Rabbi says e-mail response to Abramoff was a joke
Thursday, June 30, 2005

An Orthodox rabbi with ties to Jack Abramoff says an e-mail that suggested the disgraced lobbyist receive a "Scholar of Talmudic Studies" award was a joke.

Rabbi Daniel Lapin, the head of Toward Tradition [Web Site], told The Forward that the message was "obviously ridiculous." "This is not something that came to Toward Tradition's board," he said.

An e-mail released by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee showed that Abramoff asked Lapin for an award. "I have been nominated for membership in the Cosmos Club, which is a very distinguished club in Washington, D.C., comprised of Nobel Prize winners, etc. Problem for me is that most prospective members have received awards and I have received none. I was wondering if you thought it possible that I could put that I have received an award from Toward Tradition with a sufficiently academic title, perhaps something like Scholar of Talmudic Studies?... Indeed, it would be even better if it were possible that I received these in years past, if you know what I mean. Anyway, I think you see what I am trying to finagle here!" he wrote.

In response, Lapin wrote, "Let's organize your many prestigious awards so they're ready to 'hang on the wall.'... I just need to know what needs to be produced. Letters? Plaques? Neither?"


http://www.forward.com/articles/3413


July 1, 2005

The Christian conservative movement's favorite Orthodox rabbi has been taking a ribbing in the press over a supposed favor he did for a disgraced lobbyist - but it's no joke, some say.

Rabbi Daniel Lapin, the Seattle-based head of Toward Tradition, has been cited in reports in The New York Times, The Washington Post and other newspapers for an exchange of e-mails he had with erstwhile Toward Tradition chairman Jack Abramoff in which Abramoff asks the rabbi to present him with a fake award attesting to his bona fides as a Talmud scholar. Lapin has denied issuing any award.

In press accounts, the Abramoff's request for the phony award has been played for laughs. For Orthodox authorities, however, the allegation that a group representing itself as an avatar of Torah-true Judaism would phony up an honor is no laughing matter.

Rabbi Basil Herring, executive vice president of the Rabbinical Council of America, the main organization of Modern Orthodox rabbis, said he hopes the exchange described in the e-mails is not true.

"If what is reported is true and turns out to be substantiated, we would be concerned that it would reflect poorly on the Jewish community and on any group that purports to represent Torah Judaism and the Orthodox community," he said. "We pray they're not true. If they are, they would be a black mark on the Jewish community."

The e-mails came to light during a hearing last week of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, which, along with a federal grand jury, the IRS, the Senate Finance Committee and the FBI, is investigating Abramoff, a top Republican influence peddler, over alleged fraud and overcharging in his work for Indian tribes involved in casino gambling.

"I hate to ask your help with something so silly," Abramoff wrote to Lapin on September 15, 2000, according to e-mail released by the Indian Affairs Committee. "I have been nominated for membership in the Cosmos Club, which is a very distinguished club in Washington, D.C., comprised of Nobel Prize winners, etc. Problem for me is that most prospective members have received awards and I have received none. I was wondering if you thought it possible that I could put that I have received an award from Toward Tradition with a sufficiently academic title, perhaps something like Scholar of Talmudic Studies?... Indeed, it would be even better if it were possible that I received these in years past, if you know what I mean. Anyway, I think you see what I am trying to finagle here!"

Lapin seemed amenable to his request. "Mazel tov, the Cosmos Club is a big deal," he replied in an e-mail. A few days later, he added: "Let's organize your many prestigious awards so they're ready to 'hang on the wall.'... I just need to know what needs to be produced. Letters? Plaques? Neither?"

But in a telephone conversation with the Forward, Lapin insisted that his response was satiric. "My response was, 'Let's plaster the walls with these certificates,'" he said, adding, "It was obviously ridiculous. This is not something that came to Toward Tradition's board."

Asked about Abramoff's troubles, Lapin said: "I don't know that I could add to what's been said. I don't know that I want to join the piling on. It's pretty obvious. It's pretty sad."

Lapin said he had no knowledge of any of Abramoff's alleged misdeeds while they were going on.

Lapin is not the only member of his family ensnared in the Abramoff scandals. His brother David, a business consultant, was supposed to provide a code of business ethics and other services to the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, an American protectorate and an Abramoff client, under the terms of a $1.2 million no-bid contract secured by Abramoff. Marianas officials said that David Lapin failed to deliver; he said that he provided the work.

David Lapin was the headmaster of the now defunct Orthodox Jewish boy's school, the Eshkol Academy, which Abramoff set up in a Washington, D.C., suburb.

Press reports about Abramoff and Daniel Lapin have underscored the two men's ties to leaders of the Christian right, including the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins and the Christian Coalition's one-time head, Ralph Reed, now a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor of Georgia. But even as Abramoff and his rabbi friend wore their Orthodoxy on their sleeves for their Christian pals, mainstream Orthodox Jews such as Herring appeared to distance themselves from them.

