THE JEWISH VOICE AND OPINION Promoting Classical Judaism March 2008 Vol. 21 • No. 7 Adar II 5768 “Lawfare” and “Libel Tourism”: Bush Administration Won’t New Tools Used by Islamists to Intervene for Palestinian Terrorists Shut Down Their Critics Against Their American Victims slamist groups throughout According to Ms. Gold- or the families of Ameri- in US Courts Ithe world have found a new stein, whose film, “The Mak- Fcan citizens who have families have already won target in the West: the courts ing of a Martyr,” has been been the victims of Palestin- can be completed and others, and the freedom of speech widely acclaimed, Islamists ian terror, the Bush adminis- many already on the docket, and due process that most with financial means have tration’s decision last month can proceed unhindered by Westerners take for granted. launched “a legal jihad” in essentially to side with them government interference. “The Islamist movement which they attempt to ma- against the perpetrators, Up until the deadline of has two wings—one violent continued on page 14 means the court cases the Feb 29, it was unclear what and one lawful—which oper- position the Department of ate apart but often reinforce Justice, spurred by the State each other. While the vio- Department, would take. lent arm attempts to silence According to Palestinian of- speech by burning cars when ficials and their American cartoons of Mohammed are attorneys, the State Depart- published, the lawful arm is ment had been considering maneuvering within Western supporting the Palestinian legal systems,” said Brooke Authority in its quest to M. Goldstein, a practicing avoid paying potentially hun- attorney who serves as the dreds of millions of dollars to director of the Legal Project American victims of Pales- at the Middle East Forum and tinian terror in Israel. the director of the Children’s In the cases already Rights Institute. continued on page 56 Prof Steven Plaut’s Appeal Reverses Earlier Ruling: Israeli Court Almost Defends Freedom of Speech five-year-old legal case turned an earlier lower-court ory, Human Rights, and the Israel hate propaganda mis- A which pitted a far left- ruling that had awarded a le- Israeli-Palestinian Conflict” represented as scholarship” wing Ben-Gurion University gal victory to the left-winger. at Ben-Gurion University in was not only protected speech, professor against a politi- In their decision, the pan- Beer Sheva, had lied in his but entirely legitimate. cally conservative professor el of three judges ruled that earlier testimony and that Dr. The panel ruled that Dr. at Haifa University came to a Dr. Neve Gordon, a profes- Steven Plaut’s description of Plaut’s admittedly sarcastic close last month, when an ap- sor of Political Science with Dr. Gordon’s academic record and harsh criticism of aca- peals court in Nazareth over- an interest in “Political The- as consisting largely of “anti- continued on page 18 Inside the Voice JM in the AM at 25.... ..................3 Brother Moses .............................32 New Classes This Momth ...........50 Kol Ami: Obama & Likud? ..........4 Sky Books Closes .......................33 Chesed Ops .................................51 The Current Crisis .........................5 Kosher Cinnabon ........................34 Ess Gezint: Hamantaschen ..........62 Your Windows............................. 11 Kosherica Lush ...........................36 Family Stories .............................63 A Kosher GPS .............................12 EMUNAH Events .......................37 Index of Advertisers ....................73 Ten Commandments ...................28 Hospital Wedding ........................39 Letters to the Editor ....................76 Presidential Pesach .....................31 The Log .......................................40 Walk to Shul ................................78 Page - 2 The Jewish Voice and Opinion March 2008 Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice & Opinion” http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com Adar II 5768 The Jewish Voice and Opinion Page - 3 Nachum Segal: 25 Years of Jewish Moments, Music, and Fundraising Marathons in the Morning lthough it’s hard for Segal on WFMU (91.1) and his broadcasting Monday through Amany in the Metro- mix of Jewish music (chasidic, Thursday evenings from 7-9 politan Jewish community to yeshivish, klezmer, and Is- on AM 620 since 1992, ac- believe, Nachum Segal, the raeli), politics, interviews, and cepts commercials, the original comforting, familiar, easygo- community news that includes morning show, JM in the AM, ing host of WFMU’s JM in birthday wishes, mazal tovs, is still commercial-free, just th the AM, is celebrating his 25 and other announcements. as it was 25 years ago, when anniversary on the air. Acronym WFMU was college-owned by The scion of a rabbinic The morning show, origi- the