Kesher Talk: 08/18/2002

Saturday, August 24, 2002

She's BAAAAAAAACCKK . . . I can't blog and work full-time. And check in with my family and Austin friends on the phone. And go out in the evening with NYC friends. And learn a Torah portion. And do Pilates twice a week. I can only assume that prolific bloggers have no job, or the kind that allows you to ruminate on your computer without penalty, or no social life, or no other hobbies, or a spouse to do their eating and sleeping for them.

Last week I was working full-time and keeping up with the rest of my busy life as well, so no blogging. I am going to write a whole buncha blogs at once and then release them slowly over a period of several weeks, like tiny time capsules, so you all will think I am feeding and watering KesherTalk like the good houseguest I should be.

And no, I haven't made it to minyan every morning. :-(

The Blogosphere Salon. A blogger mentioned several weeks back that the comments section over at Little Green Footballs was getting scary, and I agree. The regulars in full vent can get a bit too jingoistic for my liking, even without the occasional troll to egg them on. But lately several wonderfully lucid, informative, thoughtful discussions have been generated chez Charles. It takes a critical mass of articulate thoughtful people, at least one of whom has specialized knowledge the others want to hear about, and a policy of ignoring trolls.

Friday, August 23, 2002

It's been a rough week. The Sabbath will soon commence. Let's wrap up the week with a touch of mirth...

The Roots of Jewish Eating Disorders:

Rosh Hashanah -- Feast
Yom Kippur -- Fast
Sukkot -- Feast
Simchat Torah -- Keep feasting
Month of Heshvan -- No feasts or fasts for a whole month.
Hanukkah -- Eat potato pancakes
Tenth of Tevet -- Do not eat potato pancakes
Tu B'Shevat -- Feast
Fast of Esther -- Fast
Purim -- Eat pastry
Passover -- Do not eat pastry
Shavuot -- Dairy Feast (cheesecake, blintzes etc.)
17th of Tammuz -- Fast
Tisha b'Av -- Keep Fasting
Begin Again

courtesy of Sarah M (Ciceronian)

Comparing the Palestinian uprisings: Jonathan Schanzer compares the current Intifadah with the Palestinian uprisings in the 1930s and 1980s and sees "a recurring Palestinian pattern of miscalculation, fratricide, religious radicalism, economic despair, and self-destruction.... This is the third time in seventy years the Palestinians have orchestrated a nationalist uprising, and the third time it has led them to disaster." It is time for them to learn from this pattern. Read his article in the summer edition of the Middle East Quarterly.

Actually, there's lots of good stuff in the MEQ. Alexander A. Weinreb and Avi Weinreb ask if Israel has used indiscriminate force (not unrelated to my TCS look at Palestinian/Israeli casualty figures). Dany Shoham has the first of two parts of an investigation of Syrian weapons of mass destruction. And Matthew A. Levitt offers a score card for fighting the war on terror, and how we can determine we've won.

Thursday, August 22, 2002

Two Down, One to Go: A hearty congratulations goes out to the fine voters of Georgia and Alabama for defeating Cynthia McKinney and Earl Hilliard, but there is still a battle to be fought in the new 46th District in California. One of the more egregious offenders against Israel in the House is California's own Dana Rohrabacher. Having been on the House International Relations committee for nearly 14 years, Rep. Rohrabacher has had plenty of time to express his contempt for Israel. Most recently, Rohrabacher joined McKinney, Hilliard, and others to oppose HR 392 which expressed solidarity with Israel against our common terrorist foes. His Democratic opponent, Gerrie Schipske, makes the point that Rohrabacher frequently takes the "moral equivalency" tack in comparing Palestinian terrorism to Israeli defensive, retaliatory, and deterrent operations.

I got a chance to see this first-hand last year when I covered the House International Relations Committee discussion on extending ILSA (Iran-Libya Sanctions Act). The discussion was whether to extend the act by 5 years or 2 years, and Israeli security was often stated as a principal reason for the lengthier term. I distinctly remember Rohrabacher's statement as standing out. He said:

Let me just say for the record, this Member finds it a bit disturbing that we hear the arguments that we have to support opposed legislation like this because it has some relationship to Israel. The fact is that this is not a debate about Israeli security. This is a debate about American security. I will be supporting this legislation based on American security needs.

