Tikun Olam-תקון עולם: Make the World a Better Place

One of my informants provides the welcome news that Masada2000 is down once again. And it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving hate site. Unfortunately, I can’t tell whether his web host or his domain registrar took him down.

Two rabbis in a tub: M2K’s homophobic attack on Michael Lerner and Zalman Schachter, who ordained him

Doing some research the other day, I discovered that the site owner actually threatened and harassed Michael Lerner according to In These Times:

In May [2001]…Masada2000 listed Lerner as one of “the five most dangerous Jewish enemies of the Jewish people,” and posted detailed driving directions to his home address. Draped in guillotines, nooses and racist language, the site repeatedly stated: “If you’re ever in the San Francisco area, drop in on him at his home.”

Predictably, the death threats and hate e-mails started pouring in–more than 60 to date. Late-night calls also drastically increased. “Both my wife and I were extremely scared,” Lerner says.

So when the same bully threatened in a comment to this blog “We are going to have fun sewing your foreskin back on, Dickie” I felt I was in good company. Like Lerner, I reported the threat to the local authorities in order to have a police record of his brutishness.

With his fake blog intended to harass me taken down by Blogger after multiple DMCA violations and now Masada2000 down, the air’s smelling a whole lot nicer.

Returning to Lerner, it’s interesting to see that no less a Jewish “eminence” than Cynthia Ozick has adopted Masada2000’s views of Lerner (though with a tad more literary elegance). At the recent CAMERA conference, whose purpose was to ferret out Jewish “defamers” of Israel, Ozick called Lerner to task (Ben Harris called it a “tour de force” denunciation though that phrase says more about Harris’ sympathetic views of Ozick than it does about the actual quality of her argument) for being defamer number 1 on the Jewish far-right’s list. In fact, her speech could’ve been titled “Michael Lerner: How Do I Hate Thee, Let Me Count the Ways:”

Ozick reserved particular vitriol for Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of the left-wing journal Tikkun and a frequent critic of Israel.

After ridiculing him as a “garrulous mime,” questioning the validity of his rabbinical ordination, and slapping him with a flurry of unflattering adjectives — chaotic, disorganized, self-contradictory, puerile, and unbearably long-winded, to name but a few — Ozick accused the yarmulke-wearing rabbi of providing Jewish sanction to some of Israel’s most implacable foes.

“Only imagine Karl Marx davening and you will comprehend the dazzlement of Rabbi Lerner’s current achievement,” Ozick said.

Lerner is “one of a growing band of ambitious, self-touting Jews whose hostility to the State of Israel more and more takes on the character of the spite that kills,” she said. “The noise they make they call a silencing. The debate they attract they call a censoring.”

I rather like “garrulous mime” as I too find qualities of Lerner which are annoying or self-defeating (”defaming Israel” is certainly NOT one of them) including his propensity for pomposity, self-regard and volubility. But to mention Michael Lerner in the same breath with Karl Marx only shows how pathetically deluded Ozick is and how hysterical her political world view is. The fact that she and Masada2000 share the same view of Lerner tells us reams about Ozick and CAMERA and almost nothing about Lerner.

Blogger wipes the slate clean of hate

If Masada2000’s owner were Derek Jeter, he might be out of a job or at least on the bench. Lately, things haven’t been going well for him as he’s batting 0 for 2. He’s now on his third webhost in six months having been bounced from two previous ones because of the pathological hate it espouses. And now he’s faced another defeat.

Some time ago, he took umbrage with my attacks on one of his allies, Rachel Neuwirth and created a fake blog supposedly written by and about me. Among the illegal things he did was to display images of me in violation of copyright. I tried persuading Blogger to take down the site because of its multiple violations of Blogger Terms of Service. That didn’t work. So I resorted to filing DMCA complaints about each copyright violation. And there were many. Yesterday, I filed my third. I guess Blogger too was getting tired of the M2K hate machine or tired of removing infringing photos, because they wiped the entire site clean. There’s now a placeholder blog there with no content.

Poor M2K. Where will the bullies turn next?

To be fair, I should thank Blogger. I haven’t been kind to them in discussing their refusal to honor their own TOS regarding this site. Whatever motivated them to do the right thing (maybe it was a lawyer’s letter), I welcome it.

UPDATE: I take back anything good I said about Blogger. Turns out they removed the site’s content but didn’t prevent the owner from accessing the site. So all the content including the infringing photo is back up again. Amazing that Blogger lets someone get away with this despite the fact that it sets them up for potentially huge DMCA liability.

Now, we add Aussie Dave of Israellycool as a new honorary member of the right-wing pro-Israeli cyber-bully fraternity attempting to intimidate Tikun Olam with threats of lawsuits. Yesterday, Dave weighed in on my comment thread about an old incident that still rankles him. One thing led to another and before the night was out Aussie Dave had really worked himself into a lather. Looks like the guy really, really wants to sue me.

