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Arkadi Gaydamak has once again opened his ‘purse strings’ to help alleviate the suffering of people affected by war and terrorism. His funding of vacations in Eilat for residents of the southern Israel town of Sderot is met by praise by some and anger by others. What is very interesting is that many of the angry reactions seem to be coming from the Israeli government, and not from the people he has offered to help. This kind gesture on the part of Gaydamak is reminiscent of the tent city he erected during the Lebanon II war to shelter Israelis who fled the country’s northern sections bombarded by more than 6,000 Hezbollah launched katusha rockets This act also resulted in government criticism, for the simple reason that Prime Minister Olmert seemed incapable of providing this kind of assistance during the war’s first two weeks of occurrence.

Why is the criticism being levied against this man, especially since he is paying for this gesture himself and appears more than willing to assist his fellow Israelis with whose lot he has decided to join? Other philanthropists will more likely get on the bandwagon as well and offer assistance that the Israeli government appears unable or unwilling to provide. Those who criticize Sderot residents for taking up Gaydamak’s kind offer are most likely people who do not live in either Sderot or surrounding areas, as well as in Israel’s north, which is still recovering from last summer’s war. The only conclusion that can be drawn is that those not in favor of Mr. G’s largess, including government officials like Defense Minister Amir Peretz, himself a former resident of Sderot, is that they are jealous and even envious of the Russian Billionaire who’s presence here seems to become more pronounced as time goes by.

Other wealthy people, including former Knesset member Sammy Flatto-Sharon, have been accused in the past of trying to “buy” their way into Israeli politics as well as perhaps ‘whitewashing’ their pasts; which may have included acquiring much of their wealth by not so acceptable means. So is this feeling with Arkadi Gaydamak as well, with many thinking in that old ‘Shtettel’ mentality: ” Nu, vhat does this ‘boychik ‘ vhant to do?”. If he really does want to enter Israeli politics, he’s off to a good start, as many will remember his kind gestures.

At least Gaydamak has the resources to help people as compared to those like former peace activist Abie Nathan who ruined his health and went virtually bankrupt with various projects to help humanity, both in Israel and in other places world-wide. It is certain that many applaud Gaydamak for his kindness. And if Israeli politicians do have a ‘beef’ concerning Gaydamak’s activities, and think they have a better idea to give assistance to people in need, especially those living in traumatized places like Sderot, then let them come forth and put their money where their mouth is.

Bond, James Bond. Always cool, never in a hurry. So is characterized the British Secret Service agent immortalized in British author Ian Fleming’s highly successful spy novels. This character, first played by Sean Connery in the first ‘Bond Flick’ Dr. No during the early 1960’s, went on to appear in a total of 21 films, played by Connery and a number of other actors, including Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan (from the Daniel Steel TV mysteries series), seemed to become more out of touch with Fleming’s tough and steely intelligence agent who drank vodka martinis (stirred, not shaken) drove a vintage 1936 Bentley convertible, and had a highly successful way with women. Following Connery’s leaving the Bond series in 1971, the subsequent characters seemed never able to replace the Scottish actor in this role; and more bizarre plots and use of gadgetry were required to keep up viewer interest at the box office.

All this has changed, however, with the casting of British actor Daniel Craig as the ‘new’ Agent 007 in a recently released version of Fleming’s first Bond book, Casino Royale. This film, which tries to show a James Bond similar to the true character, is being reviewed as the best James Bond to appear since Connery. The film is no way similar to the original Casino Royale, released as a comedy in 1967 with such stars as Peter Sellers and Woody Allen. This new version, in which Craig was picked from a pool of over 200 other actors, is a true Bond film, and a credit to Flemings original character. Craig, who has starred in a number of British films, including the tragic romantic film Sylvia with actress Gwyneth Paltrow , and the Steven Spielberg thriller Munich is 100% James Bond – with more characterization and less reliance on high-tech gadgetry.

For those of us who have read all of Flemings 007 novels, as well as seen many of the ensuing films, this is welcome news. This new movie retains some of the old film characters, including Bonds superior, M; but without Miss Moneypenny (M’s secretary who was secretly in love with 007) or Q, the scientist who introduced Bond to the items he would use to assist him in his latest spy caper. Bond’s personal weapons have also changed over the years, from a tiny Beretta 0.22 automatic, then to a Walther PPK 9/mm, he now uses a more modern weapon to fight his adversaries, who are also more suitably armed.

