"Damn! Cubs lose again."
You can always count on the LA Times to put a liberal spin on virtually any story it covers. Take this week's visit to UC Irvine by Pastor Terry Jones, for example.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/12/students-united-against-pastor-who-threatened-to-burn-koran.html
Ilgiz Khismaov (sic), a Muslim UCI graduate, came on campus to check out how students were responding. He said he was pleasantly surprised to see that many students rejected the pastor's intolerance message.
"He came here to stir hatred and raise tension," he told the Daily Pilot. "The awesome thing is that Jewish and Muslim students have come together against it."
Awesome indeed, especially since Mr. Khisamov, when he was an MSU student at UCI, had a reputation as one of the most confrontational members of that group. There are numerous photos and videos on file showing Ilgiz involved in angry, near-physical encounters with opponents, some of whom were trying to film MSU events over the past few years.
As for Lee Weissman, known as a great pal to the MSU, he's the guy who took exception to me calling him a "flake" on this site a year or so back. He came up to me during Israel Aparthied Week and asked why I called him a "flake". I told him it was because I considered him to "be on the other side." I did not and have not since retracted the comment.
As for what happened this week at UCI, I have already stated that I do not agree with Terry Jones' tactics. It can be argued that threats of violence managed to shut down his right to say his piece, and that it sets a bad precedent. If there was, indeed, a credible threat of violence then the university has to be defended here for acting in the interests of everyone's safety. I believe that Jones' coming to UCI was ill-advised. There has been nothing going on here lately, so it is not as if this was a response to anything outrageous being done "on the other side."
As for these threats, they need to be throroughly investigated, not just by the university and campus police, who clearly will require outside assistance, but any other law enforcement agency necessary. If, in fact, there were people who came- or who were coming- to UCI to engage in violence, they must be identified and proper steps taken.
Mr. Weissman is not a Rabbi, Gary. He's Orthodox, and wears the Orthodox garb of course by extension. You'd think you would know a little more about Jews at this point ;)
ReplyDeleteMatan,
ReplyDeleteYou are correctomundo! After checking, Weissman is not a rabbi. he is a teacher in a Jewish day school. Correction noted.
You are also correct on another point. If I live to be one hundred, I will never understand the Jewish community-especially when it comes to issues of life and death-for Israel and themselves. There are so many Jews out there that just don't get it.
It must be me, but I can't see where you called Mr. Weissman a Rabbi in this post.
ReplyDeleteThis seems to me to be a side issue at best and does not go to the essence of your point about Pastor Terry Jones. Further I think your observation that "... there are so many Jews out there that just don't get it" is more perceptive than many in the local Jewish leadership and administration of those organizations ( including Matan) realize.
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Miggie,
ReplyDeleteI deleted it after double-checking. He is actually not a rabbi, but he teaches at a Jewish day school, I am informed.
Well, maybe Gary and Miggie have this stereotypical image of what "real Jews" are, and it turns out that real live Jews are, like most demographics, far more diverse than either of them imagined.
ReplyDeleteBut the real significance of this post has been overlooked:
LENIN WAS A CUBS FAN? I'm thrilled! (True, I still have a soft spot for the old man. But please don't suggest moving his embalmed body to Wrigley Field. He should be cremated, like his wife said he would have wanted in the first place).
Word verification: cominest