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Jewish Journal

Connect. Inform. Inspire.

May 21, 2013

Justin Timberlake and Coen brothers answer Jewish questions at Cannes

Leave a Comment / Hollywood, Is Featured?, Mobile, Mobile-Homepage, News /

Using his preternatural smoothness, Justin Timberlake saved the Coen brothers from some serious awkwardness at a Cannes press conference for their folk singer film “Inside Llewyn Davis” on Sunday.

“Jewish humor, does it exist? If so what does it consist of?” the reporter asked after suggesting that the Second World War and the Holocaust were possibly responsible for the German people’s lack of humor.

Timberlake, who plays a folk singer in the film, shot right back with, “I smell a trap.”

Then Joel Coen chimed in, squashing the conversation for good. “There’s nothing like the Holocaust to put the stake in a certain kind of humor,” he said.

After that everyone spent the rest of the conference talking about the movie, which is what they were there to do in the first place.

Justin Timberlake and Coen brothers answer Jewish questions at Cannes Read More »

Spielberg to produce ‘Halo’ television series, plus other news from the Xbox One announcement

Leave a Comment / Entertainment, Hollywood, Is Featured?, Mobile, Mobile-Homepage, News /

Microsoft Corp gave the world a first look at its new Xbox One on Tuesday, announcing that its first gaming console in eight years will come with exclusive video and software content, including a “Halo” series produced by Steven Spielberg.

The Xbox One, which will be available later this year at a price to be announced, will also be the first platform to release the next installment in Activision Blizzard Inc's blockbuster shooter franchise, “Call of Duty.”

Microsoft hopes its third-generation console will attract video game fans who are increasingly sampling games on mobile devices, while also becoming a hub for living room entertainment.

The console took four years to develop and will launch worldwide “later this year,” games unit chief Don Mattrick told reporters at an event at the software company's campus near Seattle, without providing details on timing or pricing.

The device's launch came after months of intense speculation on industry blogs about what new features it might sport.

The new device interacts with a television, responds to voice and gesture commands, and includes Skype video calling, 15 exclusive game titles and original programming content.

The Xbox One will chiefly compete with Nintendo Co's new Wii U and Sony Corp's forthcoming PlayStation 4 for a bigger slice of the $65 billion-a-year computer game market.

LION'S SHARE

Console gaming still takes the lion's share of a growing gaming market — about 42 percent of the $65 billion world market, according to Microsoft. But playing games on smartphones and tablets, or as an offshoot to online social networks, is gaining ground fast.

The world's largest software company also sees the Xbox One as a broader strategic piece in the battle with Apple Inc , Google Inc and others to control consumer entertainment in the age of tablets and smartphones.

To that end, Microsoft presented the new box as more than just a video game console.

Acclaimed movie maker Steven Spielberg will be executive-producing a television series based on Microsoft's blockbuster sci-fi game “Halo” for the Xbox One, the company said.

The new console will offer exclusive National Football League content and eight new game franchises, executives said.

Activision Blizzard Inc will launch “Call of Duty: Ghosts” later in 2013, first for the Xbox.

The device will have 8 gigabytes of memory, with an updated controller and new-generation Kinect sensor that communicates a user's voice and gesture commands to the console. The technology is built on the Xbox operating system and the kernel of Windows software to handle Internet-based content.

Moreover, the device will let users store entertainment content, including movies, games and music, on cloud servers, the company said.

Despite its strong brand and 'cool' factor, the Xbox itself is not a key financial factor for the world's largest software maker. Its Entertainment & Devices unit is set to break $10 billion in sales for the first time this year, but that's half the sales of its Windows unit, and a lot less profitable, averaging less than 15 percent margin compared to 60 percent or higher for Windows or Office.

The company has more than 46 million members who subscribe to its online gaming and digital entertainment service Xbox Live, but that's still a fraction of the people who pay for its software.

Microsoft's stock was up slightly at $35.02 in afternoon trading on Nasdaq.

Spielberg to produce ‘Halo’ television series, plus other news from the Xbox One announcement Read More »

Israeli soldier killed in Golan mine explosion

Leave a Comment / Israel /

An Israeli soldier was killed in a mine explosion in the southern Golan Heights.