Which is fair enough, and he voted to extend by 2 years. But his continuation deserves mention:

The fact is that we have a conflict going on in Israel. And, yes, there are noncombatants who are being targeted, and I don't care if it is an F–16 or a terrorist suicide bomber, I am opposed to that type of targeting of noncombatants. I think it is a tragedy that we had so many people, women and children and people who are teenagers, who are not involved in these things on both sides who end up being killed by fanatics on both sides. That is a tragedy; and I hope and I would wish the United States would be, frankly, a little bit more consistent in its opposition to attacks on noncombatants that are carried on by both sides in that conflict.

There it is in black and, um, yellow. This is by no means the only time Rohrabacher has made these kinds of comments, he just happened to make them while I was present in the room. I am loathe to advise people to vote for an opposing candidate based on a single issue (a topic for another time) but I'm sorry, Rohrabacher has to go. Now that McKinney and Hilliard have been dealt with, the Blogosphere needs a new target, and I propose we aim at Rohrabacher. He will be difficult to defeat in a general election as opposed to a primary, and some will call me a traitor for supporting the Democratic candidate, but it can't hurt to try.

Wednesday, August 21, 2002

CAIR cries "anti-Muslim bias" with phony poll: This comes from an email press release. Analysis inserted where necessary:

POLL: MAJORITY OF U.S. MUSLIMS SUFFERED POST-9/11 BIAS
More than three-in-four also experienced acts of kindness

(WASHINGTON, DC - 8/21/02) - According to results of a poll released today by a national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group, a majority (57 percent) of American Muslims say they experienced bias or discrimination since the 9/11 terrorist attacks and almost all respondents (87 percent) said they knew of a fellow Muslim who experienced discrimination.

But that same poll of 945 individuals, conducted by the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in late July and early August, indicates more than three-in-four American Muslims (79 percent) also experienced kindness or support from friends or colleagues of other faiths. That kindness often took the form of verbal reassurances, support during the anti-Muslim backlash following the attacks and even offers to help guard local mosques.

Surveys were faxed, mailed and e-mailed to Muslim individuals and organizations nationwide. Less than 1 percent (.7 percent) of respondents indicated they were not Muslim.

945 people is not exactly a great sample, but it is not too bad. However, what you see above is the extent of the explanation of CAIR's poll methodology. And that means this poll is probably worthless.

The poll lists no margin of sampling error -- a violation of basic polling standards of disclosure.

Even worse, the poll was conducted by fax, mail and e-mail. Surveys done in this fashion generally have low response rates. Those that do respond are self-selected, ruining any original efforts on the part of the pollster at a random sample. In the case of this survey, Muslims who feel most aggrieved would be the most likely to respond to the survey, dramatically skewing the sample.

The essential piece of information, even more so than the margin of sampling error, would be the response rate. Without it, we are faced with two possible scenarios. Either

CAIR contacted an infinite number of people, and only 945 responded

Or, CAIR contacted only 945 people, and we are left to wonder how many of them actually bothered to respond.

Neither prospect looks good for CAIR's poll. It looks like nothing more than a self-selected sample, about as meaningful and representative as the average Internet poll.

"The results of this survey show that while we have all gone through a traumatic year in our nation's history, there is hope for the future if Americans who support and practice tolerance challenge the vocal minority who seek to divide our nation," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad.

Other survey results include the following:

* 48 percent of respondents said their lives changed for the worse in the year following the attacks.

* Those who said their lives changed for the better (16 percent) often cited a deepened knowledge of Islam made necessary by requests to explain their faith to others.

* The most frequent forms of bias experienced by the respondents were verbal abuse, religious or ethnic profiling and workplace discrimination.

* 67 percent of respondents said the media have grown more biased against Islam and Muslims.

* 45 percent of respondents said Fox News was the media outlet that exhibited the most biased coverage.

* PBS, the BBC and ABC were named as media outlets worthy of praise for their coverage.

* 70 percent of respondents were registered to vote or will register before the next election. (Seventy-seven percent of respondents were eligible to vote.)

When asked to name the political party that best represents the interests of the American Muslim community, more respondents named the Democratic Party (16 percent) and Green party (5 percent) than the Republican Party (3 percent).

An interesting omission in this paragraph: what about the remaining 72 percent? Who did they think represented their interests best? The Black Muslims? Fatah?

Yet 36 percent of Muslim respondents said they voted for George W. Bush in the last presidential election. (Thirteen percent voted for Ralph Nader and 9 percent voted for Al Gore.)