now defunct Upsala Col- family, he, too, thought, when nally named by his father, lege in East Orange. he was a student at Yeshiva Rabbi Zev Segal of Newark, as Both shows, plus some University, that he might some- an acronym for Jewish Music live programming, are now day have a pulpit of his own. in the Morning, has since mor- part of a 24-hour Jewish we- “I do,” he says. “I have a phed into Jewish Moments in bradio stream that can be ac- congregation of tens of thou- the Morning as Mr. Segal has cessed at www.nachumsegal. sands of listeners.” became almost as well known com or www.jmintheam.org. And listen they do, ev- for his interviews and conver- “Stretch” ery morning drive time, from sation as for his taste in music. In addition, the very 6-9am. In many Jewish homes, While Mr. Segal’s eve- popular and genial Mr. Se- it would not be breakfast or the ning program, “The Nachum gal is often asked to emcee morning commute without Mr. Nachum Segal Segal Show,” which has been continued on page 8 THE JEWISH VOICE AND OPINION, Inc. © 2008 Publisher and Editor-in-Chief: Susan L. Rosenbluth Phone (201)569-2845 Managing Editor: Sharon Beck, Advertising: Rivkie Lichstein The Jewish Voice & Opinion (ISSN # 1527-3814), POB 8097, Englewood, NJ 07631, is published monthly in coordination with The Central Fund of Israel. A one-year subscription is $15. Periodicals postage is paid at Englewood, NJ and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Jewish Voice and Opinion, POB 8097, Englewood, NJ 07631. All advertising in the Jewish Voice and Opinion must conform to the standards of the Orthodox Rabbinic kashruth. Editorial content reflects the views of the writer and not necessarily any other group. The Jewish Voice is not responsible for typographical errors. Page - 4 The Jewish Voice and Opinion March 2008 Tell Our Advertisers “I Saw It in The Jewish Voice & Opinion” Kol Ami: Obama & Likud? By Susan Rosenbluth Speaking to a Jewish audience in Cleveland last month, Ba- rack Obama charged that “there is a strain within the pro-Israel community that says unless you adopt an unwavering pro-Likud approach to Israel…you are anti-Israel.” He preferred “an honest dialogue” about Israel. Some participants felt he was telling them he was prepared to lean on Israel to make concessions that Likud would not agree to, but that Labor would. At the pidyan haben for Logan Paul Wagh, in Monsey, the question was: How do you feel about Obama’s statement? Y He’s a liberal, and he’s try- He certainly would not ing to appease everyone. That get my vote after that state- will never work. He should say ment. I’d be afraid of his poli- flat out he’s in favor of a Pales- cies on Israel. tinian state, but only on the land Nancy Korngold they already have. No more, Staten Island, NY and certainly not Jerusalem. Ben Malakh Passaic, NJ His statement was too The question is not general, and that should make which Israeli party Obama all of us suspicious. Saying would support, but, rather, he’s pro-Israel but anti-Likud how the US will help Israel sounds like he is stereotyp- defend itself. We can’t ask ing, and that’s dangerous. He the AmericanPresident to be should be more specific. more pro-Israel than the Is- Dr. Mona Spiegel raeli government. Monsey, NY The Honorable Sam Colman Monsey, NY http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com Adar II 5768 The Jewish Voice and Opinion Page - 5 The Current Crisis: “Even in Laughter, the Heart Can Ache” uestion: If it’s okay to refer to the smartest woman in the own, would he? You know, like Rev Wright said, he has to dis- Qworld as Hillary Rodham Clinton, why can’t you refer to tance himself right now, but don’t worry, he still has respect. her opponent as Barack Hussein Obama? Just asking. *** Can you imagine what a heyday we would have if it were Our good friend Steven Plaut, flush from his victory in Bill Clinton or Cindy McCain who had said that it was not un- the Israeli courts in which he won the right to voice his opinion til his wife or her husband had run for President that he or she, almost without restraint, has come up with the solution to the as an adult, had been proud of America? We would ask Michelle problem of Qassams bursting into Sderot. Obama, the daughter of a Chicago city water plant employee Prof Plaut, who teaches economics at the University of and a secretary at Spiegel’s catalog store, if graduating from Haifa, wants to reintroduce the chain gang, on the premise that Princeton undergrad and Harvard Law school might not make Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails deserve fresh air and mean- you want to stand up and cheer, “What a country!” We suspect ingful labor. Steve wants to engage them in Sderot, where they her parents would. can be put to work rebuilding some of the structures their broth- Oh, and while we’re at it, is there any reason Mr.