Tablet Magazine » Halloween

Halloween 2.0?

Stephanie Butnick — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:06:19 +0000

Purim, it seems, has become the new Halloween. The World International Zionist Organization has called for parents to boycott companies that sell revealing costumes marketed to young people, specifically naming Shoshi Zohar, a retailer whose 2012 Purim catalog, the Jerusalem Post reports, was deemed inappropriate:

It features 23 colorful pages of costumes for babies, young children and teenagers and seven pages of adult costumes. Of the adult costumes, the majority display various professions, animals or television characters and almost all include fishnet stockings, microscopic skirts and revealing tops.

One of the costumes, described in the catalogue as a “sexy cat,” includes a bondage mask and whip, while the “sexy policewoman” includes a latex bodice and handcuffs.

Zohar argued that her costumes offer options for both religious and secular buyers, but it doesn’t look like WIZO is buying it.

‘Pornographic’ Purim Costumes Cause Uproar [Jerusalem Post]

Amar’e Stoudemire Is Solomon for Halloween

Marc Tracy — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:00:20 +0000

YOU. GUYS. This, apparently, is kosher-keeping, Israel-touring New York Knicks star power forward Amar’e Stoudemire’s Halloween costume this year. (Full picture below—I think he’s wearing Tevas!) Much as Solomon traveled south to Ethiopia, according to Twitter Stoudemire is in Miami. He is practicing, he said, his “#deepvoice.” And here he is. It’s a sensationally appropriate costume. Consider:

• Solomon splits babies, Stoudemire splits double teams.

• Both traveled east to pursue success (respectively, the banks of the Euphrates and Madison Square Garden) after failing on a west coast (among the Philistines, with the Lakers).

• Both are notable writers (Song of Solomon, @Amareisreal).

• Both had codependent relationships with a Gentile from a northern country (Hiram and Steve Nash).

• Solomon is a man of the hills, Stoudemire a man of the low post.

• Both had sidekicks with funny names (Zadok, Carmelo) and eminent mentors (the Prophet Nathan, Anna Wintour).

• Both lust for an idyllic figure from the far south (Queen of Sheba, Chris Paul).

• Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines, Stoudemire scored 1,971 points last season.

• Relatedly: seven seconds or less.

So, happy Halloween to all. And Amar’e: please consider Moshe Dayan for Purim. You’d love the eyepatch.

(Thanks to Ben J., from whom I stole most of these jokes.)

Earlier: Stoudemire Not Jewish, But Still Kosher
Amar’e Stoudemire’s Excellent Israeli Adventure

Flesh and Blood

Vox Tablet — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 11:00:40 +0000

These days there is a lot to worry about: global warming, financial collapse, terrorism—you name it. For writer Max Brooks, the threat that trumps them all is zombies. He sounded a warning call about these walking dead in 2003 with The Zombie Survival Guide, followed three years later by World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, an immensely popular account of a massive zombie outbreak (the movie version, starring Brad Pitt, is due out in December 2012).

Brooks joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry on the podcast to discuss the perils of dressing up like a zombie on Halloween, the particular horrors that a zombie infestation represents to Jews, and the origins of his own zombie fears—traced to one fateful night circa 1985 when Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft opted not to hire a babysitter. [Running time: 14:40.]

Sundown: Bomb Plot Against Chicago Synagogues

Marc Tracy — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 21:00:46 +0000

• Packages in the cargo of a flight from Yemen, which were bound for two “Jewish places of worship” in Chicago, were found to have explosives, President Obama announced. [Bloomberg]

• Iran agreed to nuclear talks, which will probably commence next month. They will be the first in over one year. [LAT]

• “In my opinion, there’s only one Judaism. There are no three Judaisms.” –Knesset Member Rotem. [Haaretz]

• BREAKING: The maternal grandmother of Mikhail Prokhorov, the billionaire Russian oligarch owner of the New Jersey Nets, was—of course—Jewish. Which means … [NYT Mag]

• The funeral of Judge Burton Roberts (the basis for the judge in Bonfire of the Vanities) turned into a celebration of the Bronx. [NYT]

• Best-selling Egyptian novelist Alaa al-Aswany protested the translation of one of his books into Hebrew, because he does not agree with Arab countries having diplomatic ties with Israel. [Arts Beat]

• “Mantle looked back at me and said ‘How in the [****] are you supposed to hit that [****]?’” Sandy Koufax had that effect on people. [Kaplan’s Korner]

Happy Halloween! If your date warns you that “he’s not like other guys,” best take him at his word.