That seeming anomaly may be explained by the number of respondents (66 percent) who rated the Bush administration's post-9/11 interaction with the American Muslim community as 3 or lower on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 was poor and 10 was excellent. (Eighty-one percent rated CAIR's performance during the past year as 7 or higher.)

Muslims from more than 40 different states (and the District of Columbia) responded to the survey, with the most responses coming from California, Texas, Virginia, New York, Michigan, Maryland, Ohio, Florida, New Jersey, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. (In descending order.)

There are an estimated seven million Muslims in America and some 1.2 billion worldwide. Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in America.

It may be one of the fastest growing religions in America, but it is nowhere near seven million. As my research demonstrates, America has about two million Muslims, give or take a few hundred thousand.

Update: Lots of tangential commentary on this can be found at Little Green Footballs.

Further updated: The press release is available on the web

Are genetically modified crops kosher? I first entered this debate over two years ago, when activists opposed to GM foods suddenly found religion -- meaning, they grabbed a quote from Leviticus 19:19 (about the co-mingling of species) to support their cause.

You shall keep My statutes. You shall not let your cattle gender with a diverse kind; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; neither shall you wear a garment [of shatnez; i.e., wool and linen]

So I asked around at the time for some Rabinnical interpretation of this passage. Here's what my orthodox friend Eric had to say:

To use an analogy that Rabbi Teitelbaum once used: it's like walking into the cockpit of an airplane, pointing at one specific switch, and asking: "what's that for?" In other words, you need a big picture view of what's going on in Leviticus as a context.

[A bit of background that will be used later. "Mishpatim", which is commonly translated as laws, are considered to be the kinds of laws that have a rational basis for them, and that any civilized society ought to be able to come up with: do not murder, do not steal, etc., are the most obvious examples. "Chukim", commonly translated as "statutes", are those that do not have a rational basis, those that we do because Torah/G-d says so. Kosher is, for the most part a 'chok', for example]

A _slightly_ bigger picture view is the name of the parsha itself (that is, the name of the parsha that has chapter 19 in it). It's called "Kedoshim", and it's named after the first sentence in the parsha: "You shall be holy".

A key point is to understand that the word for holy, kiddush also means separate, or distinct. In order to make 'sacred the mundane', there must be some separation between the sacred and the mundane, else it's all the same. When we elevate the mundane, we are making it distinct. (Thus, for example, we mark the end of Shabbat with "Havdallah," which also means separation. We are noting the "separation" of Shabbat and the other six days."

I'd like to go back to chapter 18 to help set up this context. In chapter 18 we read a whole long list of prohibited sexual relationships. Interestingly, they are more or less listed in the order of descreasing levels of "closeness" of the relationship (listed first, e.g., is relations with one's parent, then siblings, then aunts and uncles, and the list ends with a prohibition of relations between humans and animals). In a sense, we are proscribing separateness among those ordinarily close (well, except towards the end of the list, when it's mandating separation among things that are naturally separate to begin with).

In other words, in order to be "holy", in part, we need to keep a degree of "separation."

So, we have this notion of separateness -- and then (in chpt 19) we read about separating species from each other and mixing the sewing of seed and keeping separate wool and linen (shatnez).

An obvious connection.

Let's explore deeper.

We have: (19:1) you shall be holy. Then we have moral/ethical rules between people (love your neighbor, etc.) Then we have:

19:19 You shall keep My statutes. You shall not let your cattle gender with a diverse kind; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; neither shall you wear a garment [of shatnez; i.e., wool and linen]

(Note "statutes" here is "chukim" -- precisely those rules that have no apparent purpose).

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch notes the progression: (as described by R. Elie Munk) "with the command to love other humans, the Torah reaches the high point of the ethics that guide the relationships between one person and another -- but starting with v.19, we are now directed downward to the immense world or animal and vegetable life which opens at our feet, in order to show us that this world also abides by Divine law."

"To R. Avraham Saba, author of Sefer Tzror HaMor, the thread linking the various laws of this chapter is the duty to maintain the harmonious order of nature as G-d created it. Having proclaimed this principle in sexual and social relations, the Torah turn to the prohibitions against crossbreeding in the plant and animal worlds." Munk points out that "Chok" is the root, also, of "egraving", as in: these rules and/or the separation of the species was a rule engraved into the Universe at the start of Creation.

