This column recognizes its obligation, in the interests of fairness, to provide a forum for those with opposing viewpoints to respond, and, in fact, we are most especially sensitive to allowing those who’ve been personally attacked to get out their side of the story.
On 9/16/06, I noted that the City had approved a $12.5 million refinancing plan for the All Stars Project, a "non-profit" group controlled by cult leaders Fred Newman and Leonora Fulani, which specializes in staging anti-Semitic theatre of cruelty performance pieces and indoctrinating young recruits to the cult. The NYC Industrial Development Agency (IDA), on which the Mayor controls a majority, voted 6 to 4 to approve the project. I noted that all of Mayor Bloomberg’s representatives had voted for it. I also noted that "Doctors" Newman and Fulani were leaders in the Independence Party (IP), which had provided the Mayor crucial support in his initial election, and less crucial support thereafter. I’d previously noted elsewhere that the Newman/Fulani Empire of Evil had, as a result of its political activities, benefited from large charitable contributions, consulting fees, patronage appointments, and public funding, all courtesy of the Mayor (although the Governor and Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno, among others, have also been guilty), including an effort to allow the cult to provide taxpayer supported, school-based "therapy" to our children.
In a way, the Mayor’s honesty on this issue is refreshing. Most politicians, facing public exposure of such scandalous proportions, would cravenly cave-in to the well deserved public scorn such abominable conduct rightly generated. Not our Mayor, who bravely stood his ground. To Mike Bloomberg, a contract is a contract, and that’s that. This is integrity at an almost unprecedented level, and may just prove that, as a value, integrity is a bit overrated. I should also add that the Mayor, like Dr. Newman himself, appears admirably free of the ethnic provincialism found among so many of our co-religionists. I should note that the lack of such chauvinism is often a good thing, although perhaps not in this instance.
My article also took notice of the abstention cast by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz’s IDA representative, Joseph Douek (pronounced "dwek"), an Orthodox Jew of Sephardic origin. Like Mayor Bloomberg and Dr. Newman, the Borough President and his representative are also admirably free of the pernicious scourge of Jewish parochialism. Gatemouth, however, is not worthy of such admiration, and I stated that, until I heard a public explanation justifying the abstention, I would rename Brooklyn’s rep on the Industrial Development Agency "Joe Dreck". I also requested the personal intervention of Abraham Hecht, a Rabbi from Mr. Douek’s neighborhood, who had previously issued a successful fatwa calling for the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, and for whom Mr. Markowitz has displayed some level of fondness (although I should note that, as Mr. Douek had only abstained, assassination would clearly be taking the matter too far; but why not consider excommunication?).
Like the Mayor he bows down to in abject submission, Borough President Markowitz is similarly a man of his word. Running for Beep in 2001, he promised again and again that he would ensure Brooklyn got its fair share by being the best friend of whoever was elected our Mayor. At the time, such talk was dismissed as amusing hyperbole, but Markowitz has been true to his word, showing, time and again, that his most outstanding quality as an elected official is his inability to blush. Given the opportunity to cast a vote against an outrageously scandalous political payoff to a hate group, and thereby pleasing myriad constituencies, Mr. Markowitz demurred, instead choosing to bend over and submit to the Mayor’s passionate and undivided attention. Being a Brooklyn resident, I sincerely hope that Mr. Markowitz was well-rewarded for his "integrity"; it is one thing to be Heidi Fleiss, quite another to be a political transvestite turning tricks under the Williamsburg Bridge at five dollars a shot.
Over a week after the "Joe Dreck" piece was published, an interesting response appeared on my blog. Given the insider’s-type viewpoints and quite heartfelt pain expressed therein, I think it is safe to assume that it was posted on behalf of Mr. Douek by someone close to him. I first noticed it this morning. Since the response was so delayed, it had extremely limited exposure. It seemed demonstrably unfair to those affected that the response on behalf of Mr. Douek was not given equal play to the original article, so I am publishing it verbatim for all to see:
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/27/2006 – 11:39pm.
Stupidity. you realy have so much time on your hands to bad mouth everybody. IDA appointees don’t get paid. I doubt Marty Markowitz is an anti-semite. What does a Rabbi. have to do with it?COMPLETE STUPIDITY. This group was getting the money regardless. They had six votes from the start.
