Luke Ford | No sacred cows.

‘Corrupt and Insane’

Posted on July 1, 2007 by Luke Ford

Yisroel Pensack writes in to JewishSF.com:

Israel is transferring hundreds of millions of dollars to support Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah "government" after Hamas seized control of Gaza as Israel’s reward for its withdrawal there.
The June 24 New York Times quotes a Fatah legislator as saying Abbas "has no clear plan" for creating order within Fatah or for confronting Hamas. "We’ll only be able to command the respect of the people if we succeed in getting rid of the armed thugs," said the legislator, a former Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades chief.
Times reporter Isabel Kershner observes, "There seems little immediate chance of a Hamas rout in the West Bank like there was in Gaza, but that is at least partly because, unlike Gaza, the West Bank remains under Israeli military occupation. Most of the prominent Hamas legislators and politicians from the West Bank are in Israeli jails, and the rest are lying low."
The Israeli government is criminally corrupt and dangerously insane for aiding the Palestinian regime. Israel will reap the whirlwind from Gaza and the "West Bank," as well as from Lebanon, for 40 years of failure to expand its borders to fulfill its only valid territorial mandate, which comes directly from God in his Torah.

Posted in Israel | Comments Off

Sometimes I Fear I’m Headed In The Wrong Direction

Posted on July 1, 2007 by Luke Ford

In the past 44 hours, I’ve received one phone call. It was Saturday night and it was from Ugly George.

Posted in Personal | Comments Off

Shalom Auslander’s Mother Is Yeshiva University Chancellor Norman Lamm’s Sister

Posted on July 1, 2007 by Luke Ford

Shalom Auslander (website, my interview) writes in his forthcoming memoir Foreskin’s Lament:

My mother’s brother was a famous rabbi. His name was Uncle Nathan [Norman Lamm, former president of Yeshiva University]. Her other brother was also a famous rabbi. His name was Uncle Mendel [Maurice Lamm]. Uncle Nathan lived in New York, and Uncle Mendel lived in Los Angeles. They both had the same goatees. They both wrote books. Uncle Nathan was also a doctor. Sometimes he called himself Rabbi Doctor and sometimes he called himself Doctor Rabbi. Uncle Mendel wasn’t a doctor, but he was the rabbi of a very big synagogue in Los Angeles [Beth Jacob].
–You know who goes to my synagogue? he would say when he came to visit. — Alan Alda.
–Wow! my mother would say…
–Big donor, my uncle would say.

From Publisher’s Weekly: "Auslander, a magazine writer, describes his Orthodox Jewish upbringing as theological abuse in this sardonic, twitchy memoir that waits for the other shoe to drop from on high. The title refers to his agitation over whether to circumcise his soon to be born son, yet another Jewish ritual stirring confusion and fear in his soul. Flitting haphazardly between expectant-father neuroses in Woodstock, N.Y., and childhood neuroses in Monsey, N.Y., Auslander labors mightily to channel Philip Roth with cutting, comically anxious spiels lamenting his claustrophobic house, off-kilter family and the temptations of all things nonkosher, from shiksas to Slim Jims. The irony of his name, Shalom (Hebrew for peace), isn’t lost on him, a tormented soul gripped with dread, fending off an alcoholic, abusive father while imagining his heavenly one as a menacing, mocking, inescapable presence. Fond of tormenting himself with worst-case scenarios, he concludes, That would be so God. Like Roth’s Portnoy, he commits minor acts of rebellion and awaits his punishment with youthful literal-mindedness. But this memoir is too wonky to engage the reader’s sympathy or cut free Auslander’s persona from the swath of stereotype—and he can’t sublimate his rage into the cultural mischief that brightens Roth’s oeuvre. That said, a surprisingly poignant ending awaits readers."

I found Auslander’s memoir identical in tone to his debut collection of short stories, Beware of God. Both books are filled with rage against God, Judaism and Shalom’s alcoholic father.

Most people seem to relate to God as they relate to their father. This cliche holds true for Auslander. Both his dad and his God appear in his books as sadistic, blood-thirsty psychopaths.

I have one major question about Shalom: Is his rage for real or is just a literary device?

