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January 9, 2003

Remembering Noam

Jonathan Medved January 9, 2003

The bombs that ripped through crowds of Israelis and foreign workers in Tel Aviv this weekend may have saved Yasser Arafat from making some tough decisions.

Internal and external pressures have been building on Arafat to allow comprehensive reforms of the Palestinian Authority — reforms that effectively would undermine the PA president\’s grip on power.

But after Sunday\’s deadly attack by the Al-Aksa Brigade, a terrorist group from Arafat\’s own Fatah movement, Israel refused to allow Palestinian officials to attend a conference on PA reform in London or congregate in Ramallah to consider a draft of a Palestinian constitution.

Israeli Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that there is no need for Palestinian officials to travel abroad to conferences when they have the power at home to end terrorist attacks, but don\’t use it.

Unintentionally, however, the Israeli moves may have allowed Arafat to dodge a political bullet, at least temporarily.

Tel Aviv Bombing Lets Arafat Off Hook

Gil Sedan January 9, 2003

The bombs that ripped through crowds of Israelis and foreign workers in Tel Aviv this weekend may have saved Yasser Arafat from making some tough decisions.

Internal and external pressures have been building on Arafat to allow comprehensive reforms of the Palestinian Authority — reforms that effectively would undermine the PA president\’s grip on power.

But after Sunday\’s deadly attack by the Al-Aksa Brigade, a terrorist group from Arafat\’s own Fatah movement, Israel refused to allow Palestinian officials to attend a conference on PA reform in London or congregate in Ramallah to consider a draft of a Palestinian constitution.

Israeli Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that there is no need for Palestinian officials to travel abroad to conferences when they have the power at home to end terrorist attacks, but don\’t use it.

Unintentionally, however, the Israeli moves may have allowed Arafat to dodge a political bullet, at least temporarily.

Terrorism Grows as Israeli Vote Issue

Leslie Susser January 9, 2003

This week\’s suicide bombing in Tel Aviv has made terror even more of a central issue in Israel\’s upcoming election — and highlighted the major parties\’ different prescriptions for ending the violence.

For the Kids

Abby Gilad January 9, 2003

For the Kids, fun facts and information for kids.

Your Letters

Jewish Journal January 9, 2003

Letters to the Editor, Point of View in response to Articles.

Food for Thought

Rachel Brand January 9, 2003

Maybe you\’ve noticed that many of the bagel chains today are named after some of the most influential Jewish figures in history — Einstein, Noah. But have you ever stopped to think that maybe it\’s the bagels that spurred all of this insight?

Well, the creators of TheBagel.org, a new Web site connecting and inspiring college students in Southern California, seem to think so.

Jewish Vodka Rocks in Russia

Lev Krichevsky January 9, 2003

As Russia celebratesthe 500th year of its unofficial national beverage, Yevreskaya Vodka — or Jewish Vodka — is succeeding with Russians by emphasizing Jewish religion and culture. Yevreskaya sells in Moscow at about $2 for a pint — a medium-priced vodka by local standards. The Urozhai distillery, located in a village five miles outside of Moscow, first put Yevreskaya on the market six years ago.

Jewish History Draws in Bratislava

Curt Leviant January 9, 2003

Once we declared here that we would visit Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, we expected people to say, \”How quaint! How interesting! What an unusual place to visit.\” Instead, we invariably heard, \”Why Bratislava?\” And in Prague, when we announced our next stop, the reaction was, \”Why do you want to go there?\” Amazingly, even in beautiful Bratislava itself, residents asked in wonder and bemusement, with no hint of being impolite: \”Why would you want to come here?\”

Folks in Bratislava are not used to tourists. It is not, as they say in the travel trade, a \”destination.\” No tourist buses crowd the streets like in Prague. No Israelis swarm here. And even if tourists come, we were told, they are ultra-Orthodox Jewish tourists visiting Budapest who take a taxi to Bratislava for a quick visit to the tomb of the revered early 19th century sage Rabbi Moshe Sofer (the Chatam Sofer), and then scoot back to Budapest without so much as a backward glance.

Where Have All the Jews Gone?

Rabbi Elazar Muskin January 9, 2003

Recently, a friend told me that his brother and sister-in-law flew from Newark, N.J., to Israel. The plane was filled with Christian church groups traveling on a Holy Land pilgrimage. When his sister-in-law got up to walk in the aisles, a fellow passenger stopped and inquired, \”And what church are you from?\”

When she said that she was Jewish, the lady remarked, \”I think you are the only Jew on this flight.\”

Where have all the Jews gone? Not to Israel.

Meyer: Hero or Anti-Hero?

Naomi Pfefferman January 9, 2003

\”A Jewish friend of mine loves \’The Sopranos,\’\” Italian American actor Joe Bologna said with a groan. \”I told him, \’How\’d you like to see a show called \”The Goldsteins\” about white-collar criminals and the biggest shyster is Izzy Goldstein?\”\n\nBologna isn\’t about to play Izzy, but he is the co-author and star of a monologue he said breaks ethnic and gangster stereotypes. In \”Meyer,\” he portrays Jewish mobster Meyer Lansky — previously depicted in films such as \”Bugsy\” (1991) — as both a ruthless thug and a pathetic alter-kacker. At the beginning of the play, the character sips Dr. Brown\’s Cel-Ray Soda and kvetches about Israel denying him citizenship under the Law of Return.

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