Jezebel: jews

Don't Be Tardy To The Strangely-Controversial Obama Party

Sadie — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:40:00 EST

It may be "one of the hottest holiday events for the nation's Jewish elite," but the December 16th menorah-fest has been called a half-assed exercise in "studied callousness." Others have just invoked latkes. A lot.

The White House has stated that the President "looks forward to celebrating Hanukkah at the White House and having many members of the Jewish American community at that event." And, describes the NY Times, "a Jewish student choir will sing in sweet harmony, the two young children of a soldier deployed in Iraq will light a 19th-century silver menorah from Prague and President Obama and his wife, Michelle, will greet more than 500 guests in a celebration that is expected to spill from the State Room to the East Room." But, half-assed! cry the critics, as rumors circulate that Obama's first, "more intimate" Festival of Lights will be only half the size of GW Bush's (not, in fact, true) and is indicative of a general disinterest in reaching out to the Jewish community.

Writes Tevi Troy (who superintended Bush's Hanukkah parties, the White House's first), in an op-ed for the JTA,

While the size of the party may not be a big deal in the grand scheme of things, even some of Obama's supporters may see it in the context of this longer train of politically tone-deaf decisions...Regardless of the party's size, Obama should be warned that Jewish visitors to the White House often live up to the old maxim that "Gentiles leave without saying goodbye, while Jews say goodbye and never leave." I have seen this phenomenon myself. After one particularly late night social event at the White House, then-Chief of Staff Josh Bolten joked to Bush's senior staff that the White House military aides — who staff official events in full ceremonial garb — almost had to unsheathe their swords in order to get Chanukah celebrants to exit the White House residence by the party's 8 p.m. close.

But others use Jewish stereotypes to argue the other side! According to the Jerusalem Post,

Nathan Diament of the Orthodox Union expressed displeasure at those who would criticize the smaller number of invitations. "As we know from Biblical times, we Jews are very good at complaining," he said. "People shouldn't complain. It's very nice that President Obama is having a Hanukka party. People can choose to gripe about the guest list or any other aspect of it, but the fact is this White House is going to continue this practice, which is a lovely thing." And Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Chabad's representative in Washington, said having a kosher spread is a key part of welcoming in the Jewish community as part of that tradition. He described the spread as "the works," including traditional Hanukka treats such as potato pancakes and sufganiyot.Pointing to the food's importance in the White House Hanukka ritual, he added, "People might think this way or that way on whatever issue, but everyone agrees on a good latke."

Ira Forman, CEO of the National Jewish Democratic Council, writing in the Huffington Post, declared (with an inexplicable lack of references to potato pancakes),

(These allegations) are absolute nonsense. One of the reasons I have loved working in the nation's capital for Jewish organizations is because the Jewish community has had a serious policy agenda — not just on Israel, but also on issues ranging from civil rights to combating hunger. Perhaps this thread of stories complaining about the lack of tickets to a White House holiday party is simply a reflection of conservative Jews searching for ways to knock the President; I hope so. Heaven help us if we really begin to act as if party invitations are what our community is all about.

Rabbi Levi Shemtov declares to the Times, "This is all one big overblown latke...I feel that we need to save our communal kvetching in reserve for when it's more called for and really matters."

Washington Fuss Over White House Hanukkah Party [NY Times]

White House Hanukkah Blues [Huffington Post]

White House Hanukka Party Guest List To Be Cut In Half [Jerusalem Post]
Op-Ed: Obama Must Beware Of The Chanukah Snub [JTA]

No Such Thing As A Free Trip

Sadie — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:40:00 EDT

"A new study found that rates of marriage outside the faith were sharply curbed among young Jews who have taken "birthright" trips to Israel, a development that could hearten Jewish leaders worried about assimilation." [WSJ]

The Forest For The Trees

Anna — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:10:00 EDT

["Ljubelj South", Slovenia; June 5. Image via Getty]