Ron Stiskin responds to an interview Auslander did with Sarah Ivry of Nextbook: "Shalom: I ordered a copy of Beware of God and pre-ordered a copy of your memoir as well. We have a lot in common, as I mentioned in my post on your "Too Much Information" page. I grew up in Monsey at about the same time you did. I went to HIROC and got stuck with Rabbi Glatzer, just as you did. (And I admired Lintz Rivera, just as you did!) I would like to respond to those who accuse Shalom of blaspheming by blaming God for problems actually caused by his dysfunctional family and his emotional immaturity. Don’t you wish. My own experience parallels his. Sure, my family was dysfunctional in some respects – whose isn’t? But my Jewish education was far more traumatic, and ultimately far more damaging. Did Shalom and I just get a rotten apple for a teacher? Yes, we did, but that doesn’t mean that the Jewish day school system as a whole is hunky-dory. Our school, HIROC, was full of teachers who were themselves deeply traumatized, dysfunctional, abusive, and obviously abnormal to even the most casual observer. To put such people in charge of young children is criminal. It’s hard to believe that such things didn’t go on in other Jewish day schools as well. To this day, walking into a shul is difficult for me, as is seeing men in Chasidic dress. I remind myself that that was then, and this is now, but it doesn’t make it any easier. Meanwhile, cases of abuse in Jewish day schools continue to surface. What does the existence of so many "bad apples" – who, in some cases, were enabled for years by the schools they worked for – say about the system of Jewish education in general? Jewish education cannot be separated from Jewish belief or observance. If you’re concerned about these things – or just care about children – take a hard look at Jewish education."

I was wondering if Auslander used real names in his memoir. This comment indicates that he did.

Larry Yudelson posts: "The New Yorker excerpt, to my surprise, used fictionalized names for the Orthodox shuls and rabbis who were briefly mentioned in passing."

Here’s a picture of the Lintz Rivera that young Shalom wanted so badly. She’s now a teacher in New Orleans.

Author Marty Beckerman responds to an Auslander column on Nextbook: "The difference between a rottweiler and a Jewish mother: the rottweiler lets go eventually."

Andrew Silow-Carroll writes in the New Jersey Jewish News:

But if there is a cultural war among Jews, Auslander is a reluctant recruit. As he explained to me in an e-mail exchange, the essay is representative only of his own experiences. “The piece, as well as the forthcoming book it is taken from, is not a judgment on Judaism: it is the story of one person, raised under the thumb of a violent God, seeking some peace,” he wrote.
The essay, he wrote, was not a satire, as I had suggested in my end of the exchange. “It’s not a gag or a joke or a bit. It happened. It was felt. One man is raised with religion and finds it, later in his life, a comfort. Another — me, for example — finds it has left me paranoid, fearful, and ashamed. There’s a whole section in the bookstore for the first guy, not many for the second.”
It’s too early to tell if someone will read Auslander’s memoir, titled Foreskin’s Lament, and accuse him of doing the anti-Semites’ dirty work or of feeding what Jewish organizations insist is a “new anti-Semitism.” More likely, critics will take a clue from Shalit, casting the novel as a symptom of a divide between secular and observant Jews, as opposed to Jews and gentiles.

Auslander began his schooling at the super-Orthodox Yeshiva of Spring Valley in Monsey. He hated it.

"My father’s frustrated rage at not having his Manischewitz Concord Grape was fearsome, but it was far better than his drunken rage if he did have it."

One day in fourth grade, Avrumi Mendlowitz jumped on top of Shalom and squeezed his balls. For a long time.

Shalom’s uncle Norman Lamm had a man at his apartment who opened the door for you, another man who asked your name before phoning upstairs, and another man who ran the elevator. Rabbi Lamm also had a maid, a limo and a driver. They were all black.

Norman Lamm, who liked to smoke cigars, had a three-story apartment with marble floors.

Rebbitzen Lamm said to Shalom’s mom that Harrison Ford lived across the way.

In the den sat a grand piano that nobody played and the settee held a pile of books on art that nobody read.

Norman Lamm liked to boast.

"You know who was here yesterday?" he said. "Herman Wouk."

One day Shalom consoled Avrumi on his low test score. Shalom was rewarded by getting pushed to the ground and having his balls squeezed. For a long time.

For fifth grade, Shalom moved to Torah Academy, which was Modern Orthodox. There were girls at the school and they smelt great.

