ourselves, just for belonging to the people Osama bin Laden hates above all others.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Haiti Devastation: Israelis and Diasporan Jews Help Save Lives
On January 12, massive earthquakes devasted Haiti, killing thousands of people.
Two friends from my synagogue, Ben Portman and Jacob Klein, actually flew to Haiti to help out with relief aid. I want to point out their mitzvah on this site. They're amazing guys.
My Sabra friend Isaac Cohen is helping with the IDF and a group of non-profit Israeli doctors, and their country is getting a ton of good notice. In fact, Israelis are being remarkably effective.
According to CNN, Israel, Argentina, Russia, Portugal, and Turkey are sending hospitals constantly. "6-year old Jessica Hartelin was pulled from the rubble by local residents and rushed to a field hospital set up by Israelis at a Port-au-Prince soccer field."
"I'm just amazed," one CNN reporter said. "This [Israeli] makeshift hospital is like another world compared to the other [makeshift] hospital. According to The Forward, the reporter asked how it could be that the United States did not set up a hospital in Haiti while "the Israelis came fromm the other side of the world."
It's always nice to see our own people doing good in the world (along with members of practically every other religion and nationality,) but that's not the only reason to point out Jewish and Israeli Good Samaritans. It's also important for Jews to know their hard-earned money is actually going towards something effective when they support Jewish and Israeli charities.
Here are some of the best Jewish groups doing relief aid work in Haiti at this moment.
http://www.wjr.org.uk/appeals/646-Haiti-Emergency-Earthquake-appeal
http://www.jdc.org/about-jdc/crisis-response.aspx?id=4028
Also check out this Israeli group with whom my friend Isaac is working.
http://www.afmda.org/
Finally, it's so easy to donate to the American Red Cross. Just text HAITI to 90999 and a ten dollar donation will be added to your phone bill (with most carriers.)
Two friends from my synagogue, Ben Portman and Jacob Klein, actually flew to Haiti to help out with relief aid. I want to point out their mitzvah on this site. They're amazing guys.
My Sabra friend Isaac Cohen is helping with the IDF and a group of non-profit Israeli doctors, and their country is getting a ton of good notice. In fact, Israelis are being remarkably effective.
According to CNN, Israel, Argentina, Russia, Portugal, and Turkey are sending hospitals constantly. "6-year old Jessica Hartelin was pulled from the rubble by local residents and rushed to a field hospital set up by Israelis at a Port-au-Prince soccer field."
"I'm just amazed," one CNN reporter said. "This [Israeli] makeshift hospital is like another world compared to the other [makeshift] hospital. According to The Forward, the reporter asked how it could be that the United States did not set up a hospital in Haiti while "the Israelis came fromm the other side of the world."
It's always nice to see our own people doing good in the world (along with members of practically every other religion and nationality,) but that's not the only reason to point out Jewish and Israeli Good Samaritans. It's also important for Jews to know their hard-earned money is actually going towards something effective when they support Jewish and Israeli charities.
Here are some of the best Jewish groups doing relief aid work in Haiti at this moment.
http://www.wjr.org.uk/appeals/646-Haiti-Emergency-Earthquake-appeal
http://www.jdc.org/about-jdc/crisis-response.aspx?id=4028
Also check out this Israeli group with whom my friend Isaac is working.
http://www.afmda.org/
Finally, it's so easy to donate to the American Red Cross. Just text HAITI to 90999 and a ten dollar donation will be added to your phone bill (with most carriers.)
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Yesterday at Work, Or Why I Fucking Hate Tyra Banks
I had to walk through the break room at work yesterday, and there were quite a few people there. Tyra Banks' tacky, awful show was on, and everyone was paying close attention, because Tyra was hosting an episode-long debate about gay people. Not gay marriage. Gay people, in general.
