53 thoughts on “StandWithUs Exploits Jerry Seinfeld in Pro-Israel Cause – Tikun Olam תיקון עולם إصلاح العالم
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  1. Suffice it to say, if Jerry Seinfeld spoke for any of the humans suffering under a SIX DECADE long brutal struggle for basic rights, he would be black-balled from an industry that is supposedly run by Eskimos and Eddie Murphy!

    “Free Markets” except when “you’ll never work in this town again!” Rick Sanchez and Helen Thomas are plotting terrorist acts against our Freedom of Speech! We must consult with Juan Williams — he has interesting analogies…

    …cue Hasbara reply, “NO POSTS FOR YOU!!!”

    1. Alan Rickman is an actor who has regularly spoken out on behalf of the Palestinian people and their suffering, yet he has had no trouble getting work – appearing consistently, for example, in those blockbuster Harry Potter movies. What actors have seen their careers suffer as a result of expressing such support?

      The industry that Jerry Seinfeld is employed by is run by whom exactly? You say it is “supposedly run by Eskimos and Eddie Murphy” (something I’ve never heard claimed before) – clearly this is meant sarcastically. So who is it you are saying runs the film and television industry? Are you willing to simply state what you mean without dancing around it with jokes?

      1. Bob, get off it already! You get this angry reference perfectly. Don’t lead us down your another tortuous quibbling path!

      2. Vanessa Redgrave was punished financially for this reason & has downplayed her involvement in the cause ever since. Regarding Rickman, you forget that the NY Theater Workshop refused to produce his play about Rachel Corrie. That damages one’s career.

        As for who runs the entertainment industry, I’m about as interested in this question as I am in bringing snow to Eskimos. I’d ask you and Red Pill to cease & desist on this completely uninteresting subject.

  2. Dear Mr. Silverstein,

    My name is Michelle Rojas-Tal. I am responding for one reason only and that is, what you have written is absolutely false. The Seinfeld Scholarship was an opportunity afforded to about a dozen NYC high school students based on their academic standing and financial need. My University scholarship had nothing to do with StandWithUs. I received my scholarship at age 18 and my employment with the organization began years later. I am quite proud of my work and we can simply agree to disagree about our opinions. But you have drawn false conclusions and assumed scenarios that are disconnected from reality which are wrong and defaming; from my personal achievement as an inner-city school student in NY to the charitable work of the Seinfelds. Dozens of NYC school students were blessed with the Seinfeld scholarship. We all come from different walks of life, religious and political affiliations and have ended up in professional positions in the business and non-profit world. My way to StandWithUs was not “paved” by anyone but my own initiative.

    Michelle Rojas-Tal,
    StandWithUs Israel Diaspora Education Director

    1. So you’re now claiming that this statement on the SWU site is either wrong or misleading?

      “Michelle began her work at StandWithUs in 2005 in Israel, as the Jerry Seinfeld Family Scholar.”

      You might want to correct this misimpression that’s conveyed by this statement.

      You exploit Jerry Seinfeld’s name both on the StandWithUs website & in presentations you make on it’s behalf. Even if Jerry Seinfeld gives no money to SWU, YOU are the one dragging his name into SWU’s work.

      Not to mention I’ve consulted figures at Pace & your account of yr classroom experience is fiction. Can you provide any credible supporting evidence for the story you tell? For example, one of the three faculty members you mention as having had involvement in your altercation. If you cannot it will damage your credibility as a mouthpiece for SWU.

        1. Reply Troll, try posting some of original content instead of acting like a court jester with the feigned stupidity routine asking pseudo-rhetorical leading questions. 😉

          1. My opinion is that the comments section of a site such as this is not for “original content” but rather for comments on the article posted (hence the title “comments section”). I try to ask clarification questions, point out possible inaccuracies, express support for positive developments and share any of my own insights on the matter at hand when applicable. I will also respond to comments from others that I disagree with or find confusing in some way.

            What you use this comment section for is your own business, but your kind of “original comment” is not really something I am interested in providing. I would also add that my question to you was not “pseudo-rhetorical” and I would love for you to spell out what you meant in your previous comment if you are willing to do so explicitly. It might help others who are reading the comments on this blog to get a better sense of where you are coming from and consider your remarks accordingly.

            If you would be willing to skip the jokes and deflections and just be forthright about your views, that would be terrific.