More specifically with these rules: the Rambam further points out that ordinarily, animals of different species will not breed together unless forced - which is cruel and indecent. Little wonder, many point out, that the "natural" result of such crossbreeding yields an animal, such as a mule, which is sterile. (A kind of statement by "Nature" or "G-d" that such crossbreeding is not-natural, and can not persist on it's own -- "engraved" into nature).

As far as linen and wool: many have grappled with this. Rambam calls is a true "chok" -- non-rational. R' Hoffman suggests that the Torah has prohibited the mixture of the two materials most often used in making garments in order to have the idea of separation of the species recognized in the domain of clothing.

Similarly, the sewing of seeds of different species is the idea of separation extended to the agricultural realm.

The Leviticus 19 commandment not to mix seeds is normally interpreted to mean using two different kinds of seed on the same field at the same time. Literally, mixing seeds. It has never been interpreted to have any bearing on either cross-breeding or genetic modification. If it had been, observant Jews would not be allowed to consume most crops in the past, nor in the present, because they would not be kosher.

Why do I bring this up now? First, because the National Academy of Sciences has yet another report out today on GM foods. Second, because I just stumbled upon another look at the halachic approach to GM foods from Askmoses.com:

Although there are instances of genetic material of non-kosher animals being used in kosher foods, to date, no one has succeeded in demonstrating that this renders the food non-kosher. The issues are complex, and require a thorough knowledge of halachic precedent to date.

On the other hand, are we allowed to mess around with species in this manner? This is a whole other issue. The debate centers around the words of the outstanding medieval Jewish scholar, Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (known as "the Ramban" or Nachmanides—not to be confused with his predecessor, the Rambam). Concerning the Biblical prohibition of grafting trees or cross-breeding animals, he writes that this is forbidden for a reason of cosmic import: It disturbs the fundamental path of nature. He calls this act, "obnoxious and vain." Humankind, he says, is given the right to make use of the Creation and to dominate it, but not to disturb its fundamental nature. Speciation is G-d’s business, and off limits to human beings.

The Ramban has a significant retractor on this point: Rabbi Yehuda Lowe (aka "the Maharal of Prague), who lived a few hundred years later. The Maharal, with support from the Talmud, asserts that any change that human beings introduce into the world already existed in potential when the world was created. All that humans do is bring that potential into actuality. The Torah prohibition against cross-breeding is specific to Jewish people and only under the conditions specified by the Torah. Once performed, a Jew is permitted to benefit from the results. I have not come across a significant argument that the current procedures of genetic engineering constitute cross-breeding as prohibited by the Torah.

The AskMoses commentary continues with some speculations about the environmental and health impacts of genetic modification -- speculations which have no scientific foundation, of course, just anti-GM activist PR. Such is life in the food wars.

Cynthia Sucks: Rep. McKinney loses primary race to Majette: Denise Majette beat Cynthia McKinney, 58 percent to 42 percent (Fox5 Atlanta) yesterday.

I received this message from Democratic activist MG upon Majette's victory:

With 95% of precincts reporting and 60% of the vote in her favor, I think it is now fair to say that Judge Denise Majette has defeated Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney in today’s Democratic primary in Georgia’s 4th District!!

As most of you know, McKinney has been the single most outspoken detractor of Israel in Congress, and implied that President Bush had prior knowledge of the September 11 terror attacks in the US. Among contributors to her campaign were several people who have been implicated in directing charitable contributions to terrorist organizations. Some of her desperate actions in the waning days of the campaign, such as recycling and phone-blasting old endorsements from people not supporting her in this race, like President Clinton, were without known precedent in US politics.

Majette’s victory is absolutely outstanding news, and following the defeat of Rep. Earl Hilliard by Artur Davis in Alabama earlier this year, this means that two incumbent members of Congress who have taken positions hostile to the interests of the United States and of Israel will not be returning to Washington in January.

Many will attribute this outcome to the strength of the pro-Israel community in the US, and I do think that we should be proud of our efforts on behalf of Davis and Majette. However, it should not be overlooked that neither of these candidates would have succeeded if they were challenging incumbents who had delivered to their constituents during their many years in Congress. No amount of money would persuade voters to betray someone who faithfully represented their interests in Washington.