It goes back to a series of posts I wrote here attacking his administration of the Jewish and Israeli Blog Awards (JIB) nearly two years ago. I claimed then that the competition was structured either intentionally or unintentionally to guarantee that right-wing blogs like Little Green Footballs, Treppenwitz and several others would win in many categories (and guess what–they did!). I think I used the term “nepotism,” by which I meant that the Awards seemed like they were “all in the family” so that blogs reflecting Dave’s ideological viewpoint would be almost guaranteed to win. I complained there were few left of center blogs nominated. I complained that the Awards seems designed for pro-Israel boosterism. In my specific critique of the nominated right-wing blogs I included Israellycool and what I thought was a particularly condescending post Dave wrote defining what a “good Arab” is.

Dave, who is very thin-skinned and self-absorbed, accused me of calling him “corrupt” and a “racist.” We had a long, knock down drag out argument in which I explained that I never wrote the word “corrupt” and didn’t intend to claim that he had accepted money or conducted the Awards immorally as that word tends to connote. This didn’t satisfy Dave, of course. He has this habit of taking things you say and upping the rhetorical ante as lawyers tend to do. I accuse him of “nepotism.” To Dave, that becomes a charge of “corruption” despite my explicit denial that this is what I intended.

As for the “racist” claim, Dave doesn’t like most Arabs or Palestinians. Especially not ones resisting the Occupation. Dave doesn’t even oppose the killing of innocent civilians during targeted assassinations (”…this does not mean that I oppose all targeted killings where innocent people are inadvertently killed”). There are a few good Arabs for Dave. They’re the ones like Nona Darwish, Walid Shoebat and Tawfiq Hamad who attack their religion (or former religion) as corrupt and embrace Israel as a light unto the Middle East (”Yunis Owaidah [is] a PLO Arab who is proud of the fact that he “collaborates” with Israel”). You can call such an attitude toward Arabs whatever you like–extreme condescension, cultural arrogance, etc. But I’d call Dave an Islamophobe at the least. Some people might use a stronger word. And if you look at what I wrote in context, the owner of Jewlicious accused me in the comment thread of claiming Dave was a “raving genocidal racist.” I denied the first two words of that phrase, but not the last.

In writing this JIB series, I found a picture of Dave at the PJM site, where he was then affiliated as a resident blogger (he is no longer affiliated and claims that he resigned rather than was dismissed by PJM). As I periodically do with a relatively small minority of my posts, I displayed his image with one of my JIB posts. Dave told me in no uncertain terms that he didn’t like the caption. But he NEVER told me he owned copyright; NEVER told me to take it down; NEVER filed a DMCA or Cease and Desist order which provides legal notice that you wish someone to remove something that violates copyright. I assumed that PJM owned copyright to the image since I found it there. To be fair, Dave claims that he said at his site that he wanted the image taken down (though I’ve never seen the link). Why he would assume I would read it there is beyond me since I make it a point of never visiting his site unless I really have to do so. Besides, this would not constitute a fair notice of copyright infringment.

A month ago or so I challenged Dave and Jewlicious to disassociate themselves from Steven Plaut, who’d quoted their previous attacks on me at the fake blog Plaut created in my name. Dave, of course, dismissed my anger over Plaut’s defamation as trivial. Instead, Dave complained once again about the image (over 15 months AFTER the image went up at my site). I replied, if the picture bugs you so much why didn’t you ever ask me to take it down. He said, now that you mention it it does bug me and take it down or I’ll sue. I did take it down for a time. But his braying attitude annoyed me so, that I decided to obliterate his image and display a black space where his face had been, saying in the caption that the image didn’t refer to anyone mentioned in that post. This was lame and I shouldn’t have done that. I should’ve removed the image and left it at that as Dave demanded.

Now, there is no image at all displaying at that post. But again, until a few weeks ago Dave has never made any specific claim of copyright infringement either legally or otherwise. Now, he’s itching to sue me. And he reminds me how formidable an opponent he’s likely to be. Here are some of his promises/threats. They start at shouting level and get progressively shriller:

You said I was booted from PJM and this is a LIE!

What kind of person throws an allegation to the public, and then tells the subject “Prove otherwise.” And if that wasn’t bad enough (from moral, ethical, and halachic perspectives), you ban the subject so they can’t even prove otherwise (and I have email exchanges to prove otherwise which I will likely post on my blog to show what a liar you are).

By the way, I AM a lawyer and I am compiling some of your defamatory statements about me (incl. accusing me of being corrupt wrt the JIBs and making an agreement with LGF, accusing me of racism) which I will be reviewing. And don’t bother trying to change the offending entries…I have a nice catalogue of screenshots and archived posts.