          2. @ Bob
            Yawn… Yeah, all your questions seem just so sincere and innocent.
            If you have no clue about which ethnic group is heavily overrepresented in Hollywood, you should read “An Empire of their Own: How the Jews invented Hollywood” by Neal Gabler. It’s not some antisemitic stuff, but an extremely well-documented book by a professor of Southern California University, cultural historian and film crtic. It won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, some years back.
            And also “Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People” by Professor Jack Shaheen of University of Michigan, the documentary based on his book is on the net. He makes the link between the vilification of Arabs in the film industry and Zionism.
            Come back afterwards and tell us you still don’t understand what OperationRedPill was hinting at.

  3. Richard, not unexpectedly, you pulled the response from the subject of you diatribe, Michelle Rojas-Tal, from your blog because it pointed out yet again your affinity for misrepresentations, suppositions, and unfounded claims. However, you left in your response, which, in or (as in this case) out of context, makes little sense.

    1. You liar. Either SWU or Rojas asked Dean Bible Ministries to delete these posts which were deleted 2 1/2 hrs ago. One hr before you posted your comment.

      But unfortunately for you, the post makes perfect sense with or without the evidence as my readers know you’re trying to pull a fast one & see you all for the cowards you are. You’re proud of spouting your propaganda till you’re found out. Then you run with yr tail bet yr legs to the nearest dark corner.

      Next you’ll claim that Dean pulled the video on their own with no direction fr Rojas or SWU. We know better.

      It’s great to know that SWU has such able liars as the two of you working for it.

      1. SWU is an arm of the Israeli government and a bunch of liars, not surprisingly. From their loathsome “Don’t Hate, Support Israel!” bs to this one, Rojas-Tal. It was partly the influence of SWU that led me to serious research and eventually to anti-Zionist positions and a much deeper, more consistent understanding of the history of Israel, the pseudo-nation dedicated to the destruction of Jewish ethics and the human conscience.

  4. I wasn’t talking about the video. I was talking about Michelle’s comment which appeared and then disappeared for a while right after your response showed up. It’s now back up again.

    Yet again, you vilify and recklessly and intentionally attempt to harm a good person’s reputation. As Joseph Welch stated to Joe McCarthy when he used your tactics, “[Y]ou’ve done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?”

    1. I don’t have the foggiest idea what you’re talking about. Her comment was moderated as all first time comments are. I approved it & it’s been published ever since. I never removed it. I always believe in giving the subjects of my blog posts the opportunity to respond in the comment thread. I would never censor such a person.

      Cut the crap, Jacobs. Any two bit huckster can quote Joseph Welch for just about any occasion, just as the Devil can quote Scripture. As for harming Rojas’reputation, she did that herself. The recklessness was in her exploiting Jerry Seinfeld’s name for partisan political purposes.

  5. In light of the update you’ve posted and considering the exchange you’ve had with the person in question, might it not be a good idea to change the title of this piece to something like: StandWithUs Director Exploits Jerry Seinfeld Connection or something along those lines? It does not seem to be the case that Jerry Seinfeld is himself a major StandWithUs donor and it may hurt your credibility to have such an accusation in the title.

    1. How do you know that Jerry Seinfeld was exploited? That is a false statement in the reverse and gives SWU basis of action against Richard.

      Richard, trim your grass lower as the vipers have learned to tread closer to the ground.

  6. I’m often amazed by these youngsters who grow up without any link to Israel and then suddenly they fall in love with the place, and become mouthpieces for everything Israeli. Sometimes I have the same feeling as when I see a very young woman with a very old – and very rich – man…
    Michelle Rojas-Tal’s description of how she became involved with Israel immediately after 9/11: that the whole world supported and showed solidarity with the States, and her mother telling her that such things happen every day in Israel. No less than that: every day is a new 9/11 in the State of Israel. And her description of two Americans killed for being Jews, only that, not that they were living in one of the most extremist settlements in “Judea and Samaria” as she said.
    I also think the case with Professor Aseel Sawalha smells. She’s a well-known professor of anthropology, and I found no trace of her being dismissed from teaching a course. I guess Rojas-Tal’s description of her teaching on the Farhud Pogrom is a distorsion. It looks like a remake of the libel against Joseph Massad, or the one against Nadia Abu El-Haj (where one of the main critics of her granting tenure lived in a settlement).