The Aston Martin returns as well, although it’s a more advanced model than Bond’s original DB-5.

The world has changed significantly since the Cold War, which served as the backdrop for the Bond film From Russia with Love. With Islamic terror now the big international threat, we might wonder if future bond films might include terrorists like Osama bin Ladin (name changed to not offend Muslims, of course). We’ll all just have to wait and see what does develop in Craig’s future James Bond roles.

On Sunday Israel’s Chief Rabbi, Shlomo Amar, put forward a proposal to the Knesset that will make the terms of Conversion to Judaism more stringent. The proposal is made to control the Reform Converts and prevent those converting to gain Israeli citizenship and acquiring the associated Right to Return privilage. The proposal was put forward for approval to Prime Minister Olmert. The Rabbi wants to amend the Right to Return Law that is currently is granted to Jewish Converts.

The issue has to do with the foreign residents and converts who see the process of conversion as there only ticket into Israel. It is suggested that this trend makes the conversion process devoid of any religious meaning and turns it into a formality on the road to Israeli citizenship.

The proposal was prompted by the recent call to the Supreme Court in Israel to decide on a proposal put forward by the Reform Movement, calling for recognition in the Reform Converts and not only Conversion done by the Orthodox. Amar’s proposal comes to prevent making the Reform Conversion equal in every respect to the Orthodox process.

Rabbi Gilad Kariv of the Reform Movement calls the proposal anti Jewish and a move meant to protect the Orthodox monopoly. He hopes the Prime Minister will not support the proposal, that he believes will increase division between the world Jewry and emphasize division within the population. He calls separating the Jewish born from the convert a fundamental breach of Jewish principals.

The whole issue seems a little ridiculous when you think about it. We are not suffering from over population and I don’t see how we can turn away people who want to become citizens of Israel and are willing to become Jewish to do so. We are just not that popular !

This idea of a “managed democracy” in Russia reeks of a one man dictatorship and old fashioned soviet corruption. Looks like Putin found the formula for staying an iron fist dictator while enjoying the status of an International member of the Western political arena. Showing us all that nothing changes after all. With a history of murder, corruption and abuse we now see that Russia is enjoying more of the same.

Anna Politkovskaya’s assassination October 7th was an obvious Red flag. Despite the brutal contract killing, the video tape of the killer and the lame attempts by Russian authorities in solving the crime (surprise, surprise) - no leads were found. Imagine for a second this happened today in a Western country. A leading civil rights, established journalist is gunned down outside her apartment building and no one is held accountable.

On Saturday, Movladi Baisarov, a man described by every news publication on the planet as “former head of Chechnya’s shadowy security forces”, was shot outside his apartment block in Moscow. The Russian authorities claimed that he was killed while resisting arrest and after he attempted to detonate a hand grenade. Local reports claim that Baisarov, a leading critic and rival of Ramzan Kadyrov, the 30 year old Chechen Prime Minister backed by Kremlin, was riddled with bullets fired by the Chechen special forces and Russian intelligence officers (FSB) who had ambushed him. The same Kadyrov is also linked to the murder of the journalist.

And now, Alexander Litvinenko, a Russian dissident mysteriously poisoned in London early this month is now in hospital under armed guard. I am sure that Russian authorities are going to blame some bad sushi for that one.

The Federal Security Bureau (FSB) is being used by Siloviki, a faction in the Kremlin made up of ex KGB officers, who are now more powerful then ever. These members are now holding top positions in the energy sector that is being again taken over by the government. The FSB has received a fivefold increase in “intelligence” funding in the past 6 years, all courtesy of the Russian President Vladimir Putin - A KGB alumnus.

And the people? They are shit scared. And Putin? He will need to step down in 2008 but until then – hey the sky’s the limit !