A woman explores on June 5, 2009 the chamber of former World War II nazi concentration camp 'Ljubelj south' where the names of all nazi concentration camps were engraved, some 100 kilometers from Ljubljana. Slovenian President Danilo Turk and his Austrian counterpart Heinz Fischer visited the tunnel and the entrance to the 'Ljubelj south' World War II nazi concentration camp at Slovenian side of the border with Austria. Between March 1943 to May 1945 Ljubelj south in Slovenia and Ljubelj north in Austria were a branch of notorious WWII Mauthausen nazi concentration camps, from which thousands of political internees, the majority of whom were French, were transported to Ljubelj from there. AFP PHOTO/ HRVOJE POLAN (Photo credit should read HRVOJE POLAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Anne Frank Was A Bossy BFF • Honor Killings Rise In Southern Iraqi City

Maria — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:30:00 EST

• In her book My Name is Anne, She Said, Anne Frank Jacqueline Van Maarsen, Anne Frank's best friend, claims that the noted diarist and Holocaust victim was an extroverted girl who made bossy demands on their friendship. • The Iranian government will set up marriage bureaus to help Iranians find suitable husbands and wives and encourage banks to give out loans for weddings. • To mark World AIDS Day, photographer Kalpesh Lathigra photographs and meets with prostitutes (many of them forced or "tricked" into the profession) of India's hidden sex trade. •

• A new study claims that eating extra amounts of choline, a chemical found in eggs, while pregnant can lead to an increased risk of developing breast cancer in offspring. • Nielsen Online says that the number of employees visiting porn sites while working has increased 23% over the past year. • A new study reports that young gymnasts are suffering new types of injuries to their hands, wrists and arms .• Women who have undergone breast augmentation and are being treated for early-stage breast cancer may have more treatment success with brachytherapy, a partial-breast radiation treatment.• Inducing labor before the 40 week gestational age has become more common in the U.S. • The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is taking the estate of Beverly Rogers to court over the estate's planned auctioning of Mary Pickford's 1930 Oscar for best actress. • Honor killings have increased by 70% in the southern Iraqi city of Basra where women can be murdered for "honor killings" by hired hitmen for as little as $100. • Amnesty International is asking the Haitian government to do more to stop the widespread rape of girls in the country's slums.• A BBC reporter's 12-year-old daughter gets the Somali pirates on the Sirius Star to talk. • Canadian researchers say that gay men who feel undesirable are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior and develop psychological problems. • A recent survey claims that British men and women beat out the people of Italy, Germany, France and the US as the most sexually liberal. • We may have just missed the beginning of Advent, but surely this condom Advent Calendar will keep us up-to-date. • An Italian book that reveals unpublished excerpts of Amanda Knox's diary says that sex was a "predominant aspect of her life" and influenced her relationships with men and women. • A new study claims that individuals who wash their hands before making judgments tend to make less strict rulings. • More and more men are beginning to take primary care of their elderly and ill parents. • Meanwhile, the Gender-Based Violence Forum estimates that 60% of Sri Lankan women have experienced domestic violence.• An art critic for the BBC's Antiques Roadshow received criticism when he referred to a woman in a portrait as having "Shropshire ankle" (or fat ankles). • Are you ready for a relationship boot camp? • A Texan man claims that God told him to ram into a woman's vehicle on a highway while going 100 mph on Friday because she "wasn't driving right" and needed to be "taken off the road." The two only suffered minor injuries. •

Eating Disorders Are The "Addiction Of Choice" For Jewish Teens

Jessica — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST

Here are some good statistics about Jews: 77% voted for Barack Obama! And now here are some totally depressing ones: according to an online survey conducted by Jewish Women International, half of Jewish educators and social workers have encountered disordered eating among the teens they work with. According to the Huffington Post's Leslie Goldman, eating disorders are the "'addiction of choice' among Jewish girls." Goldman notes that Jewish Women International was not shocked by the high incidence of eating disorders among Jewish teens because of their "prevalence among upper middle class, high achieving populations." However, as a former Jewish teen, I have another possible explanation.