The soldier was taking part Tuesday in a minefield-clearing operation, according to the Israel Defense Forces, and was killed when an old anti-tank mine exploded. Two other soldiers were injured.

The mine reportedly was cleared and marked before it exploded. The explosion was believed to be a technical malfunction.

Maj. Gen. Guy Zur, the chief of the Ground Forces Command, appointed a team to investigate the incident, according to the IDF.

The mine-clearing operation is part of ongoing military operations and is not related to recent tension on Israel’s border with Syria.

Israeli soldier killed in Golan mine explosion Read More »

Oklahoma tornado: How you can help

Leave a Comment / Is Featured?, Lead Story, Mobile, Mobile-Homepage, News, United States /

Jewish groups are joining the effort to help those displaced by the tornado in suburban Oklahoma City.

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, announced Tuesday that his organization will collect donations and distribute them to the American Red Cross and others on the ground in Oklahoma.

“We are numb with grief, and yet inspired by the heroic resilience of the people of Oklahoma,” Jacobs said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those impacted by this horrific tragedy.

“As other needs arise, perhaps including volunteers to assist with the clean-up and rebuilding, we stand ready to help in any way possible.”

The Jewish Federations of North America also has started a fund to aid the relief effort of the Jewish Federation of Greater Oklahoma City.

[Know of other Jewish relief efforts? Please comment below with information]

“Our hearts go out to all those who were in the path of this disaster and who are grieving the loss of their loved ones,” said Michael Siegal, chair of the JFNA Board of Trustees. “This was a terrible tragedy. The destruction of an elementary school filled with students and teachers was especially painful.”

B’nai B’rith International has opened its Flood, Tornado and Hurricane Disaster Relief Fund.

Meanwhile, the Chabad Community Center of Southern Oklahoma has opened its building as a shelter and is collecting supplies for those displaced by the tornado that hit Moore.

Oklahoma tornado: How you can help Read More »

Meet the laser that guides the Iron Dome (soon to be made in the USA)

Leave a Comment / Israel, Mobile, Mobile-Homepage, News /

Six months after the Iron Dome defense system rendered Hamas rockets largely ineffective during Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza,  I got a tour of the factory that produces its most vital component: a laser.

The system, which can shoot down rockets within a circumference of 65 sq. miles, takes two trucks to transport and tens of millions of dollars per unit to build. In November’s Gaza fighting, it boasted almost 90 percent accuracy.

The laser is responsible for that success rate – the machine’s brains: once the Iron Dome is in place, the laser detects every flying object and decides – based on trajectory and velocity – whether it’s a bird, a plane or a missile aimed at an Israeli town.

Then, judging from the missile’s arc, the laser can determine the two most vital pieces of information – where the missile came from, and where it’s going. Israel then fires at the launching pad. If the missile headed toward a populated area, a siren goes off warning residents while the Iron Dome shoots an interceptor missile to take out the incoming bomb.

And what decides where that interceptor missile goes, and guides it toward its target? The laser.

All of this happens, by the way, in a matter of minutes. And it’s all automatic.

“You do not have the luxury to have a person in the loop,” said Meir Conforti, head of North American marketing for Elta, the Israel Aerospace Industries subsidiary that manufactures the laser. “You have people in the loop to stop it if they see something is mistaken.”

For all of its functions, the laser isn’t lithe, and looks like a huge, smooth metallic green rectangle that towers over people’s heads. It’s not easy to transport, either. It takes several hours to a day to move it around Israel, and its movements are followed closely. Where the Iron Dome is deployed has become a way for Israelis to judge which border is tensest. Recently, following flareups in Syria, the defense system moved north.

Soon, though, part of the laser may be made in the U.S. For my tour, I tagged along on a visit from Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, widely considered a contender for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination. Elta plans to manufacture parts for the laser in a Maryland factory.

But regardless of how effective the radar is now, Conforti stressed that improving it is key to the Iron Dome’s success.

“The world is not static,” he said. “The radar of today can cope with the current threat.”

But, he added, “Kassam missiles are getting better every day.”