Given the inappropriate format and Tyra's almost hilarious unprofessionalism, it would have been bad enough if she and her producers had booked homophobic bigots of the Bush/Palin/Obama variety--the kind that has nooooooo problem with gay people but think they should be second class citizens without equal rights. But apparently the folks at her Bankable Productions aren't even up to speed with the GOP.
Marriage was barely an issue. It was more like a Klan rally. The antagonists were foaming-at-the mouth religious extremists who call being gay "a disease" and "sick" and "immoral." They were screaming and snarling. Really hot gay guys were reduced to tears and couldn't even make their arguments through their sobs. And at the center of it all was the brainless moron of a host--completely unqualified to deal with the circus she had started.
And she ended the show by saying she "respects both sides" and wishes they could show each other "empathy." Both sides!! As if they were Israelis and Palistinians, as if they both had valid points, as if their story was complicated.
It was unsettling going back to work after sharing this weird spectacle with my co-workers, not all of whom can be described as "gay-friendly" or "accepting" or "normal." Thanks, Tyra.
Given the inappropriate format and Tyra's almost hilarious unprofessionalism, it would have been bad enough if she and her producers had booked homophobic bigots of the Bush/Palin/Obama variety--the kind that has nooooooo problem with gay people but think they should be second class citizens without equal rights. But apparently the folks at her Bankable Productions aren't even up to speed with the GOP.
Marriage was barely an issue. It was more like a Klan rally. The antagonists were foaming-at-the mouth religious extremists who call being gay "a disease" and "sick" and "immoral." They were screaming and snarling. Really hot gay guys were reduced to tears and couldn't even make their arguments through their sobs. And at the center of it all was the brainless moron of a host--completely unqualified to deal with the circus she had started.
And she ended the show by saying she "respects both sides" and wishes they could show each other "empathy." Both sides!! As if they were Israelis and Palistinians, as if they both had valid points, as if their story was complicated.
It was unsettling going back to work after sharing this weird spectacle with my co-workers, not all of whom can be described as "gay-friendly" or "accepting" or "normal." Thanks, Tyra.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Please Help Gay Rights in Uganda
If this passes, it will be among the most vicious anti-gay legislation in the world. Please help.
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?c=jhKPIXPCIoE&b=2590179&template=x.ascx&action=13583&ICID=E1001A01&tr=y&auid=5801232
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?c=jhKPIXPCIoE&b=2590179&template=x.ascx&action=13583&ICID=E1001A01&tr=y&auid=5801232
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Response to Ami G
Ami G. said...
I'm an orthodox jew and I don't follow Judaism blindly....
I think that the problem with the gay community is that they don't understand that just because they have homosexual attractions and tendencies does not mean that homosexuality is a way of life and should be legitimized by the rabbis/Judaism.
If I'm a kleptomaniac for instance, I can't control myself from stealing. Maybe the rabbis should find a way to make that permissible. I mean, times are changing! People are stealing all over! Especially in the Jewish community! Look how many Jews have been caught! Rabbis are money-laundering in so many synagogues and yeshivas! Bernie Maddof, Crazy Eddie (Eddie Antar), and many more!
So why can't the Orthodox community allow me to steal and accept me for who I am?January 4, 2010 8:47 AM
Ami G. said...
**PLEASE NOTE: What I've said in my previous comment was meant with utmost respect and compassion to you and the entire gay community. I am merely trying to make a point NOT in any way shape or form have I intended to poke fun at, degrade, brlittle, or criticise you or any gay person.
January 4, 2010 8:54 AM
capecodkwassa said...
Quote: "I think that the problem with the gay community is that they don't understand that just because they have homosexual attractions and tendencies does not mean that homosexuality is a way of life. . . "
Okay, so. . . just because you, Ami G, are attracted to girls doesn't mean your heterosexuality is a way of life. See how incorrect that is? Of course your sexual orientation is a way of life.
Sexual orientation is not a series of "attractions and tendencies;" you're either gay, straight, or in some cases bi.