    1. DY are you trying to justify the henious murder of Koby Mandel and Yosef Ishran because of where they live??? I’m sure the animal that cowardly murdered these two young boys didn’t ask where they were from before he smashed their faces and murdered them in cold blood. And even if he did… are you saying it’s justifiable to murder somebody because of where they live…. a child? That’s just sick and if so you should be ashamed of yourself. These two boys were innocently hiking in the hills… VERY threatening, indeed.

      As for Tekoa as being so “extremist”… it is also the home of Rav Froman, who has done much for trying to bring dialogue between Palestinians and Israelis. He hasn’t been chased away by his fellow citizens.

      Lastly Rojas-Tal didn’t claim that the Professor was dismissed, rather prevented from teaching her unsubstaniated, and from what I’ve read about the Farhud- straight-out lie (if that is what indeed she said or claimed) in her class.

      1. First of all, you’re right: I mistook Tekoa for Kfar Tapuach which is one of the most violent settlements in the WB. Concerning Tekoa, though it’s the residence of Rabbi Froman, he’s not the only settler around, and this spring the settlers of Tekoa have prevented the population of the Palestinian village of Tekoa from reaching their farmland on various occasions.

        Don’t distort my words ! I didn’t justify anything ! I wrote that Rojas-Tal spoke of the two youngsters being killed “for being Jews”. Why didn’t she mention that “Judea and Samaria” is occupied Palestinian land ? Did her audience even know that ? And do you consider “Judea and Samaria” occupied Palestiian land ?

        Michelle Rojas-Tal claimed that after her intervention, Aseel Sawalha was prevented from teaching that subject for the rest of the semester. You think she only meant teaching about the Farhud Pogroms ? You think this course in anthropology on the Middle East had the Farhud Pogroms as a central topic ?
        I didn’t discuss the Farhud-Pogroms in themselves and if you believe Rojas-Tal’s resumé of Dr Sawalha’s comments on the Farhud Pogroms, it’s your choice. I don’t believe her ! I can’t imagine a university professor claiming that this was solely the work of the Mossad. I believe Dr Sawalha probably mentioned that there were different theories about who was responsible – and there are ! – and that was enough for a right-wing nutcase to protest. I have seen time and again how Zionist journalists are capable of distorting what is said during political meetings on Palestine, sometimes I even wonder if we’ve attended the same meeting.
        Maybe you should look into what happened to Professor Joseph Massad to get an idea of the methods of CAMERA and other Israeli watch-dogs on campus.

          1. How come I’m not surprised. And taking down the video after you exposed it, talks for itself. Why do so if it contained no lies ?

          2. The hysterical behavior they displayed after you posted this piece says it all.

          3. That’s right Mr. Silverstein, and you don’t even have the courage to allow the comment to be posted on your oh-so-fair-and unbiased blog site. Your lack of willingness to even allow a simple opposing opinion proves my point beautifully. You are indeed a sand lot bully. Shame on you.

          4. I didn’t publish your original comment because it was off-topic & trollish. But since you’ve goaded me here, I did publish it. But if you publish another comment in the same vein you will be moderated. Follow the comment rules & READ THEM.

          5. @ Richard
            I’m not sure but I think this is a response to my comment (after a certain amount of comments, there seems to be no direct reply any longer, they all come at the bottom).
            Yes, I think the abuse of the Seinfeld connection is worse than the lies about Sawalha as he’s a public figure in the States. And Rojas-Tal’s lies or distorsions about Aseel Sawalha were hidden in the middle of a video whereas the “Jerry Seinfeld Family Scholar” is/was available on a website. I’m really astonished by such chutzpah. I wonder whether Seinfeld knows/agree/doesn’t care.

        1. Re Tekoa, which I believe started out as an illegal outpost and ultimately became an illegal settlement, I have been encouraged to read of Rabbi Froman’s attempts at coexistence with those who own the land on which he and all other Israeli settlers live in Palestine. But Tekoa happens to be one of two Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine which it has been my misfortune to encounter rather too up close and personal. Shortly before I was attacked, beaten and robbed by settlers from Itamar – a particularly nasty lot – I was one of a small group of internationals helping Palestinian villagers from the Tekoa area as they attempted to harvest their olives. It was a significant event for the Palestinians, because after three years of being denied access to their lands and groves by the IDF, we internationals were able to help them finally get permission. They were ecstatic, because had they been denied this year they would have been considered to have abandoned their lands and would have lost ownership. Happily harvesting, under the watch of IDF in jeeps, we were suddenly confronted with a dozen settlers from Tekoa, armed with big guns and bigger attack dogs. The settlers began throwing rocks at us, and two of our group were injured. I was terrified they would release the dogs, straining at their leashes to get at us. Soldiers intervened by demanding we and the villagers leave. Wild West Justice Israeli style.

