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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 3, 2006 / 9 Menachem-Av, 5766

Mad Mel?

By Mona Charen


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Someone suggested to me the morning after Mel Gibson's thunderclap that his career was over. Ha! Far from it. This is the start of a whole new gig.


If Gibson had used the N word, or defamed feminists, or praised George W. Bush, he might be in serious trouble. Those are the reigning taboos in Hollywood. But anti-Semitism barely ruffles a feather.


How can this be true when everyone knows that the Jews control Hollywood? Well, consider what the Los Angeles Times found when it questioned several Hollywood heavyweights about their views. There were one or two who claimed that Gibson's outburst would cause them to think twice before working with him again. Ari Emanuel, dubbed a "superagent" by The Washington Post, urged others in Hollywood to "shun" Mel Gibson. But he was the outlier. The others were more timid. In fact, such lame and limp condemnations have not been heard since the National Council of Churches commented on Hamas and Hezbollah. ("When will all Israeli leaders see that aggression only breeds more aggression . . . ?")


Talent manager Bernie Brillstein allowed as how "If he calls me tomorrow, would I represent him? The answer is no. That doesn't make me right. I just don't like bigots." That doesn't make me right? What moral courage! Nor did Brillstein suggest what his response would be if Gibson were to phone him the day after tomorrow.


Other members of the supposed Jewish cabal in Tinseltown were more self-assured. Producer Peter Guber scorned talk of boycotting Gibson. "Any types of call of that nature fly in the face of what free speech is. Anybody trying to prevent anybody from being gainfully employed is distasteful to me." Paramount producer Lynda Obst opined that "In one of the few areas where we have power, I don't think we should act in what anti-Semites consider to be stereotypical ways. This could be an opportunity where we say to anti-Semites that Jews don't boycott. I don't like blacklists; I don't like any form of blacklist."


So an anti-Semitic rant can actually rebound to Gibson's advantage as overeager Jewish producers scurry to demonstrate that they are not "stereotypical Jews." Nice trick.


This particular anti-Semitic complaint — that Jews control Hollywood — has always struck me as particularly ironic. The Jews who work in Hollywood certainly do not use their influence to further the interests of Jews or Israel. Quite the opposite.


Before about 1965, Hollywood (which even then was top-heavy with Jewish creative talent) treated religion (nearly always Christianity) with respect and affection. From "The Bells of Saint Mary's" to "Boys Town" to "Ben-Hur," religion was portrayed in heroic and saintly hues. What changed in the '60s was not that Jews took over Hollywood but that liberalism did. And as liberalism triumphed, religion began to be portrayed as bigoted, corrupt and stupid. Christianity has been maligned in the process, but so have Jews and Israel.


Consider one of the nominees for an Academy Award last year: "Paradise Now." I didn't see it but understand from reviews that it treats with sympathy the grooming of two Palestinian suicide bombers who blow themselves up killing innocent Israelis. I did see Steven Spielberg's "Munich." With Jews like this, who needs Mel Gibson? "Munich" is a taut, sophisticated thriller that portrays Israeli agents as cold-blooded, conscienceless killers altogether on the same moral plane as the terrorists they track. Along the way it defames Israel's founding, basically arguing that the state was created illegitimately.


One of Hollywood's darlings is Michael Moore, who spouts all of the anti-Semitic cant fashionable on the far left. He told an audience in Liverpool that the world's villains were all connected: "It's all part of the same ball of wax, right? The oil companies, Israel, Halliburton." Moore refused to permit his movies to be shown in Israel (no loss there) until Israel "returns Arab lands." This created zero scandal in Hollywood because Hollywood is first, last and overwhelmingly liberal. The fact that many Jews work in Hollywood is irrelevant. No, it's worse than that. Jewish influence in Hollywood is bad for the Jews.

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Mona Charen Archives

© 2006, Creators Syndicate

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