Your comparison of sexual orientation with kelptomania is silly. You, Ami G, could change your name and live life as a gentile. Any bigot could compare your heritage with an inclination to steal. In fact, Messianic "Jews" and Jews For Jesus make a case for abandoning Judaism for J.C. that sounds eerily similar to what you're offering me.
Prejudiced Orthodox Jews like you are forcing fellow Orthodox Jews into a sad choice: to either abandon their reilgion altogether or to marry someone of the opposite sex, despite being gay.
You would be schocked at how many frum Jews (and other gay religious people) are in deceitful, sham marriages and seek out sex with others in the same position. Since it's 2010, these gay Jews (and Christians, Muslims, and Hindus) only have themselves to blame. They are adults who should be able to make the moral decision to live an honest life. But people like you ARE creating the hateful atmosphere that presents them with this choice to begin with.
Quote: "**PLEASE NOTE: What I've said in my previous comment was meant with utmost respect and compassion to you and the entire gay community. I am merely trying to make a point NOT in any way shape or form have I intended to poke fun at, degrade, brlittle, or criticise you or any gay person."
Softening your bigotry by pairing it with the pseudo-compassionate lingo of the religious doesn't work. Sorry.
I'm an orthodox jew and I don't follow Judaism blindly....
I think that the problem with the gay community is that they don't understand that just because they have homosexual attractions and tendencies does not mean that homosexuality is a way of life and should be legitimized by the rabbis/Judaism.
If I'm a kleptomaniac for instance, I can't control myself from stealing. Maybe the rabbis should find a way to make that permissible. I mean, times are changing! People are stealing all over! Especially in the Jewish community! Look how many Jews have been caught! Rabbis are money-laundering in so many synagogues and yeshivas! Bernie Maddof, Crazy Eddie (Eddie Antar), and many more!
So why can't the Orthodox community allow me to steal and accept me for who I am?January 4, 2010 8:47 AM
Ami G. said...
**PLEASE NOTE: What I've said in my previous comment was meant with utmost respect and compassion to you and the entire gay community. I am merely trying to make a point NOT in any way shape or form have I intended to poke fun at, degrade, brlittle, or criticise you or any gay person.
January 4, 2010 8:54 AM
capecodkwassa said...
Quote: "I think that the problem with the gay community is that they don't understand that just because they have homosexual attractions and tendencies does not mean that homosexuality is a way of life. . . "
Okay, so. . . just because you, Ami G, are attracted to girls doesn't mean your heterosexuality is a way of life. See how incorrect that is? Of course your sexual orientation is a way of life.
Sexual orientation is not a series of "attractions and tendencies;" you're either gay, straight, or in some cases bi.
Your comparison of sexual orientation with kelptomania is silly. You, Ami G, could change your name and live life as a gentile. Any bigot could compare your heritage with an inclination to steal. In fact, Messianic "Jews" and Jews For Jesus make a case for abandoning Judaism for J.C. that sounds eerily similar to what you're offering me.
Prejudiced Orthodox Jews like you are forcing fellow Orthodox Jews into a sad choice: to either abandon their reilgion altogether or to marry someone of the opposite sex, despite being gay.
You would be schocked at how many frum Jews (and other gay religious people) are in deceitful, sham marriages and seek out sex with others in the same position. Since it's 2010, these gay Jews (and Christians, Muslims, and Hindus) only have themselves to blame. They are adults who should be able to make the moral decision to live an honest life. But people like you ARE creating the hateful atmosphere that presents them with this choice to begin with.
Quote: "**PLEASE NOTE: What I've said in my previous comment was meant with utmost respect and compassion to you and the entire gay community. I am merely trying to make a point NOT in any way shape or form have I intended to poke fun at, degrade, brlittle, or criticise you or any gay person."
Softening your bigotry by pairing it with the pseudo-compassionate lingo of the religious doesn't work. Sorry.
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