In the case of Hilliard and McKinney, neither well represented the interests of their districts or improved the life of their constituents during their tenure. But perhaps in the fat and happy years of the late 90’s, people of their districts were content enough that they were able to evade serious challengers. However, given the challenges the nation now faces, and given the new reality after September 11, the voters in Alabama, or Georgia, or anywhere else in America are not going to tolerate representation that apologizes for terror. Hilliard ingratiated himself to Momar Quadaffi. McKinney did so to a Saudi prince who blamed September 11 on US support for Israel. Voters are not going to put up with that anymore. That is the big lesson to draw from these two outcomes. (How unpopular was Cynthia McKinney? Before Majette spent her first dollar on advertisements, her name recognition polled in at 28%, however, she LED McKinney 41%-37%. Yes, at least 13% of the people preferring Majette had never heard of her. So don’t let anyone convince you that anybody bought this race!)

Another lesson, though, worth remembering, is that activism does make a difference. Tonight the US-Israel relationship is more secure than it has been because of the outstanding leadership of Denise Majette and the courageous and valiant work of those who helped her win. ...

Special thanks to the Indepundit for helping spearhead the dump-McKinney campaign on-line. Woo-hoo!

Cynthia's "concession" speech is here.

OpenSecrets has an In-State v. Out-of-State breakdown of contributions to the primary runners. Max Sawicky has some more recent data. And Instapundit readers turned up FEC forms (without an in-state v. out-of-state breakdown) for Majette and McKinney.

Here is a round-up of the coverage:

"Challenger ends McKinney's run after 10 years" (AP)

"State investigates misleading election-eve calls in 4th District" (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

"GOP voters told crossover is illegal" (Washington Times)

"The night the lights lit up in Georgia" (Howard Owens)

"Georgia GOP Voters Say They Were Threatened With Jail, Fines" (CNSNews)

"VICTORY! McKinneys Sent Packin'! Majette Takes Landslide" (Reid Stott)

"NPR Crapola on the McKinney Defeat" (Matt Welch)

CNN sees Jews v. Blacks (Jonathan Irom)

"DENISE MAJETTE WINS!" (War Now)

"Georgia Twofer" (Ed Kilgore on NRO)

"Barr, McKinney Lose In Georgia Primaries" (Washington Post)

"Barr, McKinney defeated in Georgia primary" (UPI)

"Reps. Barr and McKinney lose in Georgia primaries" (USA Today)

"Barr, McKinney lose in Georgia primaries" (CNN)

James Zogby cries anti-Arab racism in media coverage of primary (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

"Mideast Goes to Georgia" (LA Times)

"McKinney blames ouster on Republican crossover" (Washington Times)

"Father of Ousted McKinney Spells Defeat 'J-E-W-S' " (Forward)

"How Denise Majette beat Cynthia McKinney" (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

"For Black Politicians, 2 Races Suggest a Rise of New Tactics" (The New York Times)

"Impact of McKinney Loss Worries Some Democrats: Tension Between Blacks, Jews a Concern" (The Washington Post)

"District Change Doomed McKinney" (AP)

"The Safest Depository" (Will Warren)

"THE JEWS DID IT" (Eugene Volokh)

"Political Ties Between Blacks and Jews Strained" (LA Times)

Cynthia McKinney to become Black Muslim (Rod Dreher)

"For defeated McKinney, 'there is still work to be done'" (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The MRC slammed network news coverage of Majette's victory (aired the night after):

In reporting the results of the Georgia congressional primaries, Peter Jennings mimicked the anti-Jewish mantra of the most vociferous supporters of incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, who lost to challenger Denise Majette. Jennings pointed out that McKinney "was beaten by another Democrat who got large donations from out-of-state supporters of Israel," but he failed to acknowledge that most of McKinney's donations came from Muslims or Arabs outside of the district, some of whom support terrorism or have ties to groups which fund it.

One, the Washington Post reported, once declared: "Let us damn America, let us damn Israel. Let us damn their allies until death."

Jennings also skipped over how McKinney had marginalized herself by claiming that President Bush knew in advance of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Instead of describing her as an Arab supporter, he distorted her affection for the radical Muslim and Palestinian causes by depicting her only as "a vocal critic of President Bush's Middle East policy."

On the August 21 World News Tonight, Jennings read this short item about the Tuesday election results:

"In Georgia, two very different outspoken members of Congress lost their jobs in yesterday's political primaries. Republican Bob Barr was the first Congressman to call for President Clinton's impeachment. And Democrat Cynthia McKinney was a vocal critic of President Bush's Middle East policy. She was beaten by another Democrat who got large donations from out-of-state supporters of Israel."