Well there you have it. Even though the direct payoff of taxpayer money to pure scum was exposed as such before the vote, Mr. Douek cannot be faulted for not paying attention, because no one was paying him to do so. I would have thought that the fact he was unpaid would have freed Mr. Douek from the threat of financial reprisal should he have chosen to vote his conscience (I lose sleep over the thought of Dan Doctoroff, another IDA member, being denied his dollar a year). Apparently though, the koved of holding this unpaid position is such that it justifies acts of unspeakable prostitution, even though the lack of a paycheck is apparently supposed to insulate Mr. Douek from having to endure any public accountability for his despicable and deplorable lack of action.
And did I accuse Marty Markowitz of being an anti-Semite? That was not my intent. Such a charge would be ridiculous and unfair. MARTY MARKOWITZ IS NOT AN ANTI-SEMITE; HE IS MERELY A SPINELESS COWARD WILLING TO SELL OUT HIS CO-RELIGIONISTS AND THE TAXPAYERS IN ORDER TO BE FIRST IN LINE TO LICK THE BOOTS OF THE POWERFUL!
Oh Yes, I forgot: "This group was getting the money regardless".
So, perhaps Pastor Niemoller got it wrong, perhaps he should have said "When they came for the Jews, I abstained, because standing up for what was right would not have changed the results, and besides, some other Jews had no problems with it".
Obviously Joe’s taken some flack for this in the neighborhood, and, given what the local Rabbinate has proven capable of, who can blame him for being upset? But he should be honored I’ve taken the time to "bad mouth" him. In my crusade against the political establishment’s shameful dance of seduction with the Independence Party, I’ve attacked the Mayor, the Governor, Eliot Spitzer, Hillary Clinton, Joe Bruno, Alan Hevesi and Jeanine Pirro. Joe, compared to this august assemblage, you are a very small pot of chulent indeed; although, like the Mayor and Governor, you and Mr. Markowitz deserve special mention for specifically doing your dirty work of behalf of the Newman/Fulani Empire of Evil, rather than disingenuously hiding behind the cover of the IP’s other faction (such that it is, which ain’t much), now that public exposure of the Newman/Fulani agenda has made them a public embarrassment (although only Clinton and Hevesi can claim to be entirely free from past dealings with Newman and Fulani; something which, by the way, cannot be said for John Faso).
I’m sorry Joe, but your response, although arriving before the Day of Atonement, seems woefully inadequate. You have forgotten the words of Rabbi Hillel, "where there are no men, be thou a man" (apparently, Mr. Markowitz, perhaps owing to his residence in Park Slope, attaches a different meaning to the term "taking it like a man"). However Joe, it seems to me that, in regards to the manhood of yourself and Mr. Markowitz, the mohel took a little bit too much off the top.
I have a better idea, Joe; why not resign? A public act of contrition might re-open the "Gates of Repentance" before the "Book of Life" is sealed. A press conference where you express your regret at the acts of evil you could not prevent, but failed to object to, might get noticed by the press, and possibly prevent such evils from occurring in the future, at the same time giving pols like Mr. Markowitz due notice that such willful moral blindness will not be allowed to pass without consequences. But do me a favor, Joe, if you are incapable of resigning, at least spare me anymore lame name-calling which fails to substantively address the specific issues I’ve raised. It will not be tolerated, and could very well result in the distribution, by marauding hordes of outraged “Room 8” readers, of copies of the "Joe Dreck" series in every store and Synagogue in the region of the Sephardic Community Center. Not that I’m suggesting that such a thing should occur; like Rabbi Hecht once claimed, I am merely engaging in some Talmudic disputation, and it is my learned opinion that such an action would not constitute "L’shon Hora", and would, in fact, be halachically permissible. Though, unlike Rabbi Hecht in regards to Mr. Rabin (or Maurice Gumbs in regards to Joe Hynes), I will offer the clarification that I hope that such a thing does not happen, because, in the immortal words of Richard Nixon “that would be wrong”.
Perhaps though, in the manner of the Amsterdam News, in a far distant era, I will end each and every column with the words:
JOE DOUEK MUST RESIGN!
Once again, thanks for dropping me a line, and may you and years have a happy and healthy New Year.