SHU Sephardic Heritage Update 417
David Shasha
Friends,
My latest Huffington Post article is now on-line:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-shasha/in-praise-of-clarence-bro_b_562312.html
I would like to make our readers aware of a profile of Egyptian-Jewish bilionaire magnate Haim Saban in the current New Yorker magazine:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/05/10/100510fa_fact_bruck?printable=true
An article on Saban’s Gentile wife Cheryl appeared in SHU 377.
For more on his wealth see:
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2010/10/billionaires-2010_Haim-Saban_SG68.html
For more on the New Yorker article see:
http://www.thewrap.com/ind-column/exclusive-battle-new-yorker-over-bruck-profile-haim-saban-16870
For those who wonder why Sephardic tradition is in the abysmal state it is currently in, we need look no further than the apathy of people like Haim Saban toward their Sephardic heritage and their obsessive concern with Israel – even though he left that country many years ago to build his media empire in the United States. It is a very sad and lamentable example of Sephardi self-hatred and an adoption of the Ashkenazi mentality regarding Jewish identity. Such a world-view is very common in the Sephardi world and prevents any cultural work from being done because of the lack of funding from the wealthy members of our community.
We begin this week’s newsletter with my essay on the groundbreaking Western “Broken Arrow” which takes the side of the Native Americans against the Whites. The movie continues to screen on the Fox Movie Channel and is well worth watching.
Robin Cembalist writes about the important exhibition put together by Vivian Mann on the subject of Sephardic culture. As I write in my comments to the article, we see once again how the Sephardim themselves have been delinquent in promoting their own history and culture and must rely on others to do the job for us.
Anthony Daniels provides us with an in-depth portrait of the thinker Ayn Rand. Rand’s atheistic Libertarianism, better known as Objectivism, continues to percolate in American culture and has been a very damaging influence on the values of Religious Humanism.
Marvin Schick gives us a shocking view of the Arabs that we should all do well to pay attention to.
K.E. Fleming reports on the tragic arson that took place a couple of months ago in Crete. Once again, our best wishes go to those involved in the rebuilding of the Etz Hayyim Synagogue led by our dear friend Nikos Hanan-Stavroulakis.
Yair Alpert reports on the ongoing Sephardic advocacy of Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef in an Ashkenazi-dominated Orthodox world.
Our good friend Avraham Burg has written an excellent analysis of the Rabbi Mordechai Elon sexual harassment affair and the scourge of fanaticism among the Ultra-Nationalists. Also on the Elon matter, Kobi Nahshoni reports on the threats and intimidation against Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein for speaking out in the matter.
The New York Times correspondent Ethan Bronner provides us with a classic example of Israeli HASBARAH, while at the other end of the spectrum Gilad Heiman has written an excellent piece exhorting Israel to adopt the values of international human rights.
Jonathan Mark profiles the Ultra-Orthodox Anti-Zionist group Neturei Karta and their beliefs. For those who see the NK as some sort of “progressive” group, I would suggest paying close attention to the article.
Tamar Snyder applauds the closed world of Orthodoxy and the positive effect it has on marriage and family.
We close with a very interesting interview with comedian Joel Chasnoff and the way he integrates his experience as an Israeli soldier into his act.
David Shasha
Deconstructing the Racism of the Hollywood Western: The Triumph of the Native Americans in “Broken Arrow”
By: David Shasha
The Torah in the Altar
By: Robin Cembalist
Ayn Rand: Engineer of Souls
By: Anthony Daniels
How We Look at Arabs
By: Marvin Schick
Letter from Crete: Arson Attack on Synagogue of Peace
By: K.E. Fleming
Chacham Ovadiah: Sefardim Should Make Their Own Parshas Zachor
By: Yair Alpert
The Judean State is Here: Thoughts on the Elon Affair
By: Avraham Burg
Death Threat Against Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein
By: Kobi Nahshoni
Positive Views of Israel Brought to You by Israelis
By: Ethan Bronner
Israel Must Learn the International Language of Human Rights
By: Gilad Heiman
Neturei Karta, So Far Right, They’re Left
By: Jonathan Mark
On Balance, Married Orthodox Jews are Happy
By: Tamar Snyder
Comic Joel Chasnoff Draws on Israel Army Experience for New Book
By: Sherryl Connelly
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