Shabbat Surfing: Spitzer-Free Links

Are we done with Client #9 yet? Can we stop with the references to Alexander Portnoy? Can we stop with the ruminations on the male Jewish id? And by the way, why doesn’t anyone compare the soon-to-be-former Governor’s exploits to more WASPy forerunners like British sex-fiends Anthony Lambton or John Profumo; or 2-dimensional Brenda Starr (courtesy of the City Desk)! And remember, Senator David Vitter, who is accused of similar offenses (although he has denied them) still sits in the US Senate. Then again, he’s from the Big Easy.

Moving on…

• Did we mention how excited we are about Regina Spektor? She’ll be headlining the free concert celebrating Israel @ 60 on June 1 with the Israeli rock band Mashina. Regina and Mashina. Say it a couple of times. It’s fun.
• It looks like Theater J will be able to edge-in on Michael Kahn’s turf with the recent suggestion that in-fact, Shakespeare’s plays were written by a Jewish woman.
• DJ Handler at Jewlicious shares the news that Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley is Jewish.  My first thought was that I can’t believe that members of my generation are behaving like my Great Aunt Helen. My second thought was, “Hey Jenny, whatcha doing June 1?”
• JTA’s Telegraph reports on MTV’s new Holocaust awareness ads, which rank high on the scare factor, but I wonder if other people will think its just B-roll from Children of Men or worse, V For Vendetta.
• InterfaithFamily.com is sponsoring a video contest looking for films that deal with anything from interesting interfaith wedding ceremonies to humorous shorts about the quirks of interfaith relationships. Top prize is $2500, which buys lot of gelt or stocking stuffers or Ganesh statues. Whatever you want.
• Finally, the 16th Street J’s Morris Cafritz Center for Community Service is sponsoring Spring Into Action – a day of environmental volunteer work on April 13 at Kennilworth Aquatic Gardens. You can register now to clean up trash from the river and wetlands, remove invasive non-native plants and renew recreation areas or even clean the river in a kayak!

Shabbat Surfing: These Are The People in Our Neighborhood

These Friday posts have become a nice way of looking out at the world beyond the 16th Street J. If I could summon an image for today’s post I would draw a circle around us at 16th and Q, then a slightly larger circle that would probably go north to R Street, then a  larger circle that would take in the entire District, another that encompasses the Beltway, then moves out to include Baltimore, and then after that, (why not) the whole world.

First, our neighbors National Museum of American Jewish Military History at 18th and R Streets were recognized in the Washington Post today for a new exhibit that documents the first protest against Hitler’s regime. Organized by Jewish American war veterans, the march took place  March 23, 1933, when Hitler had only been in power for three days, and led 6,000 people to City Hall in New York while a crowd of spectators 10 deep watched.

Our friends at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center will be presenting the New African Films Festival today through March 17. Tickets are still available for tonight’s opener, Ezra which will be introduced by Danny Glover.

This Sunday, the final episode of The Wire airs on HBO. We’re sorry to see the end of this quality series and reliable employer of many a DC actor trekking up I-95 to Baltimore for day-work. So is a blogger at JSpot, but she worries (with some reason) that the series may conclude by too simply pointing to a Jewish bogeyman.

Over the pond, in the U.K. a group of 14-year old Yeshiva girls refused to answer a question about Shakespeare on a national exam to protest the antisemitism in The Merchant of Venice. The true genius of this manuever was that the question on the exam was actually about The Tempest (which often gets accused of racism for its portrayal of Caliban). Meanwhile, around the internet, bloggers slapped their foreheads in dismay although the school’s principal, said he was “proud.”

Of course, our sympathies are with the family and friends of the 8 students murdered in the terrorist attack on the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Finally, with Purim just around the corner Shabot 6000 channels Kanye “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” West, for a new cartoon musical shpiel extravaganza! (Probably NSFW, unless your boss is like, totally cool.)