Hat Tip: The Age

Recent concern expressed over the fate of the 5.2 million strong American Jewish Community, the largest Jewish community outside of Israel, may not be as much as a concern as the fate of Israel’s 6.5 million Jewish community due to an increasing Muslim birth rate and an ominous threat by Israel’s apparent No. 1 enemy: Iran. At last weeks United Jewish Community’s “G.A.” conference held in Los Angeles, at which Israeli P.M. Ehud Olmert (pictured) made a guest appearance; there appears to be a mixed message concerning who really needs who. True, the American Jewish aging community, with an average of 42, and a shrinking birth rate, is a big concern to Jewish leaders there. An increasing security threat to the State of Israel, however, by the Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Palestinians in Gaza and the still disputed West Bank, and particularly by Iran’s accelerating nuclear program; the big question now is whether it is a good idea to have such a large Jewish concentration in such a small country as Israel.

American Jews do have a lot to be concerned about as their numbers have been shrinking over the years due to assimilation and lower birth rates. But the problem of an aging population and small families is also a big concern in many Western countries as in Asian countries like Japan and South Korea as well. concerning the American Jewish Community, with Jewish couples marrying at a much later age and having no more than one or two children, it’s very easy to understand why this is happening. From an economic standpoint, American Jewish women, secular ones that is, are simply more interested in their careers than raising families. When they do marry, Jewish couples face the reality what they have to do in order to raise and educate kids in an increasingly more expensive upper-middle class American society. For example, sending two children to a private Jewish day school can cost parents an average of $1,200 to 1,500 per month, per child, not counting additional fees and payments required by these private institutions who generally receive little or no governmental assistance. Being a full-fledged member of a Jewish community, including joining a Synagogue or Temple also cost big bucks these days, including a member’s contribution towards the Rabbi’s annual salary ‘package’ which can be in excess of $200,000 or more.

A shrinking American Jewish community means bad news in respect to continuing contributions to Israel, including the UIA, Israel Bonds, and many other fundraising campaigns, with hard-pressed American Jewish families simply not having the money to donate to Israeli causes. Though more Americans are considering Aliyah to Israel, especially due to receiving assistance from programs like Nefesh b’Nefesh, many such families and individuals find it very hard to live in the Jewish State due to not being able to find suitable employment and affordable housing.

The increasing threat from Iran is also something that more and Jews are having to deal with, both in Israel and abroad. While American Jews, though lobbies such as AIPAC, are trying to bring more attention to the Iranian threat, Israeli Jews will eventually have to face this threat head-on. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not pulling any punches concerning his intentions regarding Israel. These intentions, which could become reality sooner than many think, might require a strong American Jewish Community to be ready to offer assistance, and even shelter, to it’s Israeli Jewish brethren, should this be required.

So, who needs who? It’s simply a question of how one looks at it.

The last Kassam rocket attack on the city of Sderot has definitely not been the first; yet it seems to be the first in so much time to have been properly discussed in the media, which has been pretty oblivious of the dire situation there, down south Israel.

As in Sderot, hometown of Defense Minister Amir Peretz, they “celebrate” the 1000th rocket in 2006, one thing is certain – had it been Tel Aviv or Jerusalem bombarded in this fashion, the Muses would not have been silent at all, not for a second.

Like living in a parallel universe, while those living in the heart of Israel lead their normal lives, the citizens of Sderot have to deal, daily, with the fear and the danger. The kids have just now begun their school year in Sderot for the unprotected schools problem, which was (partially) settled only after Chief Justice Dorit Beinish’s strict order, but as the attacks have gotten more frequent and more deadly, the parents have decided their children need some time-out.

Who comes to the rescue, if not good old Arkadi Gaydamak? Gaydamak got hundreds of Sderot citizens a very long weekend holiday in Eilat, and the little ones, who got used to live in constant anxiety, are now his ever true fans, dubbing him “a new Moses” and wishing him to be Israel’s next PM. Another, much less flamboyant donation comes from businessman Nochi Dankner, who promised to give every student living in Sderot a $1000 grant, and $230,000 (NIS 1 million) to provide new computers for the welfare of Sderot citizens.

The citizens naturally enjoy these kind of gestures, as well as the renewed, though belated, national interest in their grim situation, but what they really want – and don’t try to hide – is their wish for a fierce military response, which would, in their eyes at least, make the Kassam attacks stop for good.