One day while playing in the woods behind his home, Shalom’s life changed forever.

He found a pile of pornographic magazines. After getting jabbed by a stick, one magazine opened up to a picture of a Chinese lady lying naked on her back. The caption read, "Bang my honeypot."

Another day, Shalom found a pile of new magazines. He brought them (Oui, Juggs, Forum, etc) home and studied them like Torah. A few days later, he burned them.

One day, Shalom reached behind his brother’s books and found Puritan magazine. He wondered "what was ‘cum,’ and why did the woman on the cover want me to shoot it all over her face?"

Eventually, Shalom found his dad’s porn magazines and his mother’s vibrators. Shalom burned them. His dad didn’t appreciate it.

Posted in Orthodoxy, Shalom Auslander | Comments Off

Modern Orthodoxy’s ‘Cultic’ Influence

Posted on June 29, 2007 by Luke Ford

From The Jewish Week:

Rabbi Marc Angel of Manhattan is going out with a bang.
As he prepares to retire from the pulpit this fall, the prominent Modern Orthodox rabbi and former president of the Rabbinical Council of America, has fired a salvo at his own movement, saying it is "slipping over the line to a cultic superstitious kind of religion."

Posted in Orthodoxy, The Jewish Week | Comments Off

Rabbi Benjamin Geiger Leaving Pacific Jewish Center For A Pulpit In Queens

Posted on June 28, 2007 by Luke Ford

He sent out a letter last week to all the congregants.

PJC gets about 40 men and 20 women on a typical Shabbos morning. I doubt there’s a large enough critical mass to support a young rabbi. How would the rabbi afford a house in the area? Maybe the shul is more suited to a retired rabbi.

I wonder what this will do for the prospects for an eruv in Venice. Without it, PJC is crippled.

Posted in Pacific Jewish Center | Comments Off

Che Guevara Exposed

Posted on June 27, 2007 by Luke Ford

I catch Humberto Fontova‘s speech (audio) Wednesday night at the Luxe on Sunset and the 405. Video

Fontova’s latest book is Exposing the Real Che Guevara: And the Useful Idiots Who Idolize Him.

His 2005 book was Fidel: Hollywood’s Favorite Tyrant.

From the David Horowitz Freedom Center release (Wikipedia):

Humberto Fontova fled Cuba in 1961, at the age of seven, with his family. Fontova holds a B.A. in political science from the University of New Orleans and a master’s degree in Latin American studies from Tulane University. He is a frequent commentator on both English- and Spanish- language media and is the author of four books, including Fidel: Hollywood’s Favorite Tyrant. Fontova is a journalist who currently resides with his family in the New Orleans area.

About 100 people show up to the Center Book Club.

We eat chips and dip and drink lemonade, tea and coffee.

Janet Levy gave her customarily blunt introduction.

Among the literature given out is a new tract from David Horowitz called "Jimmy Carter’s War Against The Jews."

David writes:

Dear FrontPage Reader,
I’ve published a booklet, "Jimmy Carter’s War against the Jews," that analyzes with devastating effect the ex-president’s latest book, Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, as well as his entire career of supporting Israel’s enemies and the enemies of the United States.
Our booklet will be a powerful weapon in our fight against the deceitful, one-sided view of Israel that is being pushed on the American public and especially on college students. It is that same view that blames America for everything wrong with the world, including Islamic terrorism.
The author of the booklet, Jacob Laksin, has pulled together the shameful history of Carter’s involvement in the Middle East, and he masterfully exposes the distortions and outright fabrications in Carter’s latest book.
Despite his colossal failures as president, Carter has managed to re-make himself into an elder statesman who won the Nobel Peace Prize.
"Jimmy Carter’s War against the Jews" is the key part of a new campaign we are launching on the campuses, and I want to ask your support. Carter’s book has been the occasion for dozens of invitations to college campuses and other places to speak on the subject of Israel and the Palestinians. As the booklet points out, "in Carter’s moral narrative, Israel can do no right, while Arab leaders are virtually blameless." This is the message he brings, and doesn’t want any opposing views heard.
Yet Carter constantly casts himself as the victim of a shadowy but all-powerful Jewish and pro-Israel lobby. Claiming, absurdly, that there is no forthright discussion about Israel in the United States, Carter writes in Palestine Peace Not Apartheid that this is due to the "powerful political, economic, and religious forces in the United States," who make sure that "Israeli government decisions are rarely questioned or condemned." And he adds for good measure that "voices from Jerusalem dominate in our media."
As you know, Carter’s view of Israel and her enemies is common at colleges and universities throughout America.
In addition to the many professors who spout anti-Israel propaganda in their classrooms, some universities have played host to events specifically aimed at making Israel a pariah nation.
In February, for example, "End Israeli Apartheid Week" was organized on several campuses. At the City University of New York, as reported on our website, FrontPage Magazine,