Meet the laser that guides the Iron Dome (soon to be made in the USA) Read More »

Assad, Lapid, Kerry, and Other Annoyances

Leave a Comment / Israel, Israel, Middle East /

1.

Things at the Syrian border aren’t funny. There are warnings and shootings and threats and leaks of contradictory nature. Some observers complained in recent days that Israel’s message isn’t clear. On the one hand, an Israeli senior official tells the NYT that “if Syrian President Assad reacts by attacking Israel, or tries to strike Israel through his terrorist proxies he will risk forfeiting his regime, for Israel will retaliate”. On the other hand, a report in the Times of London quotes a senior Israeli intelligence officer who said “better the devil we know than the demons we can only imagine if Syria falls into chaos and the extremists from across the Arab world gain a foothold there” – a report that was vehemently denied later. So – does Israel want Assad to “forfeit his regime” or does it want the “devil we know”?

In fact, the answer is not that complicated – and would be clearer to all observers if Israeli officers resisted their urgent desire to constantly make unnecessary statements: Israel doesn’t want any part in the Syrian conflict as long as its security remains intact. It doesn’t care much if Assad stays or goes away as it has learned an important lesson in the last two years: In the Middle East one never knows which devil is better.

2.

We all know that Minister Yair Lapid wants to be Prime Minister, and while his numbers are currently going down he might still be Prime Minister some day. But his insistence on telling interviewers that he intends to succeed his boss, Prime Minister Netanyahu, is less than admirable.

Remember: Netanyahu is the Prime Minister and the head of the coalition in which Lapid is a member and a Finance Minister. By telling reporters that Netanyahu’s seat is his true target, Lapid is forcing the PM to do one of three things:

  1. Ignore the threat – but that’s against the instinct of any politician. Netanyahu must find a way to slow down the ambitious kid.

  2. Make Lapid’s life more difficult – but this possibly means toying with Israel’s economy in ways that might be harmful not just to Lapid but to the country as a whole as well.

  3. Get rid of Lapid while he still can – only he can’t, unless Netanyahu decides to opt for a very narrow and very fragile coalition (and even then, it’s not clear that he can pull it off).

So Lapid is leaving Netanyahu with three bad options, two of them are clearly bad for the country as well. And no – the fact that he said he was in “no hurry” is not good enough. It would have been more polite, more gracious and no less effective to say: this isn’t the time or the place to talk about political ambitions.

3.

If right-leaning Jen Rubin can praise an article in the left-leaning Haaretz – as she does with the one on John Kerry’s many errors – everything is possible (except for Kerry advancing the peace process).

4.

As for Haaretz’ Kerry hatchet-job: one gets the feeling that the new Secretary of State would be well advised to spend more time talking to Israeli journalists – or else…

5.

I was invited to a TV studio today to speak about the coming Kerry visit, and was scratching my head as I was trying to come up with something nice – or new – to say. Yes, it is truly puzzling to see a Secretary of state spending so much time on the Israeli-Palestinian track while Syria is burning. But that’s not quite new. Yes, “in these inauspicious circumstances”, as Peter Berkowitz aptly advocates, “an American secretary of state should not seek to convene another international conference and should not unfurl a new comprehensive plan”. But that’s not the kind of advice Kerry-types would follow. 

6.

Best reader-comment of the week comes from a reader of my IHT-NYT article on the race for Israel’s chief rabbi: “This is prime material for a new daytime soap”.

Assad, Lapid, Kerry, and Other Annoyances Read More »

IDF chief warns Syria against more attacks on Israel

Leave a Comment / Is Featured?, Israel, Lead Story, Mobile, Mobile-Homepage, News /

The Israeli military’s chief of staff,  Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, warned that Syria would pay the price if it continues to attack Israel.

Syrian President Bashar Assad “guides and encourages the widening of activity against Israel, in various dimensions and via the Golan Heights,” Gantz said Tuesday, hours after Syria fired on and damaged an Israeli army jeep, and Israel retaliated with a missile attack. “We will not allow the area of the Golan Heights to become a comfortable place for Assad.

“If Assad impairs the situation in the Golan Heights, he will have to bear the consequences,” the military chief warned at ceremony at Haifa University.