This is entirely unsupported by evidence beyond anecdotal, but I wonder if eating disorders among Jewish women are high because we're trying to attain a beauty ideal that we can almost capture, but not quite. I've experienced that many Jewish women feel that being told they "look Jewish" is not often meant as a compliment. Traditionally Semitic features — prominent noses, dark curly hair — are not considered beautiful by the American culture at large. However, by being exceptionally thin, Jewish women have one way to be closer to that narrow idea of attractiveness. Obviously the causes of eating disorders are far more multifaceted, but perhaps that plays into part of it.

Then there's this news about Israel's "Fat And Beautiful" contest. On one hand, it's great that these women are reveling in their figures, but on another hand, isn't the ghettoization of women over 80 kilograms (the minimum weight to enter the pageant) just reinforcing the idea that their beauty is "other"? That it's sort of a sideshow instead of promoting the idea that a wide range of looks are beautiful?

Jewish Vote: Obama 77-22 [JTA]
Jewish Girls And Self-Destructive Behaviors: By The Numbers [HuffPo]
"Fat And Beautiful" [Reuters]

Tattoos Are No Longer Taboo, Unless You're A Jewish Nana

Jessica — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:30:00 EDT

In the 30s, when Dorothy Parker got a tattoo of a small star on the inside of her upper arm after a drunken night carousing in the Bowery, it was a transgressive, racy act. Now, even the wives of conservative British politicians have dolphins tatted on their ankles, and nice Jewish girls (like Amy Winehouse??) are getting inked in droves, much to the chagrin of their grandmothers. You see, there is an incredibly pervasive rumor among the Jewish community that you can't be buried in a Jewish cemetery if you got the image of Kermit the Frog emblazoned on your torso during a drunken night in Tijuana.

Thankfully, the New York Times is debunking that myth, reporting that "The eight rabbinical scholars interviewed for this article, from institutions like the Jewish Theological Seminary and Yeshiva University, said it’s an urban legend…Jewish parents and grandparents picked up on it and over time, their distaste for tattoos was presented as scriptural doctrine."

The argument behind that widespread urban legend comes from the following passage in Leviticus 19:28: “You shall not make gashes in your flesh for the dead nor incise any marks on yourself: I am the Lord.” The woman who did my tattoo (a dainty ampersand in the middle of my back, which I affectionately refer to as my "trampersand") assailed that rumor when she pointed out that Jewish girls make gashes in their flesh all the time for nose jobs, and they still get buried in the Jewish cemetery.

And besides, as Rabbi Mark Washofsky points out to the Times, ear piercing, which also involves incising marks, is not controversial. Though tattoos are so prevalent that they're no longer really taboo in American society (40% of 26- to 40-year-olds have at least one tattoo the Times reports), there is one aspect of tattooing that is considered risky: getting your significant others' name tattooed on your body. According to the Telegraph, "Shortly after breaking up with Billy Bob Thornton, a Rolling Stone journalist pointed out the 'Billy Bob' tattoo on Angelina Jolie's arm. 'Where does that leave you?" asked the hack. 'With a lot of dermatology appointments,' she replied." If you really need someone's name on your person, get an ID bracelet, people! Friends don't let friends tattoo dudes' names on their butts.

Think Before You Ink… [Telegraph]
For Some Jews, It Only Sounds Like ‘Taboo’ [NYT]

Related: I Ink Therefore I Am [Guardian]

23-Year-Old Woman Leaves Religious Sect, Loses Daughter

Jessica — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:00:00 EDT

When learning about the most Orthodox sects within any religion, it's very easy to judge their more extreme rituals as freakish. I think I was a little guilty of painting the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints with the freak brush, and I will consciously try not to do that with the Satmar Hasidim from Kiryas Joel, a group of ultra-religious Jews who are the subject of this week's New York Magazine cover story. Here's the gist: a young woman named Sterna "Gitty" Gittel Grunwald, 23, (pictured) used to live in the upstate New York town of Kiryas Joel, which is an exclusively Satmar enclave. Much like the FLDS, the Satmars arrange marriages and don't believe in birth control. After marrying a man named Yoely when she was 17 and having a daughter, Esther Miriam, Gitty realized, “I couldn’t live in KJ anymore, that I didn’t want to be one of those women who pop out babies every eighteen months and think whatever their husbands tell them to… When Esther Miriam was born, that raised the stakes, because now there were two of us. Two KJ girls.”