The two Arab flacks, who are also responsible for organizing riots in the West Bank against Israel’s Security Fence and interfere with Israeli soldiers and police, presented a propaganda film that alleges that Israeli soldiers purposefully abuse and bother Palestinian quadriplegics and other disabled people. These events sometimes run films in which Israeli soldiers are accused of using Palestinian children for target practice. Blood libel tales are common fare.

At the conclusion of the film, Binyamin Rister, a Jewish student at CUNY, raised his hand to ask the question, "Do you support terrorism?" The Arab presenters refused to answer. Rister politely repeated the same question only to find himself set upon by five CUNY security cops who dragged him from his seat and removed him from the room. One officer continued holding him by the neck on the outside escalator and repeatedly banged Rister’s head against the wall as the escalator descended. Then, before they reached the bottom, the guard threw Rister head first down the remaining steps, injuring him severely enough to be taken to the hospital in a neck brace.
This is the second time a Jewish man was beaten up at an ISM [International Solidarity Movement] event in this country. One year ago, Georgetown University guards severely beat a 67-year-old retired police officer for also asking if the speakers supported terrorism.
The article pointed out that "End Israel Apartheid Week" was held to coincide with the release of Jimmy Carter’s book.

We are sick and tired of so much anti-Israel activity taking place, openly or tacitly supported by college administrations, and with very little countervailing activity. We have distributed tens of thousands of our booklets, "Why Israel Is the Victim in the Middle East" and "Big Lies," on college campuses – and we’ve received the heartfelt thanks of many students.
Not only are we supporters of Israel, but we understand that the attempt to make Israel a pariah nation is part of a larger campaign to demonize western civilization itself. Defending Israel is an essential part of defending the United States and the entire Judeo-Christian civilization from the Islamists and radical leftists who want to destroy it all.
Now we are going to add a more active campaign. The student activists we have recruited will become the counterbalance to Jimmy Carter at his campus appearances, giving out our "Jimmy Carter and Israel" booklet to those attending, as well as to the campus newspapers.
We know this will cause a huge commotion. As I said, Carter does not allow opposing views at his events. He likes to keep others off the stage so that no one can interfere with his hostile take on Israel, or his claim that he is a victim of the vast Jewish conspiracy to suppress dissent.
So imagine what will happen when he is met by students handing out a well-researched book debunking his views and exposing his embarrassing history of kissing up to Arab dictators. We expect fireworks – in the form of attempts at suppression by college administrations, counter-demonstrations, and even attempts at violence.

These confrontations will be sure to gain publicity for our efforts, our booklet, and – the real point – our side of the story. And we hope it will go some way toward discrediting Jimmy Carter as a credible, respectable spokesman on the issue of Israel or anything else.
Will you consider making a donation to help fund this project? For a start, we need to print 250,000 copies of "Jimmy Carter’s War against the Jews." We need to organize as many events as possible along with an accompanying publicity campaign.
Jimmy Carter is doing untold damage – not only to Israel, but to America’s war on Islamic terrorism – with his book and his speaking engagements. This is a terrific opportunity to counteract his untruths – and to gain a larger voice on campuses, where students rarely hear the truth about Israel and its importance as America’s only democratic ally in the Middle East.