No one was injured when Syria opened fire on an Israeli army patrol early Tuesday morning in the Golan Heights, the Israel Defense Forces said. It was the third time this week that Syria targeted Israeli positions.

In retaliation, the IDF said an Israeli missile struck the source of Tuesday’s gunfire.

The IDF lodged a complaint with the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, a peacekeeping force that was established in 1974.

The Syrian military claimed in a statement issued Tuesday that its military destroyed an Israeli military vehicle and its occupants. The statement said the jeep crossed the cease-fire line in the Golan Heights.

Gantz said that the nighttime patrol was clearly patroling along the border fence and did not cross into Syrian territory. Earlier Tuesday, Gantz toured the Israeli-Syrian border and talked with the soldiers and commanders of the Nahal Brigade who are stationed there.

Israeli troops manning a border observation point in the Golan Heights were fired on Sunday and Monday. The Israelis did not retaliate but lodged a separate complaint with the U.N. observer force.

Also Tuesday, Israel transferred an injured Syrian national from the border to a hospital in northern Israel for surgery to treat shrapnel wounds.

IDF chief warns Syria against more attacks on Israel Read More »

New Jersey Palestinian flag flap breezes over

Leave a Comment / Mobile, News, United States /

The city of Paterson, N.J. — whose southern area is called “Little Ramallah” for the large number of Palestinian Arab expats – raised the Palestinian flag above city hall on Sunday May 19 as it proclaimed Palestinian-American Day.

According to the The Bergen Record, the occasion might mark first time that the Palestinian flag has flown above any American city hall.

For Israel, that moment likely came in May 1948, when Philadelphia Mayor Bernard Samuel raised the blue and white flag atop city hall.

Back to present day Paterson, as Twitter users and other online commenters caught wind of the event, officials stood by their decision.

“If they’re citizens of the city of Paterson, they have every right to raise the flag,” Paterson Mayor Jeffery Jones told The Record regarding the event, which drew about 150 people on a rainy day.

On Tuesday, local and state officials attending the event told that publication that they hadn’t received any complaints about the flag specifically.

This isn’t the first time North Jersey’s celebration of Palestinian-Americans has been noted by JTA.

In May 1980, JTA reported a scuffle that broke out at a larger celebration of Palestinian-Americans in New Jersey. As it turns out, the incident was precipitated by a fight over flags:

A scuffle between Palestinian marchers and a group of Jewish war veterans erupted Sunday when the former grabbed Israeli and American flags, overpowering the blockade set up by state police. The march, held in North Bergen because of its concentration of Palestinians, was to mark International Palestinian Day. Judge Geoffrey Gaulkin of New Jersey Superior Court ruled last Friday that North Bergen officials had unlawfully denied the Palestinians a parade permit. About 800 Palestinian participated in the parade.

New Jersey Palestinian flag flap breezes over Read More »

A prayer for Oklahoma

Leave a Comment / Is Featured?, Mobile, Mobile-Homepage, News, Opinion /

Lord our God, we stood before You just a week ago to receive the Ten Statements of Your Torah. We stood, as though with our ancestors, and listened to the Torah reader chant descriptions of the smoking mountain, the thunderous rumbling, and the long-awaited voice of God.

This afternoon, the people of central Oklahoma did not stand to hear the voice of God. We sat, we paced, and we huddled. We listened to the voice of the meteorologists and watched as dark clouds swirled together over a cone of destruction. The rain fell upward, not down, and the thunderous roar of the swirling winds carried, and we saw the awesome power of God. This was not Shavuot — the Feast of Weeks that marked our days of freedom. This was minutes that seemed like years and trapped us into watching the same images of destruction.

Merciful God, a great and powerful windstorm has passed, and it has torn apart the buildings and shattered the rocks before You. You told Elijah, the prophet, that You were not in the windstorm. Please, then, be in the still, small voices of the children crying out to be found. Be in the voices of the rescuers calling out for survivors. Be in the cries of those who are lost and of those who have lost.

May it be Your will that those who are missing be found alive and be cared for well, and may the people of central Oklahoma find strength in You and in one another as we rebuild what we can.

A prayer for Oklahoma Read More »