Englishman in New York

My parents and I were privileged to peek inside the Beth Hamedrash Hagadol synagogue, in the Lower East Side, today. It houses America’s oldest Orthodox Jewish Russian congregation (founded in 1852) and, as is obvious, is based in the former Norfolk Street Baptist Church.

The church was converted into a synagogue in 1885. Sadly, it is desperately in need of repair. More on this later, but for now follow this link for a spectacular view inside.

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Having visitors in town is the perfect excuse to be a tourist in New York. Yesterday afternoon I took some time out to join my parents at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Every visit is special, not least because I always discover something new. This time it was Diane Arbus.

Lady on a bus, N.Y.C. 1956
Copyright © 1986 The Estate of Diane Arbus, LLC

Two ladies at the automat, N.Y.C. 1966
Copyright © 1980 The Estate of Diane Arbus, LLC

The exhibition was huge. We spent about an hour there and only managed to cover somewhere between one half and two thirds of the photographs and displays. If you’re in New York before May 30th, I recommend checking it out. Here is the link to the exhibition on the Met website. And here are some photographs I took in Central Park yesterday afternoon. They bear no resemblance to the Arbus pics but the show did inspire me to want to keep snapping.

Man on bench by Cleopatra’s Needle, Central Park

Statue of King Jagiello, Turtle Pond, Central Park

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Yes. Yes. Yes. Engage! (Hat tip: Normblog.)

Engage was set up in response to the Association of University Teacher’s decision to take steps towards an academic and cultural boycott of Israel:

Engage opposes Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. We are in favour of the foundation of a Palestinian state alongside the state of Israel. We do not believe that Israel is an ‘illegitimate state’. We are for reconciliation between Israeli Jews and Palestinians.

1 . Engage opposes the idea of an academic or cultural boycott of Israel.·

2 . Engage aims to encourage, facilitate and publicise positive links between Israeli, Palestinian, British and global academia. Engage is for closer engagement, not boycotts.

3 . Engage stands up against antisemitism in our universities, in our unions and in our students unions.

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Arianna Huffington launched her new blog venture, the Huffington Post, yesterday. The site doesn’t go public until next month but it started in silent mode yesterday and a preview has been kindly republished by the Guardian. Here are some excerpts (full article is here):

Does anyone know how to get red wine stains out of a wool carpet? posted by NORMAN MAILER on Mon May 9 at 10:14 PDT
I’m screwed if my wife sees this. I’m not even supposed to drink in that room. I’ve been scrubbing but that just seems to spread the stain around. A quick answer would be most appreciated.

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I think I’m going to run for president, posted by WarrenBeatty on Mon May 9 at 10:39 PDT
You heard it here first, people. The official announcement will be on Jay Leno on Wednesday. Most of you know that I’ve been actively interested in politics for many years, but recent events in our country have finally made me realise that someone has got to take a stand. I know I can count on your support. Oh hang on, I’ve got a fridge being delivered that day. Forget about it.

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This is so blogciting, posted by Tina Brown on Mon May 9 at 11:04 PDT
Today we are entering a new paradigm: the energy and passion that I see on this mega-blog will ensure that it becomes not just the premiere electro-salon of the liberal elite, but the soul-search engine for the entire Alter-net. In today’s fast-moving, cross-pollinating media perfect storm we don’t always want considered essays or spelled-out arguments. Sometimes we just want to say “Bush sucks”. Although his wife is really sweet.

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Re: Does anyone know how to get red wine stains out of a wool carpet? posted by BarryDillerCEO.IAC/InterActiveCrop on Mon May 9 at 11:17 PDT
pour white wine over it & then blot GENTLY with a clean cloth. Rinse with warm water & repeat until gone. Whatever you do, don’t rub. Who’s got a good sourdough bread recipe, btw? The last loaf I made was like a paving stone.

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I know I’m just providing the megaphone but. posted by “Huff” on Mon May 9 2005 at 11:34 PDT
perhaps I could suggest a topic? The president’s proposals for private investment accounts are aimed at improving the long-term solvency of social security, but does it come at too high a price, namely sacrificing the commitment to guarantied benefits?

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Dear hopeless liberals, Posted by David “Axis of Evil” Frum on Mon May 9 2005 at 11:45 PDT
Unless you got to that stain right away, white wine ain’t gonna do jack. You need BLEACH and plenty of it, and you need to rub hard. Hope this doesn’t shatter your cosy little worldview.

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Whoops! The fridge is coming today! Posted by WarrenBeatty on Mon May 9 2005 at 13:09 PDT
They just called. So I guess I can announce my candidacy on wed after all, but now I don’t really feel like it. Hi Gwynnie! Hi Norman! What’s everyone having for lunch?

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May 3: What a fool! This thing was a spoof! I hang my head in shame…

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It’s a cheap shot but I am going to go for it anyway. My mum (visiting NY for the first time) gets all the credit for spotting this in Trump Tower today. Perhaps it won’t be so amusing for US readers, but Trump: The Fragrance would not go down too well in the UK where trump means this:

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I write to express dismay and opposition to the decision taken by the AUT to sever links with Haifa and Bar-Ilan universities.

This boycott fails to recognise the continuous democratic processes and discussions within Israel, where brave voices are constantly raised against the actions in Palestine; it glides over the effects of the barbaric suicide attacks on the streets of Israel and the unremitting threats from Arab states that they will destroy Israel; it is wrong because it denies the hard-won freedom of international academic discourse; and, as far as Britain is concerned, it denies freedom of speech, which is a gift for extremists everywhere.

I have no doubt that the AUT’s decision was sincerely taken, but I believe it is dangerous and misguided.

Melvyn Bragg

London

(from the Guardian Newspaper)

And in case we needed proof that the organizer of this boycott is not the most balanced of people. Here’s the great Sue Blackwell in the same letters pages today:

Michael Kustow (Letters, April 23) challenges my description of Israel as “an illegitimate state” (Report, April 22). How can any state be legitimate that is founded on ethnic cleansing (which Kustow accepts took place)? I would have said the same about apartheid South Africa. I look forward to a Holy Land in which people of all races and religions have equal status under an inclusive constitution - like South Africa today.

Sue Blackwell

Birmingham

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These are dark days for British academe.

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Well, I made it through. The painkillers meant that waking and sleeping have not been much different the last couple of days. Somehow, I managed to put the remaining blog interviews together today and yesterday to beat my deadline. Come to think of it, I can’t believe I managed to conduct a telephone interview on Friday afternoon, four hours after having my teeth taken out. Luckily, my subject couldn’t see me or she may have been less than impressed. Thankfully, the swelling on my jaw has shrunk considerably, as has the swelling on my back from when I passed out in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The following week will be busy. My parents arrive for a week-long visit tomorrow and I am anticipating a deluge of last minute revisions before the book is put to bed next weekend. I’m going to try taking myself off the painkillers tomorrow just so that I can get some work done with a straight head. All of this, of course, is a precursor to the usual lame excuse that blogging could be erratic over the next week. But there you go. You have been warned.

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I just had two wisdom teeth pulled. Ouch. I had an infection in one of them, so I’m not really in the mood to blog today. Aprt from this sympathy-seeking post. More later…

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