Posted in David Horowitz | Comments Off

Eliot Stein Returns

Posted on June 26, 2007 by Luke Ford

Eliot Stein emails:

Dear Luke,
Until today, June 26, 2007, I had not visited your web site,
www.lukeford.net in many months.
I have two things to say:
1. God Bless Dennis Peters–whoever this person is.
2. Cathy Seipp’s friends have a lot of nerve blaming me for
something I did not write nor did I have anything to do with.
On your site, I see that a person named Dennis Peters said some things about Cathy Seipp and her friends that I very much agree with.
I see that her friends turned around, blamed me for the posting and wrote an extensive and vicious attack against me.
That would be acceptable had I written the posting. The problem is, I did not. I do not know who Dennis Peters is. I do not know most of the people that Dennis Peters refers to in his writings.
I can not help it if Dennis Peters can see right through these people and their dead guru.
I see that Dennis Peters has a journalspace site in which he continues his thoughts about these people–most whom I do not have the slightest idea who they are. And I’m sure that other than among themselves, nobody else does either.
My writing style is always very clear whether it is at my own web site, www.eliotstein.com or at the satirical web site I had to put up to balance the OBSCENE one about me which was put up by Cathy Seipp’s friends.
I had both the F.B.I. and the Burbank Police Department involved in reviewing that particular site. It was AMAZING the personal service I received. I finally felt that my taxes were being used effectively. In both cases, the neighbors were looking through curtains as law enforcement from both marked and unmarked vehicles appeared at my residence. Both agencies are investigating that site for violations of local, state and federal laws related to obscenity. They say that if the perpetrators crossed the line regarding the existing statutes, criminal action will be taken. I gave them the names of the three people I suspect are involved. I later had to explain to the neighbors why these people were visiting and why they were shaking hands with me at their vehicles.
God Bless Dennis Peters. Apparently a reasonable person who has the courage to say something about how things really are.

Posted in Eliot Stein | Comments Off

Nathan Englander’s New Novel ‘The Ministry of Special Cases’ Is A Complete Waste Of Time

Posted on June 26, 2007 by Luke Ford

Nothing in this book reads true. It doesn’t feel Jewish. It doesn’t feel true to Argentina. The characters don’t seem real.

Eileen writes on Amazon.com: "This story simply did not engage me on any level. The characters were to me caricatures, buffoons… Who in the world is Englander writing for? I know this book has achieved literary status of some sort among the intellectual circles that matter. I am only an ordinary reader and book buyer, but I was dismayed and hugely turned off by this intellectual, I assume highly literary enterprise."

Posted in Nathan Englander | Comments Off

Andy Jones, Film Critic, Was 38

Posted on June 23, 2007 by Luke Ford

Kevin Roderick writes on LAObserved:

Anderson Jones, a freelance film critic who formerly reviewed for E! Online and made appearances on the "E! True Hollywood Story," died after suffering a heart attack at a promotional screening of A Mighty Heart at the Arclight on Thursday night. "Always outspoken, proudly gay and often infuriating," writes Richard Horgan in an appreciation at FilmStew.com, where Jones contributed columns. "One of the coolest, most fun, most entertaining, most outspoken, most outrageous reporters on the west coast junket circuit," blogs Mark Wheaton. Also: Variety, FishbowlLA

Almost four years ago, I made an appointment to have lunch with Anderson in Beverly Hills. He didn’t show. He said he forgot. We rescheduled. The second time around, after waiting 20 minutes for him, I just left. He arrived a few minutes later.

We never spoke again (my choice).

Chris Brandon emails:

Dear Luke,
I came across your website while browsing for further information about Andy Jones, my long ago friend and former boss. He was my editor, first job out of j-school, and though he was a major pain in the ass, I can honestly say that I owe much of my success today to him.
It’s interesting that your take on his passing includes reference to David Poland. I haven’t thought about that name in years, but I’m actually curious to see if Mr. Poland comments on Andy’s death. I assume I can find his Hot Button column through Google.
David Poland is pond scum. There are few people in this world that I truly hate, as I believe that’s bad for the soul and probably the complexion as well, but Mr. Poland is one of them. He is arrogant, opportunistic, a liar, and just plain distasteful. He represents every nasty stereotype about Hollywood folk, and he is the sole reason why I personally left entertainment journalism and will never work in that field again.
The truth about what happened at TNT roughcut is that Andy hired Mr. Poland to write an inside-Hollywood column, but because Mr. Poland had zero insider knowledge he produced little more than obtuse, first-person film reviews written just slightly better than one of the scoopers at Ain’t It Cool News. All the while, he smooth-talked our managers at TNT into demoting Andy and putting himself in the editor position. Andy, who was never able to work the corporate climate, was ultimately deposed. And under Mr. Poland’s guidance, roughcut.com was shuttered by TNT within six months.
We aren’t bitter. Honestly. In fact, I truly believe all turned out for the best. Andy went on to E! Online, he made numerous appearances on E! True Hollywood Story and other E! television programs, he published a book, he had a successful freelance career. But most important, he was somebody people remembered. Every time he interviewed a celebrity, they remembered him, and the next time they came around to plug another project they greeted Andy like old friends. He had an uncanny ability to make people love him. It was like magic.
What’s David Poland done? As far as I know, he’s still writing the exact same column Andy assigned him at roughcut, but at his own domain. Hell, it still has some of the same design elements. I can’t say I’ve seen or read his name anywhere since roughcut ended. I think it’s fairly obvious who won the battle between those two.
Andy was a phenomenal journalist, a gifted editor, and truly a one in a million person. I am glad to have known him.

