Quirky CornerMessianic (oxy)morons…
In a New York Times report on messianic Jews in Camden County, reporter
Andy Newman compounded the messy semantics associated with the very term
"messianic Jews."
Most Jews regard the wording of "messianic Jew" as oxymoronic. After all,
the Jewish religion in which I was raised does not acknowledge Jesus in any
way. Of course, belief in the birth, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus
forms the core of Christianity.
Newman recounted the successful protests of Steven Lubetkin, whose public
relations firm represents Temple Emanuel in Cherry Hill, to remove messianic
synagogues from the Verizon Camden County phone listing under "Temples &
Synagogues - Jewish."
In two references, Newman twists the oxymoronic term even further when he
writes of "non-Messianic Jews" and "non-Messianic Jewish Leaders."
"Newman!!!!!!" As Seinfeld would say, there is something wrong with that.
Some Jewish mother…
U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner drew some chuckles when he announced that he
would not contest Freddy Ferrer in a Democratic runoff primary for mayor of
New York City. Initially, unofficial figures showed that Ferrer narrowly
missed passing the 40 percent threshold in a four-way Democratic primary in
September required to avoid a runoff that would cost taxpayers at least $10
million.
Weiner, who won 29 percent, decided to toss in the towel and support Ferrer
for the general election against Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
However, state law requires a runoff if the top vote-getter cannot reach 40
percent, no matter what the second-place candidate does. Weiner, who lives
in the Forest Hills section of Queens, said he was seeking a legal means -
probably through a court order - to avoid a costly runoff.
"It’s not going to happen," he said as quoted in The New York Post.
"Even my mother is not going to vote for me if there is a runoff."
As it turned out, Ferrer received more than 40 percent of the vote once the
official count was made available, so no runoff was needed.
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