Israel

Are The Feds Unfairly Targeting Muslim Students Who Oppose Israel?

In Washington D.C. today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opened a probe of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), following reports that the IRS was unfairly targeting conservative non-profit groups affiliated with the Tea Party movement. Closer to home, the California chapter of the Counc ... More >>

Physician, Heal Thyself

The bracing 'Yossi' lays bare the soul of a closeted doc

Stevie Wonder Cancels Scheduled Los Angeles Performance for Israeli Army Benefit

The battlegrounds of Palestinian civil society's call for a cultural boycott of Israel usually play out in Tel Aviv or in the music venues of other cities, but this week a prominent cancellation was gained much closer to home. The legendary Stevie Wonder was all set to perform for an annual Friends ... More >>

[BREAKING: Filmmaker Arrested!] Is "Sam Bacile" a Figment of Orange County Imagination?

See Update No. 2 on the arrest of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula. See Update No. 1 on a Santa Ana nonprofit fearing the film is backfiring on Christians in Egypt and Libya and more OC ties for the film's consultant. ORIGINAL POST, SEPT. 13, 7 A.M.: The mystery of how Sam Bacile came to be attached to Ora ... More >>

VIDEO: UCI Students Stage Silent Protest Against Israeli Soldiers

Perhaps because using their voices didn't ​go so well last time (see: Irvine 11), anti-Israel students at UC Irvine tried a different protest tactic--silence.    Last Thursday, two Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers were invited to speak on campus. Shortly after the program b ... More >>

The OCeeker: Temple Beth Shalom and the Rabbi From Cuteyville

​Shalom, y'all. That's right, the OCeeker recently drove his goyisher self to Temple Beth Shalom in Santa Ana for a Shabbat evening service. First things first: Rabbi Heidi Cohen is one cute clergygirl! Decked in black slacks and a red blouse, with a loose-fitting, long-sleeve black outer gar ... More >>

Mel Gibson Be Damned, Here Comes the Jewlicious Festival!

​​​​​ How many Jews does it take to make a kickass boat party? At least ten 13 years old or older. (Author's note: Google "minyan."). From Feb. 24-26, Long Beach (or "Tel Aviv West," as no one but me has ever called it) will host the Eighth Annual Jewlicious Festival. Taking place on ... More >>

Madonna Announces World Tour While the Register Picks Apart Her Plastic Surgery Work

​The last time I saw Madonna, it was 2006 and I paid $352 for a floor ticket. Madonna, fresh off the success of her Super Bowl halftime show, is going on a  World Tour beginning May 29 in Tel Aviv, Israel. While we have no idea how much tickets will be going for, we do know she'll stop at&nbs ... More >>

"Irvine 11" Jury Trial's Opening Statements are Today

​Opening statements begin this afternoon in the misdemeanor criminal trial of the Irvine 11, whittled down to 10 Muslim student-defendants from the University of California at Irvine and Riverside since the February 2010 speech at UCI by Israel's Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren that drew the c ... More >>

[UPDATED with 11 Becoming 10?] "Irvine 11" Case Heads for Trial

​UPDATE, JULY 21, 3:25 P.M.: The Irvine 11 may soon become the Irvine 10.If Hakim Nasreddine Kebir completes 40 hours of community service at the Someone Cares Soup Kitchen in Costa Mesa by Sept. 23, the 20-year-old will be removed from the controversial case pending in Orange County Superior Co ... More >>

[UPDATED] Irvine 11 Charged With Misdemeanors, Face Jail, Probation, Community Service if Convicted

Photos by Christopher Victorio/OC WeeklySeven of the Irvine 11​UPDATE, MARCH 11, 4:08 P.M.: The arraignment of the Irvine 11 was continued this morning until April 15 so the court can consider defense motions to seal grand jury documents, remove the Orange County District Attorney (OCDA) from the ... More >>

Does Islamophobia Color Some Support of Criminal Charges Against the "Irvine 11"?

​Critics of Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas's decision to seek criminal charges against the 11 students arrested for interrupting the speech of Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren last February at UC Irvine include national and statewide organizations, community leaders, esteemed UC I ... More >>

Local Record Review: Barrett Johnson

Myspace.com​Barrett JohnsonNew Jerusalem(www.barrettjohnsonmusic.com) It's always been acknowledged, sometimes off-handedly, that the continuing impact of sensitive pop/rock by solo male musicians is something that not merely survives, but also thrives. That may seem obvious, but the con ... More >>

Elementary School Girl Asked Man to Molest Her?

Olarte: Should I try a different excuse?​Israel Antonio Olarte offered what he thought was a valid explanation for sexually molesting an 11-year-old Orange County girl in April 2008:She wanted it.I'm not making this up.

Rashomon Reports From Israeli Defense Forces Visit to Cal State Fullerton

​Move over, UC Irvine: Cal State Fullerton has entered the ranting-against-visiting-Israelis sweepstakes.Or has it?Pro-Palestinian students say they recently confronted two Israeli Defense Forces soldiers on campus, according to a Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) report.