I emailed Chris Brandon’s comments to David Poland who emailed me back:

Looking on your site less than an hour after you sent me Chris’ e- mail, it is already up. Still the muckraking non-torah Torah Jew, I guess.
It is unfortunate that Chris felt a need to wander into his own 8- year-old delusions about me and roughcut in order to honor Andy. I could never quite understand how Chris came to hate me so much, especially since we met twice in our lives. (It usually takes much longer to hate me and "Hollywood folk" in general.) Even when Andy was in the mood to blame me for all that was wrong on the planet, he was never as committed to his rage as Chris.
Yes, Andy liked to blame me for many of the problems he had in his career, often when they really had no connection to me at all, as with the one you have highlighted (for no good reason) on your site today. But the facts behind all of these situations, especially after Andy’s passing, serve no purpose but to defend the truth and my vanity. Both will survive this petty libel, thanks.
I would prefer to remember Andy, for all of his best and worst traits, for the love that he drew out of people, even sometimes in spite of ourselves. He was a kind, gentle, troubled soul. He was exceptionally funny and smart. He was the ultimate drama queen, in all the connotations of that phrase. He deserved better… and better from you (and Chris) today.

From my November 4, 2003 archive:

David Poland vs Anderson Jones – Battle Of The Bulge

In this corner, standing over 6′ tall and weighing in at 250 pounds, from Miami, Florida, is the biggest toughest darkest white daily movie columnist on the web – David Poland – the non-Torah Jew.

And in this corner, from the great state of Ohio, the happiest man at E!, Anderson Jones (6’1" and 230 goyisha black pounds).

Are you ready to rumble in a Torahdic way? This promises to be a shanda for de goyim.

Thursday morning David Poland wrote me two paragraphs about my reaction to Mark Glaser piece on online entertainment journalism for www.ojr.org. David included this: "I am more concerned that Glaser has allowed one of the web’s least professional entertainment journalists to spew about the standards of others. That is rather disturbing."

I think David refers to movie columnist Anderson Jones of E! I emailed David if this was the case, and he replied, "No comment."

I’ve known David for 18-months and I never remember him referring to Anderson Jones. But by reading Mark Glaser’s story, I can only conclude David is talking about Anderson Jones.

Then I read a letter by Anderson Jones to OJR.org, and I can only conclude he’s writing about David Poland.

Anderson Jones writes to ojr.org:

Dear Editor: Although Mark Glaser’s column is one of the better takes on the frustrations and hurdles online entertainment journalists face, one of his quoted sources was not completely candid with the author.
With regard to the Matrix junket, no online press were invited. Period. Hell, very few press of any kind were invited. One online writer did attend the junket as a guest of the studio. He received a favor. I also suspect that when this journalist was introduced to Laurence Fishburne, the actor was not told where this writer’s musings appear.
The rest of the online community was served by a hastily arranged hour-long press conference in which the actors said little, if anything, interesting at all. That is a better representation of how entertainment journalists, and online writers in particular, are regarded by studios.
By the way, that lone online journalist invited to the Matrix junket is one of the few people on or offline who gave the movie a favorable review. Go figure.
Furthermore, beyond TV journalists, Russell Crowe’s only interaction with most print, online and radio writers was at a single press conference during the junket. I doubt that Crowe could tell the difference between any of them.
This is not Mr. Glaser’s fault. He’s just the latest online journalist to be bamboozled by one of his peers spreading propaganda to serve himself and not Mr. Glaser’s story, in a venue, ironically enough, where lots of scurrilous and incorrect information abound.
Sincerely, Anderson Jones

