Syndication
Media
Q. Can I Take Off Work for ‘Kasha Varnishka’? A. Yes, But Not During Pesach
The New York Times Ethicist columnist fields a fun Jewish-related question this week.
Walter Henry of Downey, Calif., writes to him:
Years ago in Seattle I worked for an insurance company with just one Jewish employee, a good friend. He invented Jewish holidays, taking days off several times a year. As the only other employee at all familiar with Judaism, I could have finked on him or kept silent and been disloyal to my employer. I kept silent. Was that the right choice?
The Ethicist deems Henry’s choice “acceptable”:
Your coming forward was permitted but not required; you had no obligation to police the vacation requests of your co-workers (or to steer your friend to the path of righteousness). Of course, had you been asked directly if Kasha Varnishka was an authentic Jewish festival, you would have had to reply: yes, it commemorates the glorious victory of the Maccabees over a recalcitrant side dish.
Guardian Editor: Sorry About That 9/11-Jenin Comparison
The editor of Britain’s left-wing Guardian newspaper is saying sorry for a 2002 editorial that argued that “Israel’s actions in Jenin were every bit as repellent as Osama Bin Laden’s attack on New York on September 11.”
The editorial came in the wake of Israel’s military incursions into the Jenin, which sparked media reports — particularly in the British press — of mass-atrocities against Palestinian civilians. The reports, of course, ultimately proved to be unfounded.
“I take full responsibility for the misjudgment,” Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger said at the closing section of Britain’s Jewish Book Week, where he was speaking along with former Ha’aretz editor David Landau.
The Jerusalem Post has the story.
Hat tip: Little Green Footballs
Only in The New York Sun…
The following headline appeared above the fold on the front-page of New York’s (not so) covertly Jewish daily, the Sun: “Indyk Rushes To Ohio for Mrs. Clinton.”
For those for whom “Indyk” isn’t exactly a boldface name, let me put an end to your head-scratching: The “Indyk” to whom The New York Sun’s headline writer refers is Martin Indyk, director of the Brookings Institution’s Saban Center for Middle East Policy and a former American ambassador to Israel.
I love it when the Sun gets all Inside Baseball about Israel.
The funniest part is that Indyk is only mentioned once in the entire article. The article’s mostly about how Barack Obama is struggling to allay Jewish concerns about how he would handle Mideast policy while Hillary Clinton’s surrogates are trying to sell her as the safe choice.
