PIZZA TRADITIONAL ITALIAN ENTREES PIZZA SALADS PIZZA Ryan but rather an old sea yarn, he insists. "It's historical fiction," he says. "The key word is fiction." — Naomi Pfifferman Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles Trading Jabs It was billed as a championship heavyweight bout, the great debate between Larry Flynt, the publisher of Hustler and other pornographic maga- zines, and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, author of Kosher Sex and the Dr. Ruth of the rabbinical world. As it turned out, it was more like an old Charlie Chaplin or Buster Rabbi Shmuley Boteach proposed his debate with pub- lisher Larry Flynt. The rabbi's latest book is "Dating Secrets of the Ten Commandments." Keaton two-reeler, with the skinny and nimble Boteach bobbing, jabbing and weaving, while the heavyset Flynt sat there placidly, flicking off the jabs and occasionally throwing a punch of his own. The debate was presented by Los Angeles' Sephardic Educational Center, and not everybody was happy about its sponsorship. Several synagogues declined to host the event, and Dr Jose Nessim, presi- dent of the center, acknowledged that a number of rabbis had protested Flynt's appearance. One note, which the center made available, was from Rabbi David Wolpe of L.A.'s Sinai Temple. "Flynt ought not to be given the sponsorship of a Jewish educational institution," Wolpe wrote. "He does not merit it. His life is devoted to the dissemination of pornography, to the objectification and degradation of human beings. Rabbi Boteach ought not to demean himself by appearing on the same platform." The referee for the event was Los Angeles Times columnist Robert Scheer, who tried, with sporadic suc- cess, to point Boteach back to his cor- ner at the end of a round. Joining as an unannounced wild card was Roseanne, the television personality and student of Kabbala, who sat between the two combatants and did little to raise the level of last week's debate. Nevertheless, the 750-strong, most- ly youngish audience apparently got its $15 per-ticket worth, applauding the best punch lines and peppering the speakers with questions, some even more far out than the debate itself. Boteach's main argument was that pornography degrades and dehuman- izes both men and women and causes marital dissatisfaction because few wives can equal the abundantly endowed and unin- hibited porno queens. Delving into his bag of statistics, Boteach asserted that 84 percent of men fantasize about other women while making love to their wives. Flynt, whom Scheer introduced as "a hero in the constitutional and First Amendment struggle for freedom of expression," took a swipe at Boteach as a "Jewish Jerry Falwell" before delivering his central message. "It's OK to have values if they work for you, but it's a big mistake to impose your morality on others," said Flynt. Roseanne interjected that both reli- gion and pornography were about controlling women, but, since she had reached menopause, sex was of little interest to her. Cleverly weaving in a Passover theme, she observed that "being liber- ated from sex, I've been freed from slavery and the land of Egypt." During the question period, one man wondered how the rabbi had become an expert on pornography with- out perusing the stuff Another audience member asked Boteach, an Orthodox rabbi, to fight for the ordination of women rabbis and the abolition of the prayer in which men thank God for having made them men. Nessim shrugged off criticism of the -- VISIT OUR NEWLY EXPANDED ANDIAMO LA OSH SANDWICHES PIZZA ITALIA WEST • EARRY-OUT COLD BEHIND OUR RESTAURANT BEER PIZZA. GOURMET AT TELEGRAPH AND MAPLE IN BLOOMFIELD HILLS This Month Featuring... maw SELECTION PIZZA PASTRIES & PIZZA ANY WAY YOU LIKE IT! Our New Light Side Menu & Our Fabulous Flourless Chocolate Decadence Cake MADE TO ORDER• Call 248-865-9300 COME IN AND ASK US ABOUT OUR OFF-SITE CATERING OR CALL 248-865-9300 pi m p !, w w .,1 .ww,A > oA FIlr ir KITCHEN Authentic Indian Cuisine DELICIOUS!! MOUTHWATERING!! • South Indian Specials • Cocktails Available • Catering For All Occasions when a 2nd menu item of equal or greater value is purchased (248) 661-8414 OPEN 7 DAYS L Not good with any other offer. Exp. May 31, 2000 Valid Anytime • Dine In Only J 5566 DRAKE ROAD (Formerly Old Mexico) • Corner of Walnut Lake Rd. 1100011 "--- THE GALLERY RESTAURANT ki, p ( Enjoy gracious dining amid a beautiful atmosphere of casual elegance 41 BREAKFAST ' LUNCH DINNER 41 v OPEN 7 DAYS: MON.- SAT. 7 a.m.- 9:30 p.m. SUN. 8 a.m.- 9 p.m. West Bloomfield Plaza • 6638 Telegraph Road and Maple • 248-851-0313 IeBand 48) •744-7173 5/5 2000 95