I am seriously considering making an example out of you.

To which I replied:

I’ll post anything at my site that would prove what you said is true. I just won’t publish yr comments calling me a liar.

I can’t believe you’d do something as foolish as trying to take me to court. But it’s yr call. I have both a Seattle and Los Angeles law firm already representing me. A lawsuit would provide me with a great megaphone to both defend myself and let the larger world know about my blog.

His response:

Did you hear what I said? I AM a lawyer. I am glad you have a law firm representing you, since when sued, it is your right to have one. Just know that I am a very good lawyer, and will take you to court if I believe I have a good case, and will achieve my objectives.

To which I replied:

So you’re a lawyer. So you’re a very good lawyer (if you do say so yourself). You want me to shiver in fear? Forget about it. If you have a good case, then you go right ahead. I’ll be waiting. You can say anything you want in an e mail. A judge will hopefully hold you to a higher standard.

His final ‘bloodcurdling’ reply:

Don’t worry, I will.

As best I can see these would be his grounds, I displayed an image of him that he knew all along was on my blog; and it took him well over a year to request that I take it down, which it now is. I’m a lying hypocrite. I accused him of being “corrupt” (which I didn’t). And I called him a “racist.”

Some might see this as an attempt to punish me because I’ve written things about Aussie Dave he really, really doesn’t like. Some might see this as Dave’s attempt to squelch someone whose political views about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are anathema to him. With three websites displaying infringing images of me and two threats of lawsuits, some might see this as a budding alliance of pro-Israel right-wingers like Rachel Neuwirth, Steven Plaut, Jewish Task Force, Masada2000 and Jewlicious out to “get” someone whose blog has needled them for far too long (in their minds). I’m the uppity Jewish nigger (remember that slightly chilling phrase: “I’m seriously considering making an example out of you?”). I’m the nail that sticks up from the board that needs to get a good hammering back into its proper place. Or as Jewlicious’ owner wrote so charmingly at his blog, I’m that “whiny bitch.”

A chilly wind is blowing in the Jewish blogosphere.

UPDATE: Since originally writing this post, I have learned that an anonymous party claims ownership of the fake blog referred to above, furthermore stating that Steven Plaut has not participated in its creation. A reporter tells me Plaut has denied his involvement. So while I have no idea whether the anonymous party is being truthful, it is possible that Plaut is either not involved in the blog, is partially involved, or that the blog claimant is lying and Plaut is fully responsible. I don’t yet know for sure which is the case. My impression of Plaut’s authorship was based on the firm conviction of another victim of a very similar fake blog that Plaut was responsible.

This post will be part of my Dershowitz Watch series. Big Al has been tooting his big mouth again all over the place as is his wont.

The Forward notes his typically flamboyant rhetorical response to the vote by English university professors to support boycotting Israeli universities:

Alan Dershowitz, Harvard Law School professor and prominent pro-Israel advocate, said that to protest the vote he will attempt to mobilize 1,000 American university professors of diverse backgrounds to join him in declaring themselves honorary Israeli professors.

“I now consider myself an Israeli professor, and I will act as if I am an Israeli professor,” Dershowitz said. “If they boycott Israel,” he added, “they’re boycotting me.”

One has to admire Big Al’s attempt at pro-Israel solidarity. But really, it sounds a bit nutty to declare oneself “an honorary Israeli professor.” What does this mean in purely practical terms? How will you actually do anything to help Israel or combat the boycott? And does he really do Israeli professors or universities a favor in this? Does he really think that he is such a crucial figure that English academics will weep when they learn that they’ve lost contact with him? To me, this is just typical Dershowitz megalomania and self-aggrandizement.

I note with pleasure that this same Forward article utilizes my blog post (and credits Tikun Olam) about Yigal Arens’ being blackballed from an Israeli academic conference on web terrorism. I first learned about the story from Akiva Eldar in Haaretz and most recently Muzzlewatch.

Muzzlewatch has some more luscious bits about Dersh that are too juicy to pass up. Apparently, distinguished evolutionary biologist Robert Trivers wrote the Harvard hack a personal e-mail attacking his piteous defense of Israel’s war against the Lebanese people. Trivers quoted the message in a separate Wall Street Journal letter:

“Regarding your rationalization of Israeli attacks on Lebanese civilians, let me just say that if there is a repeat of Israeli butchery toward Lebanon and if you decide once again to rationalize it publicly, look forward to a visit from me. Nazis — and Nazi-like apologists such as yourself — need to be confronted directly.”

