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TIRE
CONCERT SERIES
Jackson & The Jews
at oakland university'
MEADOW . BROOK
SUMMER NIGHTS
2_005
Jewish ties had
highs and lows.
LEONARD SLATKIN Music DIrertur
Tom Tugend
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Los Angeles
M
ichael Jackson's life was full
of contradictions, and his
relationship with Jews and the
Jewish community was no exception.
Jackson asked to be allowed to
visit the Museum of Tolerance and
its Holocaust exhibit one week before
its Los Angeles opening in February
1993 and was crying when he left. But
two years later he released a song that
included lyrics offensive to some Jews.
In 1999, the King of Pop developed
close ties with Rabbi Shmuley Boteach.
Six years later, Jackson described two
former Jewish business associates as
"leeches." That same year, 2005, he was
seen wearing a red string on his wrist
that is worn by Kabbalah adherents.
Boteach, reached by phone during a
family trip in Iceland, reminisced about
his "warm relationship" with Jackson,
who died June 25 in Los Angeles at the
age of 50.
"We used to have him over for
Shabbat dinners," recalled Boteach, the
host of the TLC reality show Shalom in
the Home. "At one point, Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon was visiting and I
wanted Michael to meet him."
Jackson's entourage urged him not to
meet with Sharon for fear of offending
some of his fans, but the music icon
ignored the advice and met with him,
Boteach said.
"Any suggestions that Michael was not
friendly to the Jewish community are
inaccurate," Boteach maintained, though
the rabbi acknowledged that he had not
talked to Jackson for the past few years.
Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder of the
Simon Wiesenthal Center and the
Museum of Tolerance, took Jackson on
a two-hour tour of the museum, end-
ing with the vivid exhibit on the Final
Solution.
"When he left, Michael was crying,
and he wrote me afterwards that he
cried for weeks:' Hier recalled last week.
Two years later Hier and Jackson cor-
responded again, but this time the tone
was quite different. Jackson had just
released an album featuring the song
"They Don't Care About Us," with the
lyrics "Jew me, sue me, everybody do
me/Kick me, kike me, don't you black or
white me:'
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and Michael
Jackson
Hier fired off an angry letter to
Jackson, who replied with a profuse
apology, declaring, "I am committed to
tolerance, peace and love' The singer
promised that an explanatory note
would accompany future album sales.
Jackson met Boteach in 1999 and
the two became fast friends, touring
together to promote the Heal the Kids
campaign. It was Boteach who escorted
Jackson to the Carlebach Shul in
Manhattan that year, accompanied by
the psychic Uri Geller.
"There was great beauty and gentility
in Michael's sour Boteach wrote in an e-
mail, adding later, "I pray that Michael's
death will not be in vain, and that we see
a return, even among Hollywood celebri-
ties, to the spiritual and family values
that are life sustaining."
Close followers of Jackson's permuta-
tions had a busy year in 2005.
On one hand, a taped phone conversa-
tion revealed Jackson's comments about
his ex-business associates. On the other,
after Jackson emerged from a trial in
Santa Maria in which he was acquitted
of child molestation charges, his left
wrist sported a bendel, or red string,
worn by Kabbalah adherents, particular-
ly supporters of the celebrity-attracting
Kabbalah Centre in Los Angeles.
After a photo of Jackson waving to
his fans was published, some noted
two unusual white spots on the string.
Inquiries about the oddity to the
Kabbalah Centre elicited no response.
However, Jody Myers, author of a recent
book on the Kabbalah Centre, said that
some celebrities had been known to
add glitz to the red strings with per-
sonal decorations.
The Kabbalah speculation was
replaced in the past year with reports
that Jackson, who was raised a Jehovah's
Witness, had secretly converted to
Islam, following the lead of his brother
Jermaine, and had chosen the name
Mikaeel.
Saturday, July 25 •
Karen Gomyo, violin
Leonard Slatkin, conductor
The Summer Nights series opens with a thrilling evening featuring some of Tchaikovsky's greatest hits including
the 1812 Overture.
Sunday, July 26 • 7:30 pm
Gersitwbi, ‘tto-re .
Jeffrey Siegel, piano
Leonard Slatkin, conductor
The DSO and Leonard Slatkin salute American Icon George Gershwin in a night featuring his two Rhapsodies for piano.
Friday, July 31 • 8 pm
Wags- Wilkins, conductor Dave Bennett Sextet
Join the DSO and the Dave Bennett Sextet as they celebrate 100 years of the big band era's "King of Swing
Benny Goodman.
Saturday, August 1 • 8 pm
, Feet - krv-eitu
Ilya Kaler, violin
Thomas Wilkins, conductor
What better way to enjoy Summer Nights than to pack a picnic and listen to Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony
under the stars?
Sunday, August 2 • 4 pm
Thomas Wilkins, conductor
"Sorcerers, Witches and Wizards...oh my!" It's an afternoon of magic, mayhem and fun as the DSO serves up
delightful mix of musical tricks for the whole family.
WIN TICKETS TO OPENING NIGHT
SATURDAY, JULY 25 "TCHAIKOVSKY SPECTACULAR"
ENTER TO WIN FREE TICKETS ON THE NEW JN SITE: www.theJewishNews.com
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BELLE TIRE
CONCERT SERIES
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT PALACENETIOM, THE PALACE BOX OFFICE,
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CHARGE AT 1-800-745-3000
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ronerii
trtmmi
July 9 2009
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