Being kept ‘behind the walls’ is no picnic, if you’re a man. But imagine how is for women who are incarcerated in an Israeli maximum security prison. Though far fewer women wind up behind prison walls in Israel, those who do are often repeat offenders who come from bad home environments where they were physically and mentally abused; resulting in their turning to alcohol and drugs as an escape. Their need for money to satisfy expensive drug habits resulted in their turning to committing crimes ranging from theft to robbery to even murder.

Though fewer prisons have facilities for women inmates, one prison, Neveh Tirza, is specifically known for specializing in dealing with a population of 200 women security prisoners, some of whom are also Arab terrorists. Many of these female inmates have run afoul of the law since their early teens, when abusive home environments, and dropping out of school (if they did attend at all) caused them to turn to crime, including prostitution, to earn money for their drug habit. Those coming from lower economic strata are the most unfortunate as their chances of being rehabilitated are nearly nil. Though prison life is certainly no picnic, for many of these women it is much more ’stable’ than their former environment on the outside. Once released, many ‘ex-cons’ have virtually nowhere to go, as they are shunned by parents and relatives.

Palestinian female terrorists, such as Ahlan Tanimi, involved in the Sbarro pizza parlor bombing, are also kept here, with occasional clashes between them and Jewish prison inmates.

Prison authorities try to offer educational and vocational courses to prepare their ‘guests’ for living in normal society, once they are released. Even if the inmates do learn a skill, such as sewing or even electronics (including computer programming), being accepted for employment by many employers is difficult at best. Finding a suitable place to live outside the prisons walls, especially if one has little or no money; is also a serious problem for these women who also need intensive emotional support as well. Lack of both often results in their returning to the only “security” they may have ever known.

Governmental authorities, particularly social service agencies, need to be more aware of and sympathetic to the needs of these women to prevent them from turning once again to crime and them returning back to prison walls. Many of these women may have much to contribute to society if they are only given a chance to ‘make it’ in the real world. If not given this chance, they have no alternative other than to return to prison life once again.

Israeli political and military leaders seem to the playing a continuing game of brinksmanship amid increasing calls for their resignation or dismissal. The most publicized ones, including President Moshe Katsav, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert,
Defense Minister Amir Peretz, and Army Chief of Staff Dan Halutz continue to be bombarded by public criticism, despite their attempts to appear to be conducting “business as usual”.

President Katsav, for example, tries to keep himself before the public eye, including appearances and events such as the recent ceremony memorializing the 11th anniversary of slain P.M. Yitzhak Rabin, despite many calls for him not to do so. One of his accusers in his sexual misconduct and rape allegations, known to the public as “A”, is still photographed regularly with her lawyer on the streets of Tel Aviv. He refuses to consider stepping down, at least for another six months.

Both Defense Minister Peretz, and Army Chief of Staff Halutz (see photo), are both on the receiving end on increasing flak following the deteriorating situation in Gaza, as well as due to the recent resignation of one of Israel’s top Northern Command officers, Brig. General Gal Hirsch. Hirsch specifically resigned his commission as a result of both Halutz’s handling of the war with Hezbollah, as well as his attempts to ‘white-wash’ the entire affair afterwards. Peretz, due to his lack of military competence and his inability to accept this fact, seems to be bombarded from all sides. This ‘bombardment’ is even becoming more intense due to the continuing launching of Kassam rockets by the Palestinians which caused the death and serious injury today of two Sderot residents. Sderot, being Amir Peretz‘ home town, has become his “albatross”, even as much or more so as the recent war in Lebanon. Few, if any Sderot residents want to have anything to do with him.

As for the “guy at the top”, P.M. Olmert, with whom the ‘buck’ is supposed to stop, as U.S President Harry Truman used to say, he continues to try to perform the most brinksmanship acts of all. His current trip to the U.S.A., for example, which was not only very badly timed, but which doesn’t appear to be accomplishing anything, only adds insult to injury to his already shaky position; and makes him in line to be part of the increasing ‘domino effect’ which will accelerate rapidly should Chief of Staff Halutz be the next one to step down.

Olmert didn’t waste any time leaving Washington following his short stay there, including his meeting with President Bush; himself in an uncomfortable position following the Democratic Party sweep of both Houses of Congress. A former aspiring U.S. Presidential candidate, billionaire IBM magnate H. Ross Perot used to say that if elected President he would “take a shovel and a broom and clean up Congress”. While this feat may have partially been accomplished in the recent U.S. midterm elections, it hasn’t been done yet in Israeli politics. And with all the recent goings on in Israel’s current government, especially those mentioned above, one wonders when some of this ’shoveling and broom sweeping’ will take place in Israel as well.

