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May 24, 2013

Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb: When I didn't so 'humbly disagree'

Caroline B. Glick: Thank you, Hafez al-Assad

Diana West: From the Brooklyn Bridge to London
Morgan Housel: Why spotting bubbles is so much harder than you think

Environmental Nutrition editors: NuVal labeling to the rescue?

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Memorial Day: Jews Serving and KIA in War on Terror; Liberace Bio-Pic; Jew Wins "Survivor"; Shalom, Dr. Brothers; More

The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen: HIDE THESE FROZEN TREATS FROM THE KIDDIES!: Sangria pops; Irish cream pudding pops; mango Lassi pops

May 22, 2013

John Thorne: They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman

John Rosemond: 'Disciplinary math' adds up to parental successl

Warren Richey: Are prayers before public meetings OK? Supreme Court to decide
Rick Montgomery: Use of ADHD drugs as study aid raises concern on campuses

Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D.: 6 convincing reasons you should keep carbs in your diet

Eoin O'Carroll: Scientists examine nothing, find something

The Kosher Gourmet by Carole Kotkin: This soup is made from one of the great pleasures of spring: A wonderful pairing of rosy color and earthy tang

May 20, 2013

Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?

Hannan Adely: Town raises Palestinian flag at City Hall

Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Morgan Housel: When smart investors do stupid things

Sharon Saloman, M.S., R.D.: Hunger games: Eat more, weigh less, without starving

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting

May 13, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation

David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church

Emily Alpert: Recession dragged down birth rates for less-educated women
Morgan Housel: The deep downside of home ownership

Peter Teffer: Will Dutch police soon be stalking cybercriminals on your computer?

Heidi McIndoo, M.S., R.D.: Meatless 'meat' can have its own set of problems

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Celebrate! This must-try appetizer is delicate yet has depth of flavor: Corn-Leek Cakes with Caviar, Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche

May 10, 2013

Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be

Caroline B. Glick: The dirty little secret about Israel's Arabs

Mona Charen: Hawking's Moral Calculus: The man and the movement he embraces
Morgan Housel: The biggest retirement myth ever told

Sandi Doughton: Eyes may provide new insight into brain problems

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : The Great Gatsby's Jewish Ties; Jews in the "Time 100 list" List; People's Most Beautiful Women

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A sweet-hot meal: Pear salsa spices up salmon

May 8, 2013

Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas

Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate

Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
Amanda Paulson: Study reveals sad truths about community colleges

Harvard Health Letters: Evidence weak that zinc, echinacea are beneficial

The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility

May 6, 2013

Edmund Sanders and Patrick J. McDonnell: Think Israel's objective in Syria is to weaken Assad or embolden the rebels? Think again

Brian Bennett: Israeli airstrikes may show weakness in Syrian defense

Michael Ollove: Millions of ex-felons, parolees and those on probation are about to be entitled to tax-payer paid health coverage
Karen Kaplan: Most men can skip PSA test for prostate cancer, urologists say

Kimberly Lankford: How to track down a lost life insurance policy

Dream of Mars exploration achievable, experts say

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan M. Selasky: EGGPLANT WRAPS are an easy, sumptuous and scrumptious meal

May 3, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Human Courage and the Unavoidable, Disturbing Text

Steven Emerson: Attorney General Fights CAIR in Court, Lauds it in Public

Mediterranean diet helps beat dementia: study
Harvard Health Letters: When to be screened for a hearing problem

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Iron Man's Jewish Connections; Marc Maron's New TV Show; Martin Landau Grows Up with Israel; Shalom, Allan Arbus

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: A sweet surprise for Mother's Day dessert

May 1, 2013

Jonathan Rosenblum: An Improbable Journey to Orthodoxy

Jonathan Tobin: Blame Obama, Not Israel for Syria Push

Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Halena M. Gazelka, M.D.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: What you need to know about implanted pain relief devices

Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine

Jessica Shugart: When it comes to math, MRIs may be better than IQs

The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: The celebrated chef on how high-maintenance ASPARAGUS RISOTTO need not be

April 29, 2013

Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust

Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?

Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Morgan Housel: He's rich, smart and old: Listen to him

Thomas Salinas, D.D.S.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: The safety of amalgam fillings

Harvard Health Letters: Tomatoes and stroke protection

Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Swing into spring with lemon cream pie

April 26, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The world is a mirror

Caroline B. Glick: Time to confront Obama

Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Kimberly Lankford: New strategies ease pain of paying for long-term care insurance

Howard LeWine, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Too much ibuprofen?

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Major Leaguers, 2013; New Movies and Comedy Show; Shalom, 'Lumpy' (Leave it to Beaver)

The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Ho : A bright and cheerful salad to herald the warmer months ahead

April 24, 2013

Steven Emerson: Boston Bomber Exposes Islamist Secret

Morgan Housel Admit it: No one has any idea what's going on
Harvard Health Letters: Can you get headaches from headache medication?