          1. I find this kind of personal narrative more moving and compelling than the big political stories. What is the role of internationals, how many are active, how are they organized, etc? How do they travel in and out of the WB? Mary, please provide an address or reference?

      2. This comment is propaganda, off topic & has earned you moderation. Read the comment rules, stay on topic & I will remove you from moderation. I object strenuously to you using my blog to promote pro Israel/anti Palestinian propaganda. Go elsewhere if that’s your purpose.

        1. No surprise response from you here. Just what exactly was my “propoganda”. And tell me how it is different when YOU make similar remarks to someone trying to “defend” the death of a Palestinian child (such as the time in a different thread about the poor Palestinain girl shot by an IDF officer near the Gaza border)?? How can it be off topic if I am responding to a comment made on this thread. Stop being so biased in your “rulings” about what people can say… I don’t think I am off topic any more than DY is, or other commenters who make remarks about things completely out of line.

          Please, if you’re gonna ride me like that (and apparently anybody who has a different viewpoint than yours) then do so just as steadfast for others who make more “off-topic” comments at Israel.

          I’m not trying to use your blog for anything other than trying to provide some perspective and balance on this topic. You have done so just as well when somebody belittles the death of a Palestinian and “justifies” the circumstances of their death… why cannot I do the same for the reverse situation?

          Do you dis-agree with what I said about the murders of those two boys?? Do you justify their murder because of where they happened to live??

          On another part of my comment… looking at Prof. Swalha’s credentials, I too see it hard that she would say what she did, which is why I mitigated my comment about her. I am interested in the truth just as much as anybody else. It would be worthwhile asking the Professor what she said/presented at that class for clarification.

          1. Michelle Rojas in her video spoke of the heinous acts of terror by Palestinians against Jews. Deir Yassin glancingly in no more than a few words referred to this in her comment, & then you regaled us with Israelis being murdered excruciatingly. Once again, this was OFF TOPIC. I never dealt with it in my post at all. If you want to introduce an extraneous topic like this, you risk restriction of yr privileges. Go back & follow the thread if you dare. If you want to sing that ol’ hasbara song you’ll have to do it elsewhere.

            You don’t need to give balance to anything. That’s the fatal flaw of yr approach. All you have to do is express your personal views & do so in accord with the comment rules. Thinking you have a mission here to do this or that is the wrong approach to commenting here.

            And stop bellyaching about my editorial policy. Adapt to it or not. But don’t whine.

            And if I tell you you’ve broken the comment rules & in yr next comment you continue dealing with & asking questions about the same subject, your comment will not be published. I’ve made an exception & published this because my own response would make no sense without it. But you will not be breaking the rules again if you continue disrespecting them.

          2. There is nothing of value in “providing balance” as the reality is totally biased and unbalanced. Your outrage at the deaths of two youths is pretty much nothing at all compared to the totality of crimes against Palestinians perpetrated by Israel. Israel is determined to destroy Palestinian life and take all the rights and property. It is not the other way round. So much for “balance.”

        2. Enough already guys. You all come across a little like a group of sand lot bullies who have singled out a lone female to pick on. From what I can see she’s not even a major player. She’s one advocate out of hundreds or thousands that speak on behalf of Israel. But what you’re doing seems like picking on a Yankee fan instead of the team, because you’re not tough enough to take on the team. Is bullying a woman really the best utilization of your astute and important time? I’m in agreement with a few of the other comments that suggest you lighten up, guys. And dragging Seinfeld’s organization into this is nothing more than after-the-fact guilt by association.

          1. Don’t be ridiculous. You’re talking to someone who has defended Israeli rape victims from their male attackers. Michelle Rojas is a victim of nothing but her own lies and fantasies. There are women here who have criticized her as well. Don’t turn this into a gender issue when it’s political. And stop being a gender troll. It’s transparent what you’re trying to do & it won’t work.

  7. RE: “Many of us were great fans of Seinfeld when it was on TV. But the Jerry Seinfeld of today is not something worthy watching or supporting.” ~ R.S.