Over on the CBS Evening News, John Roberts managed to note McKinney's outlandish claim about Bush while not offering fears about the role of supporters of Israel:

"Primary voters in Georgia have muffled two outspoken, high-profile members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Four-term Republican firebrand Bob Barr, a vocal leader in the campaign to impeach President Clinton, lost almost two-to-one to another Republican incumbent, John Linder, in a redrawn district. And five-term Democrat Cynthia McKinney was ousted by a relative political unknown. McKinney created a storm by suggesting President Bush may have known in advance about the September 11th attacks."

The August 21 NBC Nightly News didn't mention the primary results.

UPDATE, Aug. 23: Winner Denise Majette, on CNN's "Inside Politics": "We were able to win because we were able to build a strong coalition of people across the district. And the money that we received from outside of the district just helped us get our message out. But the funding that we received and the support that we received began right there at home." Asked about Johnson's comments, Majette responded, "The people of the Fourth District made the decision on who was able to best represent them in the Democratic Party. And that's the bottom line. ... I intend to have meetings individually with the members of the Black Caucus, as well as other members of Congress, before I get there in January. I'm looking forward to that. And I think I'll be able to reassure them that I will be someone who will be an effective legislator and who will be able to work with the people in Congress to get the job done."

Procrastinating? Moi?

You are 35% geek

You are a geek liaison, which means you go both ways. You can hang out with normal people or you can hang out with geeks which means you often have geeks as friends and/or have a job where you have to mediate between geeks and normal people. This is an important role and one of which you should be proud. In fact, you can make a good deal of money as a translator.

Normal: Tell our geek we need him to work this weekend.

You [to Geek]: We need more than that, Scotty. You'll have to stay until you can squeeze more outta them engines!

Geek [to You]: I'm givin' her all she's got, Captain, but we need more dilithium crystals!

You [to Normal]: He wants to know if he gets overtime.

Take the Polygeek Quiz at Thudfactor.com
(via Andrew Dodge)

Tuesday, August 20, 2002

Shocking news: With a report from California leaked to the press today, I penned a quick article for TechCentralStation on power lines, electromagnetic fields, and human health.

Great moments in airline security: I forgot to mention the fun my fiancee and I had flying the unfriendly skies this weekend.

Why did the "officers" at the metal detectors ask me to remove any change, any gum or candy (which has aluminum foil), etc., when the bloody machine did not notice that I still had a bunch of quarters at the bottom of my pockets that I forgot about?

And on the way back, why was my fiancee one of the only ones to be "randomly" chosen for an intensive search? Are terrorists generally masquerading these days as pretty blonde women wearing Tevas (which are obvious ways to smuggle dynamite, let's not forget) and small purses?

MSNBC's beef with Israel: Jim Maceda of MSNBC (seemingly trying to out-do MSNBC's resident anti-Israel blogger, Eric Alterman) tries a little historical revisionism of his own. HonestReporting calls him on it.

Also from MSNBC is an example of historical revisionism by Jim Maceda, who reports under the headline "Arab Israelis Caught in Between: For 1.3 million Arabs in Israel, fear and anger mix with ambivalence." (August 16)

Maceda refers to Palestinians in 1948 who "were lucky enough to escape 'transfer' by the nascent Israeli government." Maceda offers no documentation to support this provocative accusation, and makes no mention of the fact that Israeli politicians publicly implored the local Arabs to stay.

Maceda also severely understates the amount of terror attacks that Israel has faced. He writes:

"[S]ources quoted by the Israeli Ministry of Interior claim that every terror attack inside Israel over the past 22 months has had, directly or indirectly, an Israeli Arab connection. But the numbers of those incidents remain relatively small, fewer than a dozen..."

In fact, at least 60 major attacks have occurred "inside Israel over the past 22 months," including multiple attacks in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Netanya, Afula, Kfar Sava, Rishon Lezion and Hadera. See a listing at: http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/go.asp?MFAH0ia50

Maceda also unquestioningly describes Arab allegations like this:

"But life is now so tense in Umm el Fahm that many Arabs don't leave their houses -- not due to any curfew, but because they fear being beaten by Israeli police or vigilantes."