Alex Odeh, Arab-American Leader Killed in Santa Ana Bomb Blast 25 Years Ago, Remembered With $1 Million Reward for Killers

​It's been 25 years since Alex Odeh was killed by a bombing at his Santa Ana office. The FBI marked the anniversary by announcing it has not dropped its investigation of the incident and that a reward of up to $1 million has been offered for information that leads to the apprehension of whoever wa ... More >>

At the Farmers' Market: Peaches

Movin' to the countryGonna eat me a lot of peaches.- The Presidents of the United States of America, "Peaches"Flickr user weaselmcfee​No fruit says summer like peaches. While strawberries are at least nominally available most of the year, and plums and whatnot are shipped in from Chile or Israel o ... More >>

Latter-Day Mexicans

[¡Ask a Mexican!] South of the border Mormons redux

Mark Yudof, UC President Deemed Weak on Anti-Semitism on Campuses, Including UCI

​The University of California has been too weak in its reaction to acts of anti-Semitism on its campuses, claims a letter from Jewish groups to UC President Mark G. Yudof (right).Swastika graffiti, anti-Israel speakers who use anti-Semitic language, and harassment and intimidation of Jewish stude ... More >>

Crazy Imam Invited by UCI Muslim Student Union: Jews "The New Nazis"

Good people who criticize Israel's policies toward Palestinians always strive to reassure Jews that they're not anti-Semitic. They'll claim they're anti-Israel, anti-Zionist, but don't hate all Jews--just those that oppress the Palestinians.That's been the claim of the UC Irvine Muslim Student Un ... More >>

UC Irvine's Muslim Student Union Brings Back Anti-Jewish Imam

Malik Ali: Back for more heeb-hating...​Here we go again: UC Irvine's Muslim Student Union holds its annual bash-Israel bash that veers into outright Jew-hating from time to time. We can argue the distinctions between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism until the return of the Mahdi, but the MSU can't ... More >>

Directors Own Words: Gwendolyn Oxenham of "Pelada"

"When I was lying to the Iranian government." --Gwendolyn Oxenham, co-director of Pelada, in response to an audience question after Saturday's Newport Beach Film Festival screening about the scariest moment in making the documentary. She and life mate Luke Boughen, who also co-directed, play pick ... More >>

Israel's Ambassador to U.S. Comes to UCI. Amazingly, Only 12 Arrests Follow

UCTV.tvMichael Oren speaks previously at UC Santa Barbara.​UC Irvine hosted Israel's ambassador to the U.S. Monday and--surprisingly--his address was only interrupted 16 times and a mere 12 students were arrested. Campus officials must be thrilled.

Obama, Economy, War, Swine Flu, Iran Election Crack Alamanac's Top 10 News Topics of 2009

Here are The World Almanac and Book of Facts Top Ten News Topics of 2009:​1. Obama Presidency Begins. With the U.S. at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and facing its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, Barack Obama swearing in as the nation's 44th president Jan. 20 in Washington, DC.her ... More >>

Hidden Wounds, Paper Bullets

Grand Central Art Center

Life of Brian

Bay Theatre

Super-Fun Cover Story Supplement: More Orly!

Even if you read every one of the 4,000-n'-something words of this week's cover story about Dr. Orly Taitz, Esq., our local dentist crusading to have Barack Obama removed from office, you still won't have gotten the full Orly story. She's a busy woman with many pots cooking. So here are a few more T ... More >>

Behold John Bolton and His Moustache at Balboa Bay Club

John Robert Bolton, the neocon's neocon, laps up the hosannas of fellow knuckle-draggers May 28 when he is the special guest of the World Affairs Council of Orange County. The nonprofit, 500-member council--which since its 1967 founding has hosted Prince Andrew, Vicente Fox, Hans Blix and several ot ... More >>

Local Armenian Genocide Denier Labels Armenians the Genociders!

The hilarities of Orange County's obsessive Ottoman, Ergun Kirlikovali, never cease. Last week, he urged readers of his Turkla.com column to send along to elected officials a pre-written letter authored by the U.S. Azeris Network (USAN) to commemorate March 31 as a day of rememberance for what Azeri ... More >>

All Gaza, All the Time for One Muslim Student Union Watcher

***UPDATED*** As former Weekly reporter Derek Olson mentions in this piece, recent UC Irvine graduate Reut R. Cohen keeps tabs on the campus' controversial Muslim Student Union on her blog. But, understandably, it's been all Gaza, all the time in recent days. Cohen (left) provides v ... More >>

LowBallVideoChatter: Checkpoint 303, "Streets O Ramallah"

Here's something I find totally mesmerizing: Checkpoint 303, a collaboration between Tunisian "sound cutter" SC MoCha and Israel-based "sound catcher" SC Yosh (you just can't label 'em DJs anymore), mixing intricate aural work and boomtastic beats with field recordings taped in the eternally FULABA ... More >>

Against the Wall

Praying, eating and bowling with the most hated student group at UC Irvine

Hits!

Rhino Records

American Women and Children First

There were an estimated 25,000 Americans in Lebanon, and an estimated 30,000 Canadians. But when the cruise ship Orient Queen departed the port of Beirut towards the safety of the island of Cyprus it was U.S.A. all the way. Anywhere from 1,100 to 1,800 Canadians, all told to assemble for evacuation ... More >>

Jesus Kills

The end of the world is coming, and some OC Christians cant wait

No Future

Paradise Now gets at what really provokes Palestines young suicide bombers

!Ask a Mexican!

They Don't Know Sith

O.C. Film & Music Festival is a no CGI zone

STEAMBOY

A Trip to the Not-So Holy Land

James Journey To Jerusalem

As the World Burns

Alexander Cockburn eviscerates Operation Iraqi Fiefdomand Christopher Hitchens, the barstool bombardier

Letters

An Immodest Proposal

Pacifist professor: Lets bomb Baghdad

Diary of a Mad County

Diary of a Mad County

Crystal Unclear

Schuller probes advisers neo-Nazi past

Hour of White Power

Reverend Robert H. Schuller relies on a man with ties to Neo-Nazis to build religious understanding

Islam-o-phobia

Welcome to OC Muslims new world

Clip and Save

The year in great movies