Charlotte Knobloch, the Holocaust survivor who was elected the first woman president of Germany’s Central Council of Jews (mentioned yesterday) is officially giving Iranian leader President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a piece of her mind. According to Nobel peace laureate Eli Wiesel, Mr. Ahmadinejad is “the world’s number one Holocaust denier” who is now planning a possible upcoming visit to Germany to watch the World Cup.

But Charlotte aint’ havin it.

How can this fool deny such a horrible act of genocide? Charlotte is a living testament to that fact that it did occur and that we will never forget it! She’s not going to let some idiot run around her country and be greeted with rose petals and a red carpets. Head of state or not, I’m glad Charlotte Knobloch is speaking out against Ahmadinejab’s ignorance (or to some, his mean spirit).

Read the full story here.

Photo: c/o spiegel.de

It’s incredible the kind of stuff you find when you float around for a bit in this ever expanding blogosphere. I stumbled across a massive collection of colorful words, some directed at Jews in particular. The fellows who said the following quotes need to take a serious chill pill:

“With all due respect to those dear people, my friend, God Almighty does not hear the prayer of a Jew.”
–Bailey Smith, a founding father of Robertson’s Christian Coalition, once told 15,000 people at a Religious Roundtable briefing in Dallas, June 26, 1994

“The Jews are returning to their land of unbelief. They are spiritually blind and desperately in need of their Messiah and Savior.”
–Jerry Falwell, Listen, America!

“If he’s going to be the counterfeit of Christ, he has to be Jewish. The only thing we know is he must be male and Jewish.”
–Jerry Falwell commenting on the anti-Christ, January 1999

“The god of Judaism is the devil. The Jew will not be recognized by God as one of His chosen people until he abandons his demonic religion and returns to the faith of his fathers–the faith which embraces Jesus Christ and His Gospel. ”
–David Chilton, The Days of Vengeance: An Exposition of the Book of Revelation (Ft. Worth, TX: Dominion Press, 1984), p. 127

Incredible! Last time I checked Jesus (or Yeshuah) of Nazareth was celebrating Passover, teaching at the Temple, keeping Kosher, reading Torah, and more. These fools either lost a few screws or missed the last train into town. The next time you encounter one of these wackos send them over to JesusIsAJew.org where they’ll find a detailed rundown of their beloved Jewish messiah.

Well, friends, it’s time for the Yenta to admit that she does not in fact have six arms and ten extra hours a day. As the countdown towards moving day gets into the single digits, I have no choice but to relinquish my blogpower to mi amigo Pepe Pringos, who will man this ship for the next month or so, or however long it takes to adjust to Southern Jewish life.

For those of you who don’t follow the details of Yenta life as closely as you might of some famous and interesting somebody, here’s the wrap-up: The family is relocating from the hippie netheregions of Northern California to the swampy suburbs of Savannah, Georgia. (Yes, Virginia, there are Jews in Georgia. Lots of ’em. In fact, the first male born in the state was Jewish and Mickve Israel, our future congregation, is the third oldest in the U.S.)

The reasons for uprooting ourselves are good ones: California real estate priced out starving writers long ago; six months a year of cold rain is murder on my hip arthritis; we’ve got grandparnts, uncles and cousins close by. Besides, hurricanes are exciting!

Sadly, the most compelling reason for the move is the recent news that my dear mother-in-law has a terminal illness. Mensch that he is, El Yenta Man wants to be with his momma ’til the end. What wife could argue with that?

So this Yenta must now focus on packing, saying our good-byes to the extraordinary community of Fairfax and mapping out the best wireless cafe in Savannah. In my absence, Pepe will keep you updated with Jewish news, and the fine bloggers-in-crime to your immediate right will surely continue to provide excellent perspectives on Jewish life.

Thank you to all who have read, commented, lurked and otherwise connected. All the best and have a wonderful summer.

Yours through kvetch and kvell,

The Yenta