A Year Of Painful Progress
"From the moment Abra-
ham heeded God's call, the
land of Israel was destined
to become Broadway, while
the Diaspora became off-
Broadway."
— Rabbi Richard Hirsch
of the
World
Union of
Progressive
Judaism.
(4/21)
If some-
one were to call me up, I
would tell them they have to
send their kids to Israel, oth-
erwise the terrorists win."
— Stephen Flatow,
whose daughter Alisa was
killed by a terrorist
bomb in Gaza.
(515)
It makes me wonder
whether trying to be nice to
people is the same as asking
for trouble."
--- Sandy Koufax, after the
baseball Hall of Famer
discovered 30 yarmulkes
that he signed to benefit a re-
ligious school were subse-
quently sold for profit.
(5 119)
"
Onward Ye Faithful
Ralph Reed
and Newt
Gingrich
The clarion call of Christian politics alarmed many Jews.
These social conservatives, who vigorously campaigned for
the GOP, saw the November elections as the dawn of a new
era for their views.
Led by the Christian Coalition, they pushed hard for
prayer in public schools, outlawing or severely restricting
abortion and bringing religion back into the public sphere.
There was even talk of book censorship in public libraries.
Most Jews, whose families experienced centuries of a state-
favored religion other than their own, did not take well to
the Republican pandering to the Christian right.
At the same time, Ralph Reed, head of the Christian Coali-
tion, met with Jewish groups, such as the Anti-Defamation
League. He emotionally pledged his respect of and sup-
port for the Jewish people. That, however, did not divert his
group from consolidating political power. In early Septem-
ber, at the group's national convention in Washington, D.C.,
major Republican presidential candidates lined up to seek
the support of the Coalition, estimated to have some 4 mil-
lion members who reach a total of 50 million people with
"voting guides."
Republican Romp
Michael's Sour Notes
Mega-popstar Michael Jackson made a humongous
reemergence, one that particularly irked Jews. In mid-
June, he released his new album, HIStory Past, Pre-
sent and Future. One song included these lyrics: "Jew
Me, Sue Me/ Everybody do me/ Kick Me, Kike Me/
Don't you Black or White me."
After a highly publicized debate over what he re-
ally meant, the singer apologized, saying that he had
Michael not intended to hurt anyone. He even not-
Jackson ed that some of his best friends, including
his lawyers, were Jewish After announcing
that further releases of the album would have the
words altered, it was noted that some 2 million copies
had already been sent out.
In November, for the first time in four decades,
the Republicans controlled the House and Sen-
ate. Commanding much of what has been coined
The Bloodless Coup was Georgia's Rep. Newt
Gingrich, a staunch conservative whose brilliance
was only matched by his often-quoted outlandish
statements. National Jewish groups, most of
whom have a liberal agenda,
scrambled to shore up ties
with the new Republican
powerbrokers.
Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.)
became head of the Senate
Foreign Relations Com-
Sen. mittee. He immediately
Jesse made noises about sweep-
Helms ing cuts in foreign aid. In
the past, Mr. Helms has
been critical of Israel's giv-
ing up land for peace and had
strong ties with the opposition
Likud party.
Also in the nation's capital,
Jewish groups remained ner-
vous about the expected scale-
back in federal assistance for welfare, immigrant
resettlement and job training. The House has ap-
proved such cuts; the Senate has also approved
a bill. If a compromise bill is passed, hundreds of
millions of dollars in assistance could be lost,
which simply cannot be provided by Jewish fed-
was on the jet, and an-
other passenger asked me
how I could be a Jewish char-
acter on `Seinfeld' with the
name Costanza. I said, 'It's a
Jewish family in the witness-
protection program."
— Comedian-actor
Jerry Stiller, on playing the
character Frank Costanza
on the popular television se-
ries. (6/2)
am a Jew. So I'm
going back to my
vault and control the
media."
--- Comedian and
MTV Movie Awards
co-host
Jon Lovitz, when
asked what he would
be doing
after the show.
(61 23)
MIA
Mr. Arafat was a
lot more effective and
trustworthy in his
prior role as terrorist and in-
ternational scoundrel."
— Sen. Jesse Helms,
in an interview with Yediot
Aharonot, (3/31)