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to easily get more Omega-3s in your diet

Melissa Healy: Pot in a pill: All the pain relief without the smoke

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan Russo: Chipotle Chili Butternut Squash Soup is bold, zesty, hot

April 22, 2013

Ken Dilanian: Counterterrorism's future is unclear

US man departing country arrested on terror charges
Barbara Williams: An unorthodox but growing treatment in a 9-year-old's battle against cancer

P.J. Skerrett, M.D.: How to recognize a good whole grain product

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Teen actor Jonah Bobo in New Flick: Hunky James Wolk on Mad Men; Erich Segal's Daughter Writes Prize-Winning Jewish Novel


Jewish World Review August 26, 2004 / 9 Elul, 5764

Is ‘Reality TV’ the secret weapon in the War on Terror?

By Eric Mink

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Osama's greatest enemy: Hassan the heartthrob


http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Osama bin Laden and fellow-traveling Islamist radicals believe that Western culture defiles their belief system and that unless it is stopped, it will obliterate what they regard as the one true way of life.


They're right.


Notwithstanding materialistic excess, free expression, individualism, political and spiritual independence and the pursuit of happiness — the underpinnings of Western culture — fly in the face of the hierarchical subservience and sacrifice of personal will at the core of their extreme imagining of Islam. And if unchecked, the allure and sheer volume of Western culture — most especially the broadly accessible pop-culture expressions of television, movies, music, fashion and the popular press — would undermine and overwhelm any bin-Ladian ideal of society. ("Ideal" defined as something resembling the suffocating rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan.)


But the Islamists are wrong on two fundamental points: First, this would not be a bad thing; no sensible inhabitant of Earth in 2004 regards a 10th-century lifestyle as a step forward. Second, they can no more stop this force than they can keep the sun from rising in the east. Ask the now-free people of the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania, among others, about the impact of Western culture.


A current case in point: "Superstar 2."



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While Shiite insurgents, Iraqi forces (so to speak) and American troops fight and die over shrines and cemetery slabs in Najaf, the rest of the Arab world is working itself into a delighted frenzy of expectation over the second-season finale of the Lebanese-produced TV show "Superstar 2."


This Sunday, Ammar Hassan, a 26-year-old Palestinian from the West Bank town of Salfit, and Ayman al-Atar of Libya will sing their hearts out on "Superstar 2" in the finals of a pan-Arab version of "American Idol." Millions of viewers throughout the Middle East then will choose a winner by voting via the Internet and cell-phone text messages.


This is the second season of "Superstar" (hence the "2"). It began Feb. 29 with 83 contestants — including 32 women — selected from some 40,000 applicants. A panel of judges then took a couple of months to winnow the field to 14 for final sorting by viewers.


Religious fundamentalists and terrorist groups in the Middle East have denounced "Superstar" and other reality shows being broadcast by Arab networks and satellite distributors. "These kinds of programs are in contradiction with our habits and with the principles of Islam," a Lebanese sheik told Agence France-Presse. "We are seeing youngsters kissing and expressing emotions. This is indecent."


A Palestinian spokesman for Hamas told a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, that "(we) are not in need of singers, corruption mongers and advocates of immorality."


Hamas apparently is irked that the Palestinian people seem more interested in a TV competition featuring the appealing Hassan than they are in strapping on vests packed with explosives and nails and blowing themselves up at Israeli military checkpoints. Go figure. The upcoming "Superstar 2" climax also is draining attention away from what has turned out to be a poorly timed hunger strike by Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.


The Palestinian Authority, however, is playing the situation cleverly, declaring a week of solidarity with Hassan, setting up giant outdoor viewing screens in towns in the West Bank and Gaza and persuading the major Palestinian telecommunications company to offer discounts on text-message votes sent to the show.


"People are very bored with the political and security situation," an official for the authority's Ministry of Culture told the Jerusalem newspaper. "For them, the show is an escape from the distress and frustration. We believe that creative art contributes to the people's struggle for freedom."


It is also an expression of that freedom, and its pull is powerful.


In 2003, the first season of "Superstar" became a focus for national pride in the region, even provoking some accusations — as there have been in the United States from time to time about "American Idol" — of vote rigging. Thousands of fans protested loudly in the streets of Beirut at the headquarters of Future Television, the show's producer, when Lebanese semifinalist Melhem Zein was voted out in favor of Syria's Rwqaida Attiyeh and the eventual winner, Diana Curazon of Jordan.


Zein — from Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, previously famous as the place where Hezbollah terrorists received training and sanctuary — was enormously popular with his fellow Lebanese, and problems with overloaded phone lines and Web servers only heightened suspicions of a fix. But Future Television is owned by the billionaire family of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri; the company had no rational incentive to make Zein lose. Still, public pressure persuaded Future to give Zein a three-hour solo TV special the next week and sign him to a record deal.


In Jordan, a "Superstar" fan told United Press International that the show was "a good exercise in democracy for the Arab masses." That's a stretch on both democratic and cultural grounds. "Superstar," after all, isn't exactly a Hopper canvas, a Shakespeare tragedy, "On the Waterfront," "The Sopranos" or the Gettysburg Address.


But the power of the creative spirit — even at the level of a cheesy TV talent competition — surpasses that of terrorism, war and oppression. Osama and his ilk are right to be very, very afraid.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and the media consider must-reading. Sign up for our daily update. It's free. Just click here.

Eric Mink is commentary editor for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Comment by clicking here.





© 2004, t. Louis Post-Dispatch. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.