However, Maceda fails to cite even one example of Israeli Arabs "being beaten by Israeli police or vigilantes." For further imbalance, Maceda's article fails to quote any Israeli officials.

See Maceda's article at: http://stacks.msnbc.com/news/795042.asp

If you believe the article is factually distorted, write to:
letters@msnbc.com
Dan.Fisher@msnbc.com

Pro-Israel TV ad campaign coming soon: O'Dwyer's PR daily reported yesterday that

American Jewish groups are backing a pro-Israel TV ad campaign to bolster support for that embattled nation in the U.S. The American Jewish Committee is a driving force behind that effort.

... ... The pro-Israel ad campaign will position the country as a beacon of freedom in a rough area of the world. It also will argue that Israel is committed to the peace process, having already signed agreements with former adversaries Egypt and Jordan.

The pro-Israel ads may go head-to-head with those from Saudi Arabia. That Qorvis Communications-developed campaign, pitching the Kingdom as a reliable U.S. ally and partner in the so-called "war on terror" is ready to run, QC CEO Michael Petruzzello has told this website. The Saudi campaign will run through Sept. 11, the one-year anniversary of the day that 19 hijackers--of which 15 were Saudis--launched their terror attacks on the U.S.

Update: The JTA has much more detail and background on the Israeli PR campaign.

Monday, August 19, 2002

Tomorrow is C-day: Georgia voters go to the primary polls tomorrow to oust Congress' premier lunatic and conspiracy theorist, Cynthia McKinney. McKinney has been receiving all sorts of endorsements in the last few days. Or so her campaign has made it appear.

Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young says a recorded telephone message with him endorsing Rep. Cynthia McKinney is "a fudge."

The message, coupled with recorded endorsements by actor Robert Redford, former basketball star Magic Johnson and former President Bill Clinton, played to thousands of homes in the Fourth Congressional District over the past weekend.

However, the popular former mayor and U.N. ambassador did not record the endorsement this year and said Monday he told the campaigns of McKinney and challenger Denise Majette that he was going to sit this primary election out.

"It must be recycled," he said of the recording. (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

It turns out that the Clinton endorsement was nothing more than an old tape of Clinton praising McKinney - he never endorsed her.

For last minute news and insights on the race to unseat McKinney, go here.

The Israeli left and Shabbetai Tsvi:

Like followers of the medieval false messiah Shabbetai Tsvi, who continued to view him as the savior of the Jews even after he abandoned Judaism and converted to Islam, the proponents of Oslo remain firm in their conviction that Arafat is the key to peace, even as he wages war against us. (Michael Freund, Jerusalem Post, Aug. 14)

Who likes nerve gas? Ted Shen, film critic for the Chicago Reader (an alternative weekly with distribution of 250,000+), says that the Israelis do. And no, he is not referring to them as a potential Iraqi target:

American filmmaker James Longley traveled to Gaza in January... In the press package Longley is careful not to take sides, but the constant barrage of artillery shells, the civilians' complaints, and the IMAGES OF CHILDREN CONVULSING FROM EXPOSURE TO NERVE GAS offer a ringing indictment of the Sharon government. The film focuses on Mohammed, an Arab boy who curses Jews for what they've done to his friends and family; near the end of the film he smiles at the camera and declares that he wants to martyr himself and attain paradise, a testament to the region's bleak future. (emphasis added)

According to HonestReporting, neither Shen nor the Chicago Reader have apologized or retracted the article.

Comments to: letters@chicagoreader.com...

The impact of sanctions on Iraq: Matt Welch revisited this issue, including the claims of a million dead Iraqi children due to sanctions, in the National Post on August 10.

You may recall his sweeping article on the topic in March in Reason magazine.

I'm back: Neither lack of sleep nor excessive heat can keep me away forever.

I had several items to post on Friday, but our office network crashed within moments of my arrival at work. By the time it was up and functioning, my fiancee and I were off to Toronto for the weekend to help celebrate the wedding of two of my best friends from university. Following those celebrations, we spent last night helping my great aunt and uncle celebrate their 62nd wedding anniversary.

Our 6:30am flight back to DC this morning was delayed, of course.

Did I mention I was tired?

Kesher Talk

Saturday, August 24, 2002

Friday, August 23, 2002

Thursday, August 22, 2002

Wednesday, August 21, 2002

Tuesday, August 20, 2002

Monday, August 19, 2002

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