    MY COMMENT: At least Larry David seems to be the real deal, and a regular stand up guy!

    FROM WIKIPEDIA [Seinfeld]:

    [EXCERPTS] Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld . . .
    . . . Larry David, the show’s head writer and executive producer for the first seven seasons, was praised for keeping a close eye on minor details and making sure the main characters’ lives remained consistent and believable. . .
    Much publicity followed the controversial episode, “The Contest”, an Emmy Award-winning episode written by co-creator Larry David, whose subject matter was considered inappropriate for primetime network television. To circumvent this taboo, the word “masturbation” was never used in the script itself, instead substituted by a variety of oblique references. . .

    SOURCE – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seinfeld

  8. DL: I doubt that anyone here wants to “justify” heinous crimes against people. Let’s bear in mind that the youngsters were occupiers in a land that is Palestinian and that such occupiers have been dispossessing these indigenous people for a very long time, demolishing their homes, restricting their travel, burning their trees, and…yes…killing them in similar heinous cowardly acts. Anyone resisting the occupation of their land by people with no modern ties to the land, has a certain wind at their back, protecting their land, homes, livelihoods, children, culture etc. All of this is trivialized reality by absurd programs like “Birthright” and Messianic religious extremism as though it is nothing for Jewish settlers in the West Bank to do whatever they want in “their” land. A “coward” is an armed IDF beating a Palestinian child — this is cowardice. And the word “dialogue”, however much we all wish this and want it, is a trap because it suggests a “dispute”, a fantasy that there are two contending parties disputing a problem as in a debate whereas the invasion and occupation of Palestine by Zionists, pushing out the indigenous people, does not create rhetorical rights or legal claims and therefore there is only one party to this dispute. Guns can create the reality “on the ground” but they cannot change the truth. Lies do not change the truth either. “Innocent” Palestinians are undone by settlers, IDF and the Israeli government of Israel on a daily basis without consequences: The boys are no more “innocent” than Palestinians protecting their homes in any way they can: Israel, after all, has all the fire power but little right.

    1. [This is your 3rd attempt to comment regarding an off topic hasbara-style issue. Do not try this again unless you wish to lose your comment privileges.]

  9. @ Davey: I was working with the International Solidarity Movement. After three days of non-violence training in Beit Sahour near Bethlehem, small groups of us were sent to areas where Palestinians were hoping to harvest their olives. My group was sent to the town of Taqua close to the Tekoa settlements. This was in October 2002, and my first encounter with settlers. After leaving Tekoa, my group was asked to proceed to Yanoun, a small village near Nablus which had for years been under siege by Itamar settlers. What happened there was documented, but insofar as reference to the Tekoa incident is concerned, I don’t imagine there is one. These incidents were already becoming commonplace, and long before social media they went largely unreported. I think Richard will attest to my credibility. Here’s a report of a recent similar incident:
    http://www.imemc.org/article/63463

    1. @Davey: As for how we travel to the West Bank, it has become very difficult. When I first went to Palestine, in April 2002, we were largely ignored by the IDF. I imagine they thought we would lose interest and stop coming. Once Rachel Corrie, Tom Hurndall and James Miller were murdered in Gaza in 2003 the situation changed, as Israel became concerned that Internationals, and the Israeli peace activists who worked with them and the Palestinians inside Palestine, were spreading word of the human rights abuses they were witnessing.

      1. Mary — thanks for the information. I will do some research and see what the status quo is for “on the ground” activism at this point. I’m really a bit old for harvesting, but I do want to participate in some fashion personally, physically and in situ.

          1. I would like to look into this option. If RS is willing, maybe pass the info through him. Thanks much.

        1. “I’m really a bit old for harvesting”. Yeah, we know, men always have excuses….
          Darna [our house] in Nablus was founded by a French-Moroccan human rights activist back in 2005, and they propose lots of different kinds of voluntering, also teaching (English, Spanish, and French).
          Their website: http://www.darna-nablus.ps
          You could also try to contact Vicky – who used to comment here. She’s from the UK but lived in Betlehem for a long time. I know she’s back in the UK to finish her Master but try to contact her at her blog Bethlehem Blogger. She has many contacts, particularly around Bethlehem, and I’m sure she would help you with advise and contacts too. And her blog is very interesting though I haven’t visited it for a while.

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