For Purim, Israeli Foreign Minister is Popular Costume

Marc Tracy — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:00:50 +0000

As Purim approaches, a new poll found that the political figure whom the most Jewish Israelis want to dress up as is—drum roll, please—Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman! Over 40 percent of respondents picked the Yisrael Beiteinu leader. This is basically the equivalent of when like literally everyone was Sarah Palin—also a polarizing, somewhat cartoonish right-winger—for Halloween 2008. In second place, at a shade over 20 percent, is—drum roll again—President Barack Obama! This is basically the equivalent of when lots of people were Barack Obama for Halloween 2008.

If you’re looking to dress up as Lieberman or Obama—or Palin—or anyone—you could always attend Hamanbashin, JDub Records’s Purim party (co-sponsored by Tablet Magazine), which takes place this Saturday in New York’s Lower East Side. Bonus points to whoever does the best job depicting the assassinated Hamas guy.

Purim Politics Unmasked: Lieberman Leads Costume Poll [Arutz Sheva]

Earlier: Hamanbashin!

The Annotated Child: Halloween Hangover

Marjorie Ingall — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Sundown: The Big Questions

Hadara Graubart — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:00:59 +0000

• A mother addresses what she calls “one of the biggest Jewish dilemmas”: Can our kids celebrate Halloween? Her conclusion seems to be that the only reason to say yes is that costumes are “cute” and the only reason to say no is that it skeletons are “spooky.” [Jewish Journal]
• The Telegraph takes on a potentially much more important question: “Why shouldn’t Larry David urinate on a painting of Christ?” Arguing that David treats Jews and Muslims with equal ruthlessness on Curb Your Enthusiasm, a blogger says that his recent defamation of Jesus fits into the show’s style: “That’s how farce works: it’s farcical.” [Telegraph]
• Former Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk will have at least one ally on his side when he faces trial in Germany, but it might hurt more than help him: former Ohio congressman James Traficant, who was released from prison last month after a seven-year corruption sentence, has offered to attend in support of the alleged murderer. [JTA]
• Meanwhile, Fritz Darges, the last of Adolf Hitler’s cronies, has died at 96, leaving instructions to publish his memoirs, which experts hope could be the key to understanding how personally involved the Führer (whom Darges called “warm-hearted” and “a genius”) was in implementing the Holocaust. [Telegraph]
• Hebrew is one of many non-Latin scripts that have been approved today for use in web addresses. [AP]

A Very Hebrew Halloween

Liel Leibovitz — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:00:10 +0000

For all of its convoluted heritage—a dash of ancient Celtic rite, a hint of Christian festival, a smidgen of pagan celebration—Halloween has long ago become an all-American holiday, a day of scary stuff and sweet treats. And monsters: Frankenstein’s creature and Dracula, the Mummy and Swamp Thing, a parade of classic ogres that comes out of the crypt every October to frighten and delight. If you look for a Melchiresa costume in your local store, or tell your friends you’re going as Samael to this year’s Halloween party, and you’re likely to draw blank stares. Yet these ghouls have been around long before Bela Lugosi put on his first dash of makeup; they come to us courtesy of the Bible, our very own menagerie of beasties. To celebrate Halloween with a Jewish twist, Tablet Magazine commissioned comic book artist Mike Dubisch to give these kosher creepers a new look.

Sundown: Goldstone to Debate at Brandeis

Hadara Graubart — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:00:08 +0000

• Richard Goldstone will discuss his contentious report on the Gaza War with Dore Gold, former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, at Brandeis University on November 5. “What we’re in for is learned, direct, and honest drama,” says a school official. [Boston Globe]
• The Interfaith Alliance, composed of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim clergy and leaders, has issued a letter requesting a moratorium on “inappropriate Nazi and Holocaust references” in public debate. Hear, hear. [JTA]
• Bernie Madoff costumes are hot this year for Halloween—that would be a mask of the conman’s memorable mug paired with striped jailhouse duds. “This happened once before, with Richard Nixon,” says one shop owner. [Forward]
• An immigration loophole that has facilitated a tradition of young Israelis coming to work in American shopping malls over the holidays has been closed, so this Hanukkah your local Dead Sea bath salt kiosk might be staffed by someone a little less knowledgeable. [Ynet]