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Newlyweds in TV land
While watching an episode of “Lost” recently, my husband and I caught a promo that made us take notice:
On March 2 at 10 (ET/PT), ABC is starting a show called “ Newlyweds in TV land Read More »
IDF soldiers do us proud
Israel’s macho men appear redemptive in light of recent musings about the country’s sassy starlets.
Not to ignite a battle of the sexes here, but a new TMZ video called “Send in the Jews” showcases strapping Israeli soldiers parlaying their military training into a booming business.
Nevermind that their security skills are serving the likes of American floozies like Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and Nicole Richie – these IDF veterans with counter-terrorism expertise are sought after specialists when high-profile celebs want someone watching their back.
Although TMZ’s depiction of the handsome Hebrews is partly a mockumentary, how could we not feel a tinge of Zionist pride seeing Israel’s saviors in action?
Whether guarding the border or girding Britney, these guys are using their strengths to keep people safe and secure.
P.S. Look out for a cameo by Dikla’s darling, David (with the buzz cut and the shades)
IDF soldiers do us proud Read More »
Karl Rove and the politics of religion
Last spring, Karl Rove was outed by atheist superstar Christopher Hitchens as a fellow nonbeliever.
“He doesn’t shout it from the rooftops, but when asked, he answers quite honestly. I think the way he puts it is, “I’m not fortunate enough to be a person of faith.”
But last night Rove told me he is in fact a religious person, though he didn’t specify how his Christian roots manifest themselves in his life.
Rove was in Los Angeles to speak at the Gibson Ampitheatre, one of a number of distinguished voices in this year’s Public Lecture Series by American Jewish University. His invitation had caused a bit of consternation in the Jewish community, but he quickly won over many of his skeptics, which I wrote about in an article that will be online Thursday.
“I spent part of my childhood in Utah,” Rove said at a VIP dinner before the lecture. “I went to a high school that is 95 percent Mormon, and only in Utah could a Presbyterian and a Jew both be gentiles.”
Regardless of his own beliefs, Rove, who left his post as chief adviser to President Bush in August, was instrumental in helping Bush monopolize the support of evangelical voters and making religious rhetoric an essential part of presidential campaigns, something we are seeing plenty of this year.
“Roosevelt used to say to his speech writer, Rosenman, Don’t forget the God stuff at the end. That’s a bit colloquial,” Rove said, “but the point is Americans have always valued leaders of faith.”
In fact, as early as 1800, in the race between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, religious piety and divine reverence played an important role in politics.
As Jefferson and John Adams, a publicly devout Christian, slugged it out on the campaign trail, the Gazette of the United States ran this:
THE GRAND QUESTION STATED
At the present solemn and momentous epoch, the only question to be asked by every American, laying his hand on his heart, is: âShall I continue in allegiance to
GODâAND A RELIGIOUS
PRESIDENT;
Or impiously declare for
JEFFERSONâAND NO GOD!!!â
Jefferson was vehemently attacked for being a godless, slave-owning (-impregnating) sinner. But the underlying issue was what kind of liberties would this country afford its few voting members and everyone else who lived here. Jefferson favored greater freedoms while Adams sought to strengthen the office of the president. (A proto-Bush?)
Still, many people couldn’t get over the fact that Jefferson didn’t believe in God. And though he eventually won through a complicated process in the Electoral College, some members who didn’t want to give their vote to an atheist said they would rather “go without a Constitution and take the risk of civil war.”
Now, though, Godtalk dominates—whether it is about what kind of Christian John McCain is, why evangelicals can’t stand Hillary Clinton or whether Barack Obama is a “covert Muslim.” The question, and it’s one Rove didn’t answer, is why did religious rhetoric has become so central to running for president. So-called “moral-values issues” were just as important to voters in elections that brought Bill Clinton to the White House as those that elected and re-elected George Bush. Something else is certainly at play.
Karl Rove and the politics of religion Read More »
LA’s mayor a member of the Tribe?
The Forward has a short profile this week of L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, whom reporter Rebecca Spence calls “something of an honorary member of the tribe.”
Los Angeles is a small town, and with half a million Jews in the greater L.A. area, it’s no surprise Villaraigosa has leaned heavily on many Jews along the way, whether it was high school teacher Herman Katz or his best friend on the City Council, Jack Weiss, or chief of staff Robin Kramer.
His predecessors, most notably Tom Bradley, benefited similarly. But Spence presents a man whose philo-Semitism goes a good deal further than political expedience (though he’s still no Mark Paredes).
According to local Jewish leaders, the mayor himself has made a habit of attending synagogue services, beyond the public appearances L.A. mayors tend to make at High Holiday services. He has been spotted at Temple Valley Beth Shalom and at Adat Ariel, both located in the San Fernando Valley â a region that tends to skew somewhat more conservative when it comes to local politics and that, unlike the Westside, went for Villaraigosaâs predecessor, James Hahn, in 2005.
The mayor has also attended Friday Night Live, a popular Sabbath service with live music held at Sinai Temple, a 2,000-family Conservative synagogue located on the Westside. In fact, said Sinaiâs rabbi, David Wolpe, when Villaraigosa showed up this past September at his synagogue for Kol Nidre services, he sat in the back, didnât come up to the bimah and left quietly. âIn my experience, that is unprecedented,â Wolpe said. âItâs unheard of that a political figure should desire to come just to be there.â (Despite the frequent synagogue attendance, Villaraigosa, it should be noted, is a practicing Catholic.)
Villaraigosa also has made a point of attending major Jewish events, from Super Sunday to a major rally for Israel during the war with Hezbollah to the recent groundbreaking of the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust. And he’s developed political relationships with some Israelis, including Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal. (I asked Villaraigosa’s office for an interview last August when I wrote about life in Sderot; they got back to me in late December.)
LA’s mayor a member of the Tribe? Read More »
Jesus Christ’s rockstar
The Godfather of Christian Rock, Larry Norman, died Sunday at the age of 60. Admired by the Jesus movement, thought of as a Bob Dylan for Christian music (when Dylan wasn’t Christian), Norman‘s influence can’t be understated. At least, that’s what I’ve read; I’d never heard of him. Here’s more from the CT Liveblog:
âHis influence outweighed his sales so much that itâs comical,â Willman said. âHe certainly had a heart for evangelism, almost to his detriment I might say. He really couldâve been a star if he were singing about something other than Jesus.â
Normanâs 1972 Only Visiting This Planet album is regarded as one of the top contemporary Christian music albums of all time. His many hits were cutting edge, said Larry Eskridge, associate director of the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College.
âThe song âWhy Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?â was one of his enduring trumpet blasts against the stogie, old Christian establishment,â Eskridge said. ââI Wish Weâd All Been Readyâ fit with the end times, apocalyptic feel that was in the air at the time.â
âI Wish Weâd All Been Readyâ was also featured in the 1972 end times film A Thief in the Night. In concerts, the singer would give his trademark “One Way” gesture, pointing an index finger toward heaven. Eskridge said Norman was an icon during the Jesus People of the 1960s but distanced himself from the movement when it became a fad and eventually faded.
Norman became less prominent on the music scene after suffering head injuries in an airplane accident 30 years ago, and later he had severe heart problems. He dictated a message to a friend just before his death.
âI feel like a prize in a box of cracker jacks with Godâs hand reaching down to pick me up,â Norman said. âI have been under medical care for months. My wounds are getting bigger. I have trouble breathing. I am ready to fly home.â
Jesus Christ’s rockstar Read More »
