Lord! Now it's Michael Jackson! by Arlene Peck

Arlene Peck

Lord! Now it's Michael Jackson!

By Arlene Peck

November 23, 2003

It's getting downright embarrassing. I'm supposed to have a handle on the "Hollywood Crowd" and what makes them tick. After all, for the past twelve years I've had a celebrity interview show, here in Los Angeles, and every Monday night, "Wow! It's Arlene Peck!" has been running. There I am asking them their innermost secrets. In fact, at the moment, I'm billed as the celebrity Coordinator" for the Second Annual Medal Awards dinner, which is another one of those "Victims of Arab Terror" events that we seem to be having all too often. The underwriter of this moving event once again is Rabbi Kashani who is also the same outstanding man who is bringing the play, "Golda" to Broadway soon.

But, to tell the truth, even though this particular dinner is Israel- related because the good Rabbi is bringing in about thirty children and their families who have been bombed by these Arab murderers, it's difficult to get too much attention out here. After all, there are more important things to focus media attention, Michael Jackson's plane is leaving, or arriving, or someone in his family wants to talk on camera.

The world could be crumbling, and is, but nothing is more important, it seems, than Michael Jackson. Last week it was basketball player, Kobe Bryant, and before that the Laci Peterson murder trial. Our media gets a hold of a celebrity scandal and forgets to the detriment of the public, anything else that might be happening in the world.

When the Jews were destroyed during the Holocaust, television hadn't come into existence and the internet hadn't been created yet. People waited for the news reels in the movies to see what was happening. But, today, we have the round-the-clock and around-the-world news but what we see is garbage.

We, in this country, have gotten so 'politically correct' that the core of world terrorism isn't admitted or acknowledged. Terrorists are continually described as 'militants', 'insurgents' 'activists' or Senior Hamas Leaders. Everyone knows that savages that roam cafes, schools and board busses to blow up everyone in sight are not someone committed to 'suicide' but they are murderers. Yet, these Homicide bombers, because of political correctness, are somehow given 'equal time'. The press will shortly after their carnage do a 'special' on the poor Palestinian and how living is has been harmed because he can no longer go to his olive trees which were cut down because they were giving terrorists refuge.

It's almost gotten to the point that I'd almost rather see that garbage than the constant trivial breaking news of what Hollywood celebrity is doing their latest news making event. I spoke on a Christian radio show (Jerusalem Radio Network... www.frontpagejerusalem.com) recently. It's syndicated in almost a hundred stations and they, as a supposed "celebrity expert" were asking me, "Who in Hollywood is supporting Israel?" The worst part was, of the few that I could think of, (and there were very few) I couldn't think of one who is speaking out for Israel. The best I could answer them was that they are so assimilated out here with Barbie Doll trophy wives, that they have no conception what "Jewish" is. Most couldn't find Israel on a map.

Truly, it makes me nauseous when I see people being honored constantly at events out here, not because they have worked for Israel or whatever cause they're promoting. They're accepting a plaque because their business manager called and arranged that if they sold enough tables for the event, they could walk away with the 'honor.'

The anti-Semitism in Europe is chilling but where are the cries from our country and others about the pre-Nazi Germany situation that is brewing now? Jewish day schools are being burned, the same for synagogues and yeshiva children are being advised to wear their yarmulkes under something else in order to avoid 'confrontation.' The situation is scary and getting worse while we are fed a daily diet of Michael Jackson and the movie star of the week who is getting their fifteen minutes of constant fame.

Frankly, I have mixed feelings in some ways about the stupidity of our press. Actually, while everyone is so busy covering trivia, they aren't paying attention to Israel, or her problems. If Sharon and his government were smart, this would be the time to go in transfer all of their neighborhood terrorists out of the country and nobody would notice. They'd still be covering the latest in Michael Jackson's or basketball player, Kobe Bryant's case.

While synagogues are being bombed and worshipers slaughtered in places like Turkey, the European Union shelves their reports on anti-Semitism because they conclude that the Muslims and pro-Palestinian groups were behind most of the incidents it examined. They are blind to the growing fears that there is an upsurge of anti-Semitism in their countries. Yet, when I was recently in Poland and Romania, I couldn't turn on a television show or see a news paper without "Arnold" and the stories of his groping twenty-six women. The BBC and International CNN were probably giving non-stop coverage to Britney Speer's breast enhancement the same day that two Istanbul synagogues were destroyed by a terrorist's truck bomb that killed 25 and wounded 300. After all, which is more important?

Lately though, I'm seeing signs that our media, along with our government, might be having an identity conflict. A recent Los Angeles Times had an article, "U .S .Seeks Advice from Israel on Iraq." American reporters just don't 'get it'. While they described how "As the occupation grows bloodier, officials draw on an ally's experience with 'insurgents'. So, while the LA Times reporters report on America's "occupation" and the "insurgents" who are killing our soldiers, they also reluctantly wrote how U.S. Army commanders, Pentagon officials and military trainers are being forced to have Israel teach us everything from how to set up roadblocks to the best way to bomb terrorists hide-outs in an urban area. Of course they referred to them as 'guerrillas.'

So, I suppose, it's a lot easier to report on Michael...and Kobi...and Robert Blake rather than draw any comparison between what we say is the liberation of Iraq and what the rest of the world has condemned as Israel's "illegal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip." However, now that the shoe is on the other foot and the United States is forced to learn from the Jewish State in tapping into their experience in dealing with domestic terror, urban terror, military operations in urban areas and all the rest of the tactics which Israel has taught us in fighting this evil culture. Now that American soldiers are adopting the same defense measures such as increased use of airpower, aerial surveillance by unmanned aircraft of suspected sites and the leveling of buildings used by suspected terrorists, it should be interesting to watch. Wow, G.I Joe is even beginning to pinpoint and search and seizure operations just like the Israelis which is something that we were so critical of not so long ago.

Looks to me folks, like you better fasten your seat-belts. It's going to be a bumpy road ahead.

ARLENE PECK is an internationally syndicated columnist, television talk show hostess and a regular writer for JewishIndy.com. She can be reached at bestredhead@earthlink.net.

Visit Jewish Indianapolis

See Judiasm versus Deism and Gnosticism

Back to
Article list for this section.

Guestbook

Killing Children

George Bush Defends Saudi Terrorism

Palestine Myth Debunked

Arlene Peck on Arabs

Muslim Immigration Must be Halted

Visitors since
March 2002