August 1, 2007

I’m heading to Israel next month for work, and will have two free days in Jerusalem (one of them being Shabbat). I certainly won’t have enough time to see everything, but anyone have suggestions for sites I should see or places I should eat?

It’s difficult to believe this billboard is real, not a doctored photo for The Onion. Sad really. But it is, and it can be found in LA at the intersection of Wilshire and San Vicente, near the Jewish Federation building (not that there is any connection). LAObserved points out the ad for the website “for women seeking romantic affairs — and the men who want to fulfill them.”

Trademarked tagline: “When monogamy becomes monotony.”

Luke Ford can’t wait to see himself on the cover of The Jewish Journal tomorrow. Ford is the controversial LA blogger who writes about everything from porn to politics to Orthodox Judaism. Here’s what he says on a post with the headline: “I’m Having A Hard Time Leaving The House Today.”

I don’t want to die before I see myself tomorrow on the cover of the Jewish Journal. I don’t want, before my time, to get hit by a car or shot in a drive-by or raped by a group of urban parolees. I have so much that I want to give to the world. I want to learn to love others and myself.

I spent about six hours with Ford last Thursday for this story. I ate with him; I prayed with him; I got way more material then I could ever fit into the paper. Tomorrow I’ll drop on The God Blog some of the good quotes that didn’t make it into print.

So that’s what people are always doing in church when I see them staring at their Blackberrys while the worship band plays or the pastor preaches. Not that we didn’t already know this, but a new study confirms it: About 12 percent of Americans check e-mail on wireless devices while at church (and another 12 percent and this is not sanitary folks—while using the can).

(Illustration: Sun-Times)

That would be Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former President Bill Clinton and hopeful-future President Hillary Clinton. Her boyfriend, Marc Mezvinsky (son of former Congressman Edward Mezvinsky), is Jewish, and she recently visited his parents’ home for Shabbat dinner.

The retreat was mentioned in a New York Times profile of Chelsea that asked whether she is ready for first-daughter round two:

Ms. Clinton and Mr. Mezvinsky seem serious about a future together, according to friends, some of whom wonder about a White House wedding in the event of a Clinton electoral victory. Their bond is apparent; friends say at parties and other events, the couple are cuddly and affectionate. Ms. Clinton recently attended Sabbath dinner at the home of Ms. Amini’s parents with the hope of learning more about Judaism, Mr. Mezvinsky’s faith. (Ms. Clinton is a Christmas-cookie-baking, churchgoing Methodist.)

Who wants to place odds that the Baptist president’s daughter converts to Judaism?

Of course. We should have known it all along. Harry Potter isn’t Christian. He couldn’t be. The only explanation for his insane popularity is that he’s part of a Zionist global conspiracy. Thanks, Iran for foiling this devious plot. From Israel National News:

Kayhahn, an Iranian publication closely affiliated with the ruling mullahs and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called the Harry Potter series “a billion-dollar Zionist project.” The Potter books were designed by Zionist plotters, according to the Kayhahn editorial, to “disrupt young minds.” Khamenei had criticized Iran’s Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry for approving the distribution of the latest book in the Harry Potter series, which was released last weekend with much fanfare.

“The story,” notes DMN religion reporter Jeffrey Weiss, “also cites a Muslim cleric in Sudan who blames the genocide in Darfur on Jews.”

Well, duh.