Jackie Mason sued the FauxJews for using his likeness in their conversion literature. He agreed to a settlement. Too bad. He should have taken them to the cleaners.
Mr. Mason, the stand-up comedian whose act often includes pithy observations about Jewish life in America, sued Jews for Jesus, an evangelical Christian group, last August over a pamphlet that showed a caricature of him on its cover and the message: “Jackie Mason … A Jew for Jesus?â€
“We would have liked to get some money for Israel out of this,†Mr. Mason’s lawyer, Raoul Felder, said yesterday in Federal District Court in Manhattan, minutes after both sides announced a settlement.
“I would’ve taken some money for Japan, just to teach them a lesson,†Mr. Mason chimed in. “I would’ve settled for a couple of shirts, a malted.â€
Mr. Mason, an ordained rabbi, said in the lawsuit that the pamphlet “risks alienating his admirers and his audience and additionally damaging his act.†He had sought millions of dollars in damages, which Mr. Felder said would have been for Israel, not for Mr. Mason’s personal use. Instead, he settled for a three-paragraph letter from David Brickner, executive director of Jews for Jesus, offering “sincere apologies for any distress†the pamphlet had caused.
Even their letter of settlement is offensive.
“We are willing in the interest of ahavat yisrael and shalom to retire this particular evangelistic tract,†the letter said, using the Hebrew words for “love of Israel†and “peace.â€
But Jackie gets ’em good:
Still, Mr. Mason, seemingly unable to speak without the pacing and punch lines of a stand-up comedy act, said the apology was recognition that “you can’t be a table and a chair.â€
“You’re either a Jew or a Gentile,†he said. “As far as I know, I never converted. How come they know something about me that I don’t know? It’s like saying you’re a black man for the Ku Klux Klan.â€
And then he gets them some more.
At which point Mr. Brickner, who had been straining at the bit in the courthouse hallway while listening to Mr. Mason opine about the case, could not restrain himself any longer.
“We wanted you to think about it, because it’s the best Jew that ever lived,†he said.
Retorted Mr. Mason: “Jesus didn’t believe in Judaism; that’s the reason he became a Christian.â€
Heh. Not really the point, but I’d have paid money to see that exchange. On the other hand, the Times writer was shocked, shocked, that Jackie took offense.
Sounding irked by the interruption, Mr. Mason added: “I don’t remember asking him to debate with me. That means we settled that case, but we didn’t settle this one.â€
It wasn’t the interruption, Anemona Hartocollis. (Yes, that’s the writer’s name.) It’s the religion, stupid. What part about “ordained as a rabbi” don’t you get?
Love this last bit, where, although the FauxJews insist they would have won on Constitutional grounds, they explained why they caved:
In a preliminary order last month, Judge Berman said that Mr. Mason’s lawsuit did not seem likely to succeed on the merits because he is a public figure and noncommercial religious evangelism is constitutionally protected.
But the organization’s lawyer, Paul A. Winick, said Jews for Jesus settled to avoid the cost of more litigation, including a possible jury trial. Mr. Felder contended that it was the specter of a jury trial that scared Jews for Jesus into settling. “Jackie would say it very well in front of a New York jury,†Mr. Felder said.
I’d have paid money to see that trial, too. But score one for Jackie Mason, who bitchslapped the FauxJews once in the lawsuit, and again face to face. Kol hakavod, Jackie.
That did sound like a fun debate. Just one thing… Jesus never converted. He was Jew to the day he died and came back again. Everything he ever preached was with accordance to Jewish law.
So, personally I jsut don’t get what the Christianity thing is all about, but if they want to pray to a Jewish guy, who am I to stop them.
Funny, but I’ll have to wait to see if Jackie Mason tries to pull the same stunt with Jesus when they meet. Funny thing about those warning truth claims – if you don’t bother checking them out they tend to bite back real hard.
Shalom Meryl.
Chris, do you REALLY want to put down Judaism on this blog?
Think very hard before going any further.
Chris, Jackie Mason is an ordained Rabbi. As far as I know, Yoshka has never quite achieved that status in the eyes of Jews.
My money would be on Mason, if your hypothetical meeting ever were to take place. He wouldn’t even have to crack jokes to make his point clearly.
The J4Js constitute a well-financed organization, which preys upon Jews who know little about Judaism. I think the trial would have been very interesting.
Meryl – what makes you think that I’m putting down Judaism? Like I said before, if you have time for a logical argument, then no problem, I’ll bring forth my evidence and we can debate, but if you don’t, then why bother? An invalid banning is nothing more than an ad-hominen. You might also get irritated if I talked about your friends the way you talk about mine.
A warning truth claim is one that by it’s very statement must be taken seriously, beyond a mere cursory glance or ad hominen dismissal. If what is said is true, then there is going to be a consequence whether you believe it or not. If you follow the evidence and are able to disprove it through a valid, logical examination and refutation, then upon proving the whole claim false you rightly can say you have nothing to worry about. Again, you have to count the cost.
If Y’shua’s claims that he is the awaited prophet & moshiach are true (See Dt 18:15-22), then his resurrection represents a most amazing fulfillment of Jewish prophecy. On it’s face, if you don’t believe that God has spoken in the past through Moses and the prophets, then why bother claiming any heritage at all? I believe Abraham was given a promise, that Moses spoke with God, and that the nation of Israel was born through the Red Sea parting, freed from the bonds of slavery. I think that’s actually quite respectful of the Jewish nation and their heritage. I’m not calling them liars.
I study Torah, Nevi’im and Kethuvim. Can you say you’ve done the same with the 4 Gospels, Acts, and the letters from the apostles (where all the authors happened to be Jewish with the exception of Luke)?
If Jesus lives, then he fulfilled prophecy and is truly that awaited Messiah, yours as well as mine. If not, then 1.5 billion people are deceived regarding his claims. Now are we all insane or is there something we know that you might not?
If the scriptures don’t contain valid prophecy, then why bother calling the authors Prophets?
Either Jesus is insane, an immoral liar, or he’s telling the truth. He didn’t leave us any other options.
You’re asking for a logical argument about religion?
Logic? In a religious argument?
I think the terms cancel one another out.
And I’m not going to get into this discussion, either.
By the way, it was the Sea of Reeds, not the Red Sea. You might want to give the original Hebrew a try.