With the help of her secular Jewish grandparents, Gitty moved to Brooklyn and tried to start a new life with Esther Miriam. All was basically well until January, when Esther Miriam was snatched from a local playground during preschool by envoys from Kiryas Joel. Since then, Gitty has been battling with Yoely for custody of Esther, and her story really highlights the way religion can tear families apart.

The following passage shows the extreme pain felt by both Gitty and her (now ex) husband. Even though the practices strike me as incredibly controlling of the female body, you can also see how Yoely would find Gitty's behavior so terribly upsetting:

The critical battleground in the War Between the Grunwalds would prove to be niddah, or “separation,” i.e., when the menstruating female is considered “impure” and kept apart from her husband. “It isn’t just your period,” Gitty says. After a woman stops bleeding, she has to wear white underwear for seven days, checking constantly to see if there’s any discharge. Should spotting occur, the woman takes her underwear to a special rabbi who examines the color, shape, and density of the stain. It is he who divines when it is safe for the woman to immerse herself in the mikvah (ritual bath) and be reunited with her husband. “Great, huh? Some old rabbi looking at your panties with a magnifying glass?” Gitty asks. “This was so embarrassing to me. In KJ, everything is about sex—this idea of sex made up by men from 300 years ago. I wouldn’t do it anymore. I stopped counting, wore black underwear. I walked around the house in shorts, because when you’re impure, your husband can’t touch you or even look at your arm. Yoely would hide his eyes and start crying, ‘Put on your turban, please put on your turban.’ ”

I'm sure he really thought that Gitty was going to invoke the wrath of G-d by not wearing that turban. It's easy for us to judge the Satmars, call them backwards and misogynistic and sad. And while I privately do think those things, religious freedom means never telling someone else how to live. What is galling, however, is that the Satmars believe that they get to be the arbiters of Jewishness. According to New York: "On one of their last visits, [Gitty's grandfather] saw one of Gitty’s young stepbrothers regarding him warily. 'The kid says, ‘Dis is a Yid?’ I felt like screaming, ‘Yeah, for 70 goddamn years!’ But it wouldn’t have done any good.'" Oh man. If they're going to demand tolerance, they should preach it as well.

Escape From the Holy Shtetl [NY Mag]

Thai Long-Neck Women Part Of "Human Zoo" • Jewish Prayer Book Makes God Gender-Neutral

Maria — Mon, 19 May 2008 17:30:00 EDT

Thai officals approve a "human zoo" with the famed long-necked women, many of whom are refugees from Myanmar. • Indian sex workers can now get life insurance, but their profession remains illegal. • Snickers, Doritos, and Peanut M&Ms are the most popular vending machine snacks. • A child who formed in her mother's liver turned 5 today! • A new prayer book for Reform Judaism makes God gender-neutral. • Teens aren't giving oral to "preserve" their virginity mostly because they are just having intercourse instead. • Plans for a Sound of Music hotel sparks fierce protest from Austrian fussbudgets. • Same sex couples are common in wild animals because, duh, sex is fun! • Adelaide "Sun-Lin" Young, a female explorer of China in the 1930s, died at 96. • Oh great! Recent female college grads make $2.92 less than their male counterparts. • Social and religious reasons are behind the lack of female directors in the boardrooms of Arab corporations. • However! There are more women in the boardroom in Kuwait and Oman than Italy and Japan. • Peeping Tom cases in public places are getting thrown out due to "unreasonable expectation of privacy" by the peeped. • Carme Chacon, Spain's first female defense minister, gave birth to a boy today. • 3 in 10 men experience domestic violence with an intimate partner, although it goes largely unreported.

