Ehud Barak
Tonight I went and heard Ehud Barak speak at the IU Auditorium. As expected there were people at the lecture who did not agree with Barak and seemed to have an anti-Israel attitude, some of these people even got to ask questions. One man was booed because he posed a question about Israel's morals, in fact I was one of those people who booed. But what I got to thinking about later was, did I boo because people were insulting Israel, or did I boo because in some way, I felt as if he was insulting the Jewish people? I think it may be a mixture of both. Whenever attack is made on Israel, I feel that it is an attack on the Jewish people.
I was reading in USA today about Borat, the movie staring Sacha Baron Cohen a British comedian, it something struck me as very interesting, they referred to Baron Cohen as "religious." I was curious as to what they meant by this, did they mean that he found himself to be deeply connected to Judaism, because it's clear that he is not an observant or orthodox person. I also found it interesting the ADL's statement on the Borat movie: "When approaching this film, one has to understand that there is absolutely no intent on the part of the filmmakers to offend, and no malevolence on the part of Sacha Baron Cohen, who is himself proudly Jewish. We hope that everyone who chooses to see the film understands Mr. Cohen's comedic technique, which is to use humor to unmask the absurd and irrational side of anti-Semitism and other phobias born of ignorance and fear."-
www.Adl.orgI think this was an interesting approach that the ADL took looking at it, and I think I have to agree with the ADL, from what I have heard about the film, and from seeing Baron Cohen's work, I think his work really does show how absurd antisemitism can be.
For Your Consideration is a movie coming out on November 17,2006. I saw the previews for it tonight, it's written by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy, and stars the same cast from their other films,
Best in Show and
A Mighty Wind. It's about the production of a film entitled Home for Purim, which is about a Southern Jewish family in the 1940s. The previews looked really funny! One of the producers of A Mighty Wind said in the trailer for it, "maybe you could tone the Jewishness down," which was just ridiculous considering what the movie is suppose to be about. I'm interested just to see what kind of stereotypes play out throughout the film.
I really have no interest in these blog things. I do not really the whole idea of sitting down to a computer and writing on the internet my thoughts, it really bothers me. I have a hard time sitting here writing about my Jewish identity, and probably an even harder time commenting on people's blogs, especially people I do not even know. Who am I to comment on their thoughts? I do not really have anything incredibly intelligent to say, and on top of that I am not even thoughtful or creative enough to write my own blogs. But if there is one thing that I know, these blogs are not a reflection of my actual Jewish identity.
Heeb magazine was really a waste of a tree. It seemed to almost make a mockery out of Jews and Judaism in general. It definitely was not a magazine that really tried to connect with the religious aspect of Jews. To me it was not a magazine that I would even consider reading unless I had to. There was nothing in the magazine that I could relate to. If I'm going to buy a Jewish magazine or newspaper, I want it to be a magazine or newspaper that I can relate to, or has articles that could help strengthen my Jewish identity or Jewish connection. With the Jewish Post and Opinion there are articles not just about Israel, but about real people trying to live Jewish lives. They also have articles that challenge people's opinions on Jewish subjects. I would like a magazine or newspaper that was more geared to how to remain a Jewish life in college and hear stories about other college students struggles.