Herring said that Toward Tradition "certainly has no relation with the RCA and the circles in which we work. I don't think there've been any collaborative efforts or any contacts."

FOX IN DA HEN HOUSE....BUSH IN DA BACKGROUND..... - OOooooOOOOOoooooo

Henny-Penny

One day Henny-penny was picking up corn in the cornyard when–whack!– something hit her upon the head. “Goodness gracious me!” said Henny- penny; “the sky’s a-going to fall; I must go and tell the king.”

So she went along and she went along and she went along till she met Cocky-locky. “Where are you going, Henny-penny?” says Cocky-locky. "Oh! I’m going to tell the king the sky’s a-falling,” says Henny- penny. “May I come with you?” says Cocky-locky. “Certainly,” says Henny-penny. So Henny-penny and Cocky-locky went to tell-the king the sky was falling.

They went along, and they went along, and they went along, till they met Ducky-daddles. “Where are you going to, Henny-penny and Cocky- locky?” says Ducky-daddles. “Oh! we’re going to tell the king the sky’s a-falling,” said Henny-penny and Cocky-locky. “May I come with you?” says Ducky-daddles. “Certainly,” said Henny-penny and Cocky- locky. So Henny-penny, Cocky-locky and Ducky-daddles went to tell the king the sky was a-falling.

So they went along, and they went along, and they went along, till they met Goosey-poosey, “Where are you going to, Henny-penny, Cocky- locky and Ducky-daddles?” said Goosey-poosey. “Oh! we’re going to tell the king the sky’s a-falling,” said Henny-penny and Cocky-locky and Ducky-daddles. “May I come with you,” said Goosey-poosey. "Certainly,” said Henny-penny, Cocky-locky and Ducky-daddles. So Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles and Goosey-poosey went to tell the king the sky was a-falling.

So they went along, and they went along, and they went along, till they met Turkey-lurkey. “Where are you going, Henny-penny, Cocky- locky, Ducky-daddles, and Goosey-poosey?” says Turkey-lurkey. “Oh! we’re going to tell the king the sky’s a-falling,” said Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles and Goosey-poosey. “May I come with you? Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles and Goosey-poosey?” said Turkey-lurkey. “Why, certainly, Turkey-lurkey,” said Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, and Goosey-poosey. So Henny-penny, Cocky- locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey and Turkey-lurkey all went to tell the king the sky was a-falling.

So they went along, and they went along, and they went along, till they met Foxy-woxy, and Foxy-woxy said to Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey and Turkey-lurkey: “Where are you going, Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, and Turkey- lurkey?” And Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, and Turkey-lurkey said to Foxy-woxy: “We’re going to tell the king the sky’s a-falling.” “Oh! but this is not the way to the king, Henny- penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey and Turkey-lurkey," says Foxy-woxy; “I know the proper way; shall I show it you?” “Why certainly, Foxy-woxy,” said Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, and Turkey-lurkey. So Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky- daddles, Goosey-poosey, Turkey-lurkey, and Foxy-woxy all went to tell the king the sky was a-falling. So they went along, and they went along, and they went along, till they came to a narrow and dark hole. Now this was the door of Foxy-woxy’s cave. But Foxy-woxy said to Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, and Turkey- lurkey: “This is the short way to the king’s palace you’ll soon get there if you follow me. I will go first and you come after, Henny- penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky daddles, Goosey-poosey, and Turkey-lurkey." "Why of course, certainly, without doubt, why not?” said Henny-Penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, and Turkey-lurkey.

So Foxy-woxy went into his cave, and he didn’t go very far but turned round to wait for Henny-Penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey- poosey and Turkey-lurkey.

So at last at first Turkey-lurkey went through the dark hole into the cave. He hadn’t got far when “Hrumph," Foxy-woxy snapped off Turkey-lurkey’s head and threw his body over his left shoulder. Then Goosey-poosey went in, and “Hrumph,” off went her head and Goosey-poosey was thrown beside Turkey-lurkey. Then Ducky- daddles waddled down, and “Hrumph,” snapped Foxy-woxy, and Ducky- daddles’ head was off and Ducky-daddles was thrown alongside Turkey- lurkey and Goosey-poosey. Then Cocky-locky strutted down into the cave and he hadn’t gone far when “Snap, Hrumph!” went Foxy-woxy and Cocky- locky was thrown alongside of Turkey-lurkey, Goosey-poosey and Ducky- daddles.

But Foxy-woxy had made two bites at Cocky-locky, and when the first snap only hurt Cocky-locky, but didn’t kill him, he called out to Henny-penny. So she turned tail and ran back home, so she never told the king the sky was a-falling.

You gave me a good idea:

Let's issue Abramoff Awards to those who steal like him.

My first candidate: Tom Delay