Why Don't Jewish Women Get Any Pop Cultural Love?

Jessica — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 17:00:00 EST

Radar is declaring, in its typically amusing and tongue-in-cheek fashion, that this year's hottest accessory for shiksas is a Jewish husband. You know what? Tongue-in-cheek or not, I'm over Jewish dudes getting all the love. You never hear about Jewish women being the hottest, well, anything; while Woody Allen is off bagging WASP goddesses Mariel Hemmingway and Diane Keaton in Manhattan, cultural stereotypes of female Jews show us to be fleshy, frumpy, sexless overbearing mothers with big noses and unruly hair. Rachel Shukert, the far from frumpy sex writer, thinks that "Jewish men have really had a large part in disseminating those [negative] stereotypes" of Jewish women.

"There are more hot Jewish leading ladies now than maybe ever before — Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johanssen, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Rachel Bilson — but they never play Jewish characters," she says, but not before adding that sexiness in Jewish women is becoming less of a liability, particularly in the form of "an explosion in the past several years of Jewish women emerging at the forefront of movements about sexuality." (Former Village Voice columnist Rachel Kramer Bussel (who conducted the interview with Shukert) and alt-porn star/entrepreneur Joanna Angel come to mind.) Plus, says Shukert, "A lot of non-Jewish girls [have come] up to me... how their Jewish boyfriends always told them that the girls they went to camp with gave better head." Ha! I guess if Monica Lewinsky did nothing else for our people, at least she can get a little credit for making "Jewish women and blowjobs... inextricably linked for a generation."

I Jew — Radar's Resident Shiksa Hunts For This Year's Hot New Accessory: A Jewish Husband [Radar]
Interview With Rachel Shukert On Jewish Girls And Blowjobs [Best Sex Writing Blog]
Invisible In Hollywood: Jewish Women [Boston Globe]

Oprah Writer Asks: "[Are] Jews and Christians Incompatible?"

Jessica — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:00:00 EST

The "Love Issue" of Oprah Magazine — 22 days until Valentine's, ladies — has several essays under the heading "Love, the Great Adventure" about lasting romance. In one, O Henry prize winner Sheila Kohler, an Anglican, writes about her mostly-happy interfaith marriage to a Jewish man (the lovebirds are pictured at left). But her union is not without warts, and Kohler bravely exposes them all. She talks about the minor fights they had "over who would do the dishes and how they would be done," but then gets into messier territory, like her complaint that he doesn't say "I love you" enough. Then, as the kids say, Kohler goes there. "Did the six million dead Jews have to come up quite so frequently?" she ponders. Not only that, in an admitted moment of rage, Kohler shouts at her husband "You're just a stingy Jew!" He later comes back with a comment about how all the pork eating must have diminished her brain function, which leads Kohler to wonder, "Had I married a racist? Worse still, had I discovered that in my heart of hearts I was a racist...Were men and women so very different? Were Jews and Christians incompatible?"

Kohler doesn't really answer her own question (she ends the essay discussing how she and the hub resolved their kitchen issues, but doesn't really come back to the Jew business), but as a Jew who lives in sin with a Protestant, it definitely got me thinking. My boyfriend and I make joking comments all the time about our stereotypical differences: Whenever he gets mock-offended by my filthy mouth, I always tell him to stop being such an "uptight WASP." And sometimes, when I burrow my face into his armpit, he'll comment about my "pointy Jew nose." Is our banter really masking some deep-seeded prejudices we hold about each other's backgrounds? Or are we enriching each other through religious differences? Does it not matter at all since neither of us has actually stepped foot in a house of worship since the Clinton Administration? So many questions dislodged from one little Oprah essay! Just like Kohler, I don't have the easy answers to these questions, but I will say that my boy is so WASPy that he puts mayonnaise on everything. If that's not an insurmountable cultural difference, I think we're probably okay.

