It’s not surprising that as we approach the GLBT World Pride in Jerusalem (August 6-12), we find increasingly critical and hostile rhetoric against the event. Jerusalem is no stranger to religious controversies, and the opposition to homosexuality is nearly universal among the major religions.
My understanding is that there are two major goals of the Pride events. The first is to provide support and encouragement for the GLBT community internally, and the second is to promote tolerance and acceptance. (Yes, I know this is an oversimplification). From the World Pride mission statement:

It is time to demonstrate to our community, to our neighbors and peers and indeed to the world, not only that we belong, but that our love and our pride can cross the harshest borders that divide people.

However, with the peaceful calls for love, pride, and belonging is an understated antagonism towards those religions which reject the GLBT community. There is no coincidence that the first World Pride event in 2000 took place in Rome with the intent to take their message “to the Pope’s doorstep.” Given all the locations worldwide where the native culture is more hospitable to the GLBT community, the initial choice of Rome and subsequent selection of Jerusalem is just as much a statement as the event itself. As the mission statement proclaims,

“In these times of intolerance and suspicion, from the home of three of the world’s great religions, we will proclaim that love knows no borders.” [emphasis added]

World Pride is not simply a matter of communal bonding or promoting tolerance, but a subliminal protest against intolerant religions. There is of course an intelligent strategy at work here. By assuming a greater challenge, the GLBT community can more effectively galvanize itself by breaking another barrier (if peaceful) or standing strong in the face of opposition.
But consider some of the stated themes of the upcoming World Pride:

• Our values are guided by tolerance, equality and pluralism.
• The parade in Jerusalem is conformed to the city’s nature in respect toward the local orthodox populations.
• The pride events bring a new inner-faith message of equality and tolerance.
• Obeying the law and avoiding violence and harsh criticism are some of our messages.

Given the underlying attitude towards religion, these statements are disingenuous at best. If the values are guided by tolerance, then a better location should have been selected. The parade obviously does not conform in respect to the Orthodox populations as evidenced by the vehement opposition. And if the theme is truly to avoid harsh criticism (unclear if it refers to giving or receiving) then why select such a volatile location?

My issue here is not questioning the right to assemble or even the right to protest GLBT’s treatment in the major religions. But I personally find it hypocritical to do so under the banner of tolerance. The choices of Rome and Jerusalem seems to be an “in your face” approach almost daring people to pick a fight. If the message is really about tolerance, then this strategy is counter-productive since the parade will most likely breed even more resentment.

I do think there can be a compromise between religion and the GLBT community, and I offered my own suggestions to that effect. But as I argued regarding pluralism, tolerance does not mean that other people must unilaterally accept you on your terms. There first has to be mutual acknowledgement and respect of each other’s beliefs and perspectives, and this would have to entail avoiding obviously antagonistic actions.

If one requests tolerance, one must be willing to give it as well.

I’ve gotten several comments about the new image which adorns the entry headings. The image is called a “Fleur-de-lis” which translates to “lily flower.”1 Over the centuries it has adopted several meanings, many of which are related Christianity. However, there are other non-religious uses as well, some more applicable than others. From the Wiki article (which is a fun read):

• Whatever its origin, it is an ancient design which has been found in various cultures, usually as an emblem associated with royalty.
• By the 13th and 14th centuries, the three petals of the lily of France were being described by writers as symbols of faith, wisdom and chivalry.
• The fleur-de-lis is the major element in the logo of most Scouting organizations. In that usage, it is considered to represent the outdoors, which is a major theme in Scouting.
• The Fleur-de-lys is used in (on top of) the compass rose in combination with flights and boats as a maneuver/measure symbol pointing up to the north.

Honestly, it’s only there because it was part of the template and I thought it looked nice. If you’ve got a better icon, I’m willing to reconsider.

1. Which I suppose would make it’s function here a “lilly pad.”

I had a conversation over Shavuot with someone who works nearby my office in midtown and we were discussing some of local eateries in the area. When I brought up Kosher Delight he mentioned that a coworker of his showed him a health code document citing the restaurant for numerous violations.
Lo and behold, he was right.
According to the NYC’s Department of Health’s website, KD’s recent inspection on 05/05/2006 turned up a whopping 33 violations¹ including the disturbing indictments of “Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to vermin exist” and “Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.”
This will come as no surprise to some people – Shosh once found teeth marks on a packet of BBQ sauce – but I can’t help but feel more than a little unnerved. This is hardly the first time a Kosher restaurant has been cited for such violations, and others have been forced to close altogether. Aside from the potential hillul hashem involved, such violations make people question the point of keeping kosher especially in understanding why it is more important for food to be separated from utensils than it is to be kept away from rodents.
Although it will never happen, I think it would be nice to have the Kashrut agencies keep up with the Health Code and to have their hashgachot dependant on compliance. Not only would this force restaraunts to follow dina d’malchuta and clean up their establishments, but it would also avoid creating the perception that the NYC Health Code is somehow a “higher standard” of food preperation.
In the meantime, I’ll be bagging lunch for a while…

1. Note that this is only for the KD in midown. The one on 13th Ave in Brooklyn had 6 currently unspecified violations from their November inspection and all were addressed. The one on Ave J had two violations in December which were addressed.