With all that’s currently transpiring, it’s sorely needed.

Photo: The Jerusalem Post

Yakshemash! Borat Sagdiyev, who comes from where people are addicted to horse urine and rape, incest and dog-killing, has the power to change the Kazakh culture, and perhaps even of the whole Eastern-European area, where the new film about his adventures is banned.

Could Jewish British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen have imagined the impact of his nonsensical fictional character would be as strong? Beginning his career as a complete nobody, he somehow got to perform as what has become his alter-ego Ali G, a gangsta-wannabe, who very slyly tricked extremely influential people in the UK into saying some really embarrassing things.
In “Da Ali G Show” (first in the UK in Channel 4, then coming to the US, with HBO), Ali G got most of the attention, a quite successful film, a substantial fan base and has even coined some new terms (try consulting the fan-made Da Ali G Translator). In the same show along with the chauvinist, ill-dressed self-claimed rapper Ali G, and the not-so-bright gay Austrian fashion reporter Brüno, there was Borat. Also very ill-dressed and ill-mannered, Borat did and said absolutely everything prohibited, but most of the time got away with it thanks to his (seemingly) childish naïveté.

These days it is good old Borat – a fictitious character, yes? – who has quite a few big enemies. It’s funny to see how his anti-Semitic statements and the obviously imaginary things he tells of his “homeland Kazakhstan” are ridiculously taken all too seriously, especially when they are coming from a Jewish person who mumbles in a Hebrew-based gibberishy language. And, as low as some of his jokes can sometimes get, dis geeza Baron Cohen ain’t thick at all. Respect.

Check out his new film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, and being scheduled to arrive in Israel, we’ll soon get to hear what he has to say about us, too.

Ever wake up one morning and find that you car is ‘missing’ from its parking place? This unfortunate circumstance occurs to more than one hundred persons every day all over Israel; and the situation appears to be getting worse despite more sophisticated alarm and immobilizing devices being installed by the car owners. Israeli insurance companies are the big losers in this game of ‘hide and seek’ as less than 20% of these stolen vehicles are ever found. Recent statistics by the Police Stolen Autos Division show that most of these cars are stolen between the hours of 4 p.m. to midnight (54%), with only 19.5% being pinched from 00:00 to 7:00 a.m.

The average age of the stolen vehicle is 5 indicating that these cars are being dismantled and sold for spare parts. The burnt-out or dismantled car bodies often found in orchards and other remote spots testify to this fact as many older cars are worth much more dismantled than whole! The stolen car of choice is still the Subaru, being easier to break into than many other models. More than 3,980 Subarus have been stolen this year alone. Following up are Mitsubishi (1,965), Mazda (1,953) and Fiat (1,572). 53% of all cars stolen come from the country’s center with 885 being pinched in October alone. New cars require special ‘homing devices’ to be installed to make locating them easier. These devices, which are very expensive, don’t seem to slow the thieves down, as more than new 700 Mazdas have been stolen this year alone.

‘Private’ vehicles are desired more than commercial types (vans, trucks etc); though more commercial vehicles are disappearing as well. Along with these, a large number of two-wheeled vehicles (motorcycles and ‘vespas’) are being stolen.

An increasing number of cars are being stolen following homes being broken into by thieves and car keys stolen along with other household items. For this reason, both the police and insurance companies have been advising people not to keep keys and remote control car opening devices in places where they can be found easily, such as hanging by the front door (many people really do keep their keeps there).

Car leasing companies are taking a big knock from this problem since many of the late model vehicles currently on the roads are leased by companies for their employees. Though the lessee customer is required to pay for insurance, the leasing company is still the registered owner of the stolen vehicle, and therefore the one who loses out – along with the insurance company, of course.

Some ‘reprieve’ may be in store, for the insurance companies anyway, as beginning in January, 2007, the government will levy much higher taxes on the use of lease cars, making their use much more expensive for company employees. That won’t help a lot, however, as ‘lease cars’ are newer, and less desirable for thieves who steal them for dismantling into spare parts.