Sheila Kohler Official Website
The Love Issue [O: The Oprah Magazine]

It's Hard To Be A Jew On Christmas

Jessica — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 13:30:00 EST

Tomorrow's Christmas, or, as I knew it throughout my childhood, that day when I'm bored and nothing is open. I'm 100% Heeb, and my mother was so anti-Christmas that we didn't even do the stereotypical Jew things like eat Chinese food and go to the movies. Doing those things would be a tacit acknowledgment that Christmas existed, and my mom wasn't about to kowtow to the status quo. I've elided all my severe Christmas envy into one mental image: me, at eight, pressing my hooked nose against the window panes of our Christian neighbors' houses as they embraced around the tree, tearing the wrapping paper off their brand new Nintendos in some sweater-clad, ritualized, yuletide orgy.

That was around the time I started begging my parents for a tree, and the answer was always no. "It's a Christan symbol," they'd tell me. When I was younger, my retort was always, "But...it's pretty!" That didn't really get me far. As I got older I probably responded with, "No, It's a Pagan symbol," but that didn't really work out either."This is a Christian country," my mom would say, "and regardless of its Pagan origins, a tree is for Christians. Case closed."

That twinkling inner desire for a tree never really dissipated, and this year I had an excuse to get one. I moved in with my Episcopalian boyfriend in March, and when December rolled around, I started lobbying for a tree. Dear Mom: Maybe if you had let me have a tree when I was a kid, I wouldn't be forced to date goys all the time. Just sayin'!

The WASPy bf sort of lumped my tree desires in with my other fake whims, like when I ask for a baby panda or say "Why don't we just move to Miami?" When he realized I was actually serious, he wasn't really on the tree train either. "It's messy," he argued. "Our apartment is small." I countered with "But we could keep in the backyard!" And he begrudgingly agreed. One day after work he brought a small fir in through our side door, and I squealed with glee. I didn't even mind that he made me keep it outside like an incontinent old dog. I thought that my childhood holiday dreams had finally come true, but in reality, only kind of.

Last week I went to buy some cheap lights and tinsel across the street. As I approached the checkout counter laden with garish candy cane festooned crap, I started feeling funny. It was just... wrong. Indescribably wrong! Like drawing a fake mustache on Anne Frank. Like taking a dump on the The Wailing Wall. I was somehow turning my back on thousands of years of heritage for some $1.99 ornaments.

I bought the supplies anyway, and walking home I realized that even though the tree has become a Christian symbol, it doesn't have to be one for me. Cheesy as it sounds, having a tree in my own home can just be an expression of warmth and joy. It isn't about wanting to be Christian, it's about wanting to take pleasure in rituals that I've always admired. That's me in the picture after I decorated the gimpy, listing tree with my boyfriend and some other people. I look sort of stoned, and one of my friends was all, "You're just high on Christmas!" I hope you all get high on Christmas, too. Happy Holidays!

Kyle - Just A Jew on Christmas (South Park) [Youtube]

Donna Karan Mixes And Matches Separates, Spirituality

Jennifer — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 10:00:00 EDT

Donna Karan: Celebrating Rosh Hashanah in the Holy Land! For the first time! We hope she fits in some time for Buddhist meditation. [NY Mag]
Bindi Irwin is designing a children's clothing line to honor her deceased father, the Crocodile Hunter. We think a Danielynn Birkhead line to honor her deceased mother might be more up the respective alleys of kids these days, but we're glad someone's trying! [WWD, sub req'd]
J. Crew is venturing into the world of luxury with their J. Crew Collection, which has items priced upwards of $1000, and their first ever Collection store, opening on Manhattan's Upper East Side, the only place in America with residents douchebaggy enough to drop $1000 on J. Crew. [WWD, sub req'd]

Michelle Pfeiffer is ditching her traditional red carpet courtesan, Giorgio Armani, for young designers Lela Rose and Jenni Kayne. This is a news event, people. [WWD, sub req'd]
Paul Smith: Now designing Wedgwood china. Um, okay? [Vogue UK]
Boston Fashion Week will be held concurrently with New York Fashion Week. Great idea, guys. [Boston Fashion Week]
Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, daughter of French Vogue editor-in-chief Carine Roitfeld, is the new face of denim line Restoration of the Monarchy. Seriously, sometimes we don't even have to think of jokes. [Fashion Week Daily]