In a landmark case surely to ameliorate the shidduchwon a $2.1 million lawsuit against her ineffective shadchan.
To be fair, it does seem that the plaintiff might have set the bar a little high for herself:

Anne Majerik, a 60-year-old social worker from Erie, Pa., claimed in a lawsuit that she paid Beverly Hills matchmaker Orly Hadida $125,000 to be introduced to men who wanted monogamous relationships, earned more than $1 million and had estates of up to $20 million.

Even stranger is the attitude of the jury:

A Los Angeles Superior Court jury ruled in Majerik’s favor on Tuesday, although jurors weren’t entirely sympathetic to her.
“We wanted to punish the defendant, but in the amount we wanted to punish the defendant, we didn’t want to reward the plaintiff,” said foreman Christie Troutt. “They were both wrong.”

So apparently $2.1 million – $1,975,000 more than the shadchan fee – isn’t considered a “reward” in LA. Personally, I would be more than happy to be not rewarded at half that amount.

I’m beginning to think there’s something in the water in Rockland County NY.
Once again, we have yet nother Orthodox Jew holding a prominent position finding himself in yet another sex scandal. This time, YU grad and Assemblyman Ryan Karben has been accused of inappropriate behavior allegedly making passes as male interns. Since Ryan is resigning from office – in his words to focus on his law firm and family – this story will probably go away rather quickly.¹
You’re probably aware of the Rabbi Tendler scandal so there’s no need to go into that here. However, you may not be aware or remember the case of Kenny Gribetz, the former Rockland County D.A. who was caught embezzling public funds to have an illicit affair.²
I’m finding it very disconcerting that Orthodox Jews have such a hard time keeping out of political scandals. Maybe it’s the nature of politics, where life is thoroughly adversarial and moral compromises are routine. Maybe it’s the allure of power and the corresponding ego boost which leads to moral corruption. Then again, maybe the problem is not that widespread and that we are just dealing with individuals with character flaws.
In an odd way, the modern cynicism toward politics and religion is advantageous in that the scandals do not become a “Jewish” issue.³ Sadly these things happen so often it’s getting harder to be shocked and in a few days this should blow over in the mainstream media. Thank goodness for the small things.

1. On a personal note, I can now empathize with the Abramoff supporters in that I knew Ryan many years ago while neighbors in Spring Valley.
2. Regarding this case, I like to point out the different moral compass between Jews and gentiles. In the secular press, Gribetz was mostly criticized for the embezzlement but excused for having the affair. The Jewish press did the opposite.
3. At least overtly. Anti-Semitism is still alive and well in politics, but not nearly as bad as it could be.

Following up on the topic of conversions, it seems that 3 out of 4 religions agree that freedom to convert from or to another religion is a basic religious right.
However, when it comes to proselytizing, one should really have a good idea of the target audience or community. Fark picked up this story about Hassidim receiving missionizing DVD’s in the mail. As the article says in the last paragraph, “But theology aside, technology might prove a larger hurdle for Katz’s group. However appealing the packaging, most of the thousands of Kiryas Joel households that got the ‘Days of Moshiach’ DVD don’t have televisions or computers on which to view it.”
I can just see how one of the conversations went:

“Don’t watch that thing! It’s kefira!”
“Oh, and how do you know?”
“Um…my wife’s third cousin isn’t so frum and he told me about it…yeah, that’s the ticket.”

The DVD is called Days Of Mashiach, innocuously enough, and if you’re interested here are some screenshots and streaming video.¹

1. YUTOPIA takes no responsibility for anyone who converts due to watching this film. Come to think of it, how desperate is a religion when it actually wants members who are of the mental stability that they would change their faith based on a DVD? Unless of course, we’re talking about The Big Lebowsky in which case all bets are off.

There was a big kerfuffle a few years back about kohanim flying on airplanes and passing over cemetaries and one of the wackier proposed solutions involved having the Kohein wrap himself up in a bodybag. While this didn’t go over well at the time, it was probably due to lousy marketing. Had they called it an “airline sleeping bag not only would it have become trendy, but they could have even charged $99 for it.

Ok so we’d need to make a more “modest” sleeved version, but it’s basically there.