25 Nov
Latest

The Emanuel Brothers Talk to Charlie Rose

By Benjamin Schuman-Stoler If you're wondering which brother is which, just check out the suits: The one with the power pinstripes has to deal with Capitol Hill, that's Barack Obama's White House Chief of Staff Rahm. The puke colored tie gives away the eldest brother Ezekiel, who is a doctor and thus owns no nice ties. Actually, he's a world renowned oncologist who wrote a book that purports to solve our health care crisis. And, lastly, the brother with the simplest, bluest suit is the Hollywood agent Ari. If you've seen HBO's show Entourage, Ari is the inspiration for Jeremy Piven's character, aptly named Ari Gold. (HT: Jewssip)

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14 Nov
Latest

One View of Obama From The Muslim World

By Benjamin Schuman-Stoler Over at the Islam's Advance blog, writer Wajahat Ali has a post about how Barack Obama and the various foreign policy decisions he will inherit from the current administration are viewed across the Muslim world. Although the post goes into the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the situation in Pakistan, we're focused on what he says about Israel. Ali says that even though American Muslims came out and voted for Obama in record numbers, the feeling abroad is a touch less enthusiastic. Overseas, however, Muslims are treating Obama with considerable skepticism born from a fear that once in office, he will be overwhelmed by imperial desire and will perpetuate the rhetoric of the "War on Terror." Much of this consternation comes from Obama's appointment of Rahm Emanuel as White House chief of staff....

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13 Nov
Arts & Culture, Culture, Latest, Misc, Religion

The Forward 50: 2008 Jews of the Year

By Jeremy Gillick The Forward has published its annual list of America’s 50 most important Jews: the Forward 50. Winners include Rahm Emanuel, Obama's newly appointed Chief of Staff, about whom you can read here. There's also Morris Allen, a Conservative Rabbi from Minnesota who helped re-invent kashrut as a moral rather than merely legal imperative, just as Agriprocessors, America's largest kosher meat producer, sunk deeper and deeper into sin, exploitation and eventually, bankruptcy. Jeremy Ben-Ami, founder of the new, liberal Jewish, Israel lobby group J-Street, is at the top of the list too. Although this choice is perhaps more a reflection of the Forward's editorial stance than of Ben-Ami's success, the creation of a viable alternative to AIPAC is, at the very least, a major symbolic accomplishment. And it could become much more than that. Here's what Moment...

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13 Nov
Latest, Misc

This Week's Links: Yiddishe Edition

By Benjamin Schuman-Stoler NPR reported on Yiddish and Klezmer in Russia today. Judging by the above video, I'd say it's doing just fine. Still corny as ever. Thanks to Heeb for pointing out Rahmfacts.com. Spend some time at the site and learn such brilliant nuggets of dubious knowledge as, "Even Rahm Emanuel's mother calls him 'Rahmbo.'" The New Yorker spoke with Emanuel's rabbi. A good jew, this guy is. Oh, and their cartoon caricature of him is positively creepy. Two new news items re. Iran. First, they tested a missile purportedly for defense uses which has capability to reach Israel. Second, now that there's an administration willing to talk to them (eventually), they're getting skittish. A mainstream Greek newspaper ran this headline after Obama's victory last week: "The anticipated victory of Obama in the US elections signals the...

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07 Nov
Latest, Religion

Is Rahm Emanuel the Jewish LBJ?

Who is Rahm Emanuel (Barack Obama’s new Chief of Staff)? For starters, he’s Jewish. He, his wife Amy, and their three children attend the Anshei Sholom B’nei Israel modern Orthodox Synagogue in Chicago. His father, Benjamin Emanuel, was born in Jerusalem and was active in the Irgun, a radical Zionist group. Rahm himself holds strong views on Israel. Here’s an excerpt from Moment’s 2007 piece by Richard Dunham on Emanuel: “He’s a profane bundle of contradictions: a former dancer with the political instincts of Tony Soprano, a political junkie who genuinely regrets time away from his wife (who converted to Judaism) and beloved children, and a devoutly religious street brawler who can trade expletives with the best of them, including his rabbi. University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato has dubbed Emanuel the Jewish LBJ.’” Click here for the...

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