DailyCandy Says No To Lexapro, Yes To Lather

Jennifer — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 12:25:37 EDT

We were beginning to worry about the editors of DailyCandy. There were mentions of bacterial infections. Black Croc spats. Had they abandoned their Cosmopolitan-swilling ways, we wondered? But today's editions of the cloying, consumption-promoting newsletter illustrate that the girls may have their mojo back: There's shampoo laced with antidepressants! Chaufferred shopping trips! Psychics! Oh, and skinny jeans! (Ugh, aren't skinny jeans over? If not, could someone please make that happe already?). Today's Cavity, after the jump.

DailyCandy Everywhere thinks antidepressants should go in our shampoo, not our bloodstream.

DailyCandy Chicago suggests that Windy City women beat the heat by piling into a chauffered SUV with their girlfriends, booze, and a personal shopper for a full day of boutiquing.

DailyCandy Los Angeles tells us we're wrong if we think that someone who reads constellations in the universe is a quack and incapable of solving all our major life problems. That's what antidepressants are for!

DailyCandy Miami wants to see our asses clad in a muumuu.

DailyCandy Philadelphia: Repeat after us: No. More. Skinny. Jeans.

Does DailyCandy San Francisco have a Jew fetish? (And do they think all Jews love food?)

Earlier: DailyCandy's Darkness Visible

Will Your Semitism (Or Lack Thereof) Impact Your Barneys Shopping?

Jennifer — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 12:48:22 EDT

So now that Barneys New York is owned by a Dubai-based investment firm, some (er, Lauren Goldstein Crowe of Portfolio's 'Fashion, Inc'. blog) are convinced that luxury-minded Jews are going to take their business to other luxury department stores because no way in hell will they fund something owned by, you know, Arabs. (Oh wait, Jews don't believe in hell!). But is it really an issue? After all, Saks Fifth Avenue was once owned by like a flock of Saudi princes, and Harrods is owned by the al-Fayeds. And both companies are not only doing fine but surely enjoy the continued support of their Jewish brethren. So Jennifer Gerson (the token Jewish Jezebel, and the one responsible for the above graphic, which she thinks is funny and Anna thinks is horrific) decided to investigate this matter all on her own with a most urgent question: Will your Jewishness (or lack thereof) impact your Barneys shopping experience? Her really non-stereotypical poll, after the jump.

Barneys, Bergdorfs And The Jewish Shopping Vote [Portfolio]

Barneys New York Goes Middle-Eastern: Will The Jews Follow?

Jennifer — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 10:00:59 EDT

The long-anticipated sale of luxury department store Barneys New York finally went down this weekend, going to a Dubai-based investment firm for $832 million and making for what was probably the smoothest Middle Eastern negotiation in modern history. [WWD, sub req'd]
Now that Barneys is owned by Arabs, however, does this mean Jews will take their luxury shopping elsewhere? [Portfolio]
The European couture shows start July 2, and three design houses (Dior, Lacroix, Valentino) are duking it out for "fashion party to end all fashion parties" status. [WWD, sub req'd]
Sinead O'Connor "gives a crap" about fashion. Way to pick a profile subject, WWD! [WWD, sub req'd]

Limited Brands to lay off 10% of its corporate employees. [WWD, sub req'd]
Fashion industry enfant terrible Jean-Paul Gaultier will be recognized for his bad boy ways as the honoree at this year's Fashion Group International's Night of Stars, whose theme this year is "The Rule Breakers." Metaphysical question of the day: If you're being honored as a rule breaker, does that mean you are no longer a rule breaker? [Vogue UK]
Metaphysical question of the day, II: What came first, the pretty shoes or the ugly feet? Victoria Beckham has some bad-looking feet, which may or may not be the result of the pretty shoes she likes to wear. [AHN]