Dershowitz was supposedly so alarmed that Trivers would come at him brandishing a dueling pistol that he reported the alleged threat to the Boston police. Harvard, in turn, cancelled a scheduled talk by Trivers in which he anticipated applying his award-winning academic research on self-deception to Dershowitz’s political views. Big Al says he had nothing to do with it. Given his sterling record of probity and rhetorical honesty, should we take him at his word?

Speaking as someone who is attacked & wished ill not only in this blog but in many other places on the web, I’d have to say that Dersh is pathetic in not being able to tell the difference between an unfortunate and overly dramatic attempt at a rhetorical flourish (on Trivers part) and a genuine threat. Methinks the big guy doth protest too much. He blows up Trivers comment into a physical threat to call more attention to poor old Al, victim of bigots and anti-Semites the world over.

On a related note, I find it ironic that Dershowitz is crying in his beer over Trivers’ abuse when the big man himself has been only too willing to defend ardently a particularly slimy attack by Kahanist Israeli academic, Steven Plaut, against fellow Israeli professor Neve Gordon. The latter wrote a favorable review of Norman Finkelstein’s Beyond Chutzpah in Haaretz. The aggrieved Plaut then tore into Gordon calling him a “Jew for Hitler” and another jolly Kahanist epithet, a “Juden-Rat” (get it?). Plaut also claimed Yaser Arafat was “Gordon’s guru” because the latter joined the Palestinian leader during a particularly nasty period of the Israeli siege against his compound.

To his credit, Gordon fought back and sued Plaut for libel and won. The judge awarded $18,000 to Gordon for his trouble. Plaut, who’d done his partner in hate (this is, Dershowitz) such a good turn in attacking Gordon, turned his back to Dershowitz for some “I’ll scratch your back if you’ll scratch mine.” The latter penned this typical poison pen letter (linked above) in the Jerusalem Post about Gordon’s court victory. It’s full of overblown rhetoric, innuendo, untruths and overstatements.
But hey, Al Dershowitz isn’t going to be stopped by a little thing called truth or fairness. Why be fair when you have a chance to knock a man over the head with a rhetorical hammer? I especially love this little number:

…If Finkelstein and Gordon aren’t themselves explicitly neo-Nazi, they’re at least very highly regarded by those who are - and for good reason

You notice that Al tiptoes up to that statement “If Finkelstein and Gordon aren’t themselves explicitly neo-Nazi…” before retreating a bit (but only a bit) by saying that they might as well be neo-Nazis since they’re allegedly beloved by them. This is of course ludicrous rhetorical argument. If I make an argument in good faith and someone I heartily disapprove of twists my argument into something I didn’t intend, am I responsible for such an abuse? To put it even more starkly: am I a neo-Nazi or as good as one if a neo-Nazi exploits my words for his own shady use? The answer is most emphatically No. To argue otherwise is intellectually bankrupt and disingenuous. One other rabid right-wing pro-Israel nut argues in precisely the same manner, David Horowitz and his slug/slimefest, Frontpagemagazine. I can remember the latter’s feeble attempt to call Brit Tzedek Jew-hating because a board member had been quoted at an Islamic website.

We should further note that one slimy hand washes another: Plaut has publicly taken up the cudgels against Norman Finkelstein in his current efforts to gain tenure at DePaul University with this beaut, The Second City’s Twin Academic Neonazis. Notice that while Dersh was too cute by half in his “neo-Nazi” claim, Plaut dispenses with any ambiguity and charges them outright with the “crime.” The chief campaigner against Finkelstein is none other than–you guessed it–Big Al. These hateful, defaming louts are one big happy tag-team wrestling family.

I guess I should consider myself in august company to have a defamatory website created by Steven Plaut to mock me: Little Dickie’s Diaper Droppings. I have a question for Professor Dershowitz though–does he really want to get into bed with lunatics like Plaut who use pornography (among other techniques) to defame their victims? Al should just be glad that Trivers didn’t write about him the porno poetry Plaut has fraudulently atttributed to me:

I’m a little jerkoff
That [sic] I shout
A know-nothing twit and
a terrorist no doubt
When I get “religious”
then I just
stroke my penis to see what comes out.

As to who’s stroking whom, I’d say there’s a lot more of it going on between Dersh and Plaut.

UPDATE: Since originally writing this post, I have learned that an anonymous individual claims responsibility for the fake blog and says neither Steven Plaut nor Rachel Neuwirth has participated. So while I have no idea whether this person is being truthful, it is possible that Plaut is either not involved in the blog, is partially involved, or that the blog claimant is lying and Plaut is fully responsible. I don’t yet know for sure which is the case.

The fake blog was created in the immediate aftermath of a series of posts I wrote criticizing Rachel Neuwirth,which leads me to believe that she has had some direct or indirect involvement in the creation of this website. Again, I cannot yet determine the full extent of that involvement though it appears likely to me there is at least some, if not a good deal.