I emailed Anderson Jones about all this and he replies:

Luke:
I have known David for almost 10 years after hiring him to write a column for TNT’s roughcut.com, a site I ran for about four years.
Because you asked I will tell you that I have decided to end all ties with David Poland because, finally, he has gone too far.
Suffice it to say that, to my own chagrin, I hired David to work for me while I was running rounghcut.com for TNT and then we got to know him. And, I’m sad to say, it soon became abundantly clear that my generally acute faculty of reading people failed me horribly.
Take great care.

I push Anderson again and got this:

Luke:
I have to admit that I’m perplexed. I don’t know what David Poland hoped to achieve by defaming me, but isn’t it interesting that during a conversation about scrrulious, unfounded gossip on the Internet, I am now maligned by someone who considers themselves a legitimate online journalist. It would be funny if it weren’t so tragic.
I would encourage you, Luke, and your readers, to check out David’s credentials. Find out about his time at TNT after I left or about his work with the Miami Film Festival or, most interestingly, for someone who flings around the word "unprofessional" so cavalierly, about how he embarrassed George Pennacchio (ABC-LA) on the air when he reported "news" from Poland about Sony Studios’ marketing department that proved to be completely false.
I’ll leave it that.

Who is Anderson Jones? There’s a cool picture of him on the ojr.org site.

During college, Anderson founded an award-winning magazine for Ohio’s college population. Then he joined the features department of the Detroit Free Press.

Next Anderson moved on to the Philadelphia Inquirer and ran the Rough-Cut website for TNT for four years before leaving for E! Online in September 1999.

Anderson Jones writes freelance articles for various magazines. He published a book about men in longterm relationships – Men Together from Running Press.

David Poland responds:

I will not be dragged into a slap fight with Andy Jones. I don’t know what great offense he thinks I have caused him. We both know what happened at roughcut.com and his need to turn it into some other form of drama has never failed to shock me. I guess that’s my weakness. Perhaps he is upset about a conversation this weekend in which I told him that I still loved him as a friend, despite some of his behavior. Perhaps the thought of being loved by someone for whom he has such rage was too much for him to take.
I have never misled an interviewer in my life. I have never knowingly printed a falsehood in my life. And I defy Andy Jones or anyone else to show otherwise.
I will decide whether to respond in any other public way in the near future. I do not wish to harm another human being so clearly in pain. DP
P.S. I do not weight 250 and Andy Jones does not weight 230. I know, Luke, that you just put that in there to mess with my non-Torah vanity. Mission accomplished.

David Poland writes on Hot Button:

Found myself assaulted in an e-mail exchange by a delusional former friend and pseudo-journo (not Jeff Wells).
Truth is, the personal assault is what took it out of me. This is a job best not reflected on too much. Doing it is the challenge. Reflecting on it always seems wrong. ‘We’ are not the story. Reflecting on a life in journalism while living a life in journalism is akin to counting your money during the poker game. It just isn’t cool. When challenged, however, there is little choice but to reflect. I am happy with my life.
I wish I knew what caused this rage in my old friend. I can guess. But none of us can really know the heart of another. His ability to hurt me with little more than libel and bad intentions reminds me how deeply I can feel. And I suppose that’s good. But it did suck all the energy out of my evening. And that’s not good.

Posted in David Poland | Comments Off

Harkham Hillel Parents Overwhelmingly Reject Proposed By-Law Changes

Posted on June 23, 2007 by Luke Ford

The vote was 70-30% June 20 and it can only be interpreted as a stinging rebuke to the schools leaders (Morey Levovitz and Rabbi Boruch Sufrin).

Beth Jacob’s Rabbi Uri Pilichowski called every Hillel parent asking them to vote yes.

Says a critic: "Morry did not follow the bylaws before, he got nervous so tried to change them. This failed but he will still do whatever he wants."

Morey’s days as Hillel president are numbered.

Posted in Harkham Hillel | Comments Off