Jewish Post, Indianapolis, Marion County, 8 January 2003 — Page 10

NAT 6 January 8. 2003

Media Watch Terrorism is not as simple as adolescent maladjustment

By RABBI ELLIOT GERTEL "Law and Order" has presented an absorbing episode about two university professors murdered by Greg Landen

(Wil Horneff)/ an American of college age who converted to Islam. It seems that he had returned to New York from Pakistan to work in an Islamic bookstore and had been sending misogynistic literature to a female professor who picketed the store and thus got him fired. After questioning the store owner, the detectives realize that they have another John Walker Lind. The young man is arrested in a mosque, the only Anglo Saxon among the worshippers. From the outset he is hostile in court: "You have no authority over me. You don't even try to hide your disdain for Islam." The indicting judge, a male, responds that it is not Islam for which he has disdain. Indeed, writers Aaron Zelman and Marc Guggenheim bend

over backwards to depict Islam in a sympathetic light. If there is a crazed Muslim fanatic depicted, then there must be a pleasant, articulate, handsome Muslim lawyer. This is done well in the depiction of Mr. Anwar Muhammed (Ali Farahnakian). I have yet to see most TV programs or films

dedication to the profession. On every level, Mohammed is admirable. "Believe me," he says, "I don't want his religious beliefs in the courtroom any more than you do. I'm representing Greg Landen because he needs my help. But please don’t confuse his politics with my faith."

From the outset he is hostile in court: "You have no authority over me. You don't even try to hide your disdain for Islam." The indicting judge, a male, responds that it is not Islam for which he has disdain. Indeed, writers Aaron Zelman and Marc Guggenheim bend over backwards to depict Islam in a sympathetic light.

with bad Jewish characters counterbalance them in this way with good and likeable ones. Prosecutor Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) has a good relationship with his MuslimAmerican colleague and makes a point of observing that they have been friends for many years. He says that Mr. Muhammed must have had a bad year in the wake of 9-11-01. The latter shrugs it off, "When people need you, somehow your ethnicity disappears." There is no boastfulness or cockiness here, but

These comments are welltaken, in contrast with Landen's, that is, Mousah Salim's, whose rantings are always confrontational and accusatory. At one point during the trial he rises and orders his attorney, Mr. Muhammed' "Tell them about the U.S. aggression. Tell them about the U.S. Government's crusade against Islam. They are trying to wipe us out... .Your taxes pay for the bombs that kill Afghan children. You're the terrorists. They're trying to shut me up. That's why they're trying to put me in prison." Landen accuses Mr.

Quotation of the week Masorti Movement: A voice for a humane and sensible form of Judaism in Israel

By RABBI GERSHON BARNARD

At the opening dinner of the Rabbinical Assembly Solidarity Mission, which was the framework for my recent trip to Israel, the chairman made an announcement and an ogyHe explained that there had been an understanding that there would be no fundraising on the mission but that, nevertheless, one of the organizations ot the Masorti/Conservative Movement had slipped solicitation letters under the hotel room doors of the mission participants, and he apologized for that violation of the understanding. That announcement led to

a series of discussions over the next few days about the finances of the Masorti Move-

ment.

On the first full day of the mission we visited a Tali school in the French Hill section of Jerusalem. Like many other areas of Israeli life, the public educational system is divided into "religious" and "non-reli-gious" segments. The "religious" schools are strictly Orthodox. In the "non-religious" schools a certain amount of Bible and Holidays are supposedly taught in connection with Israeli history, but it is generally agreed that those subjects are not taken seriously.

Many people who go through the "non-religious" schools come to think of themselves as Israelis but not as Jews. In an attempt to bridge this gap in the Israeli school system and society, and at the initiative of some parents, the Ministry of Education, a number of years ago, set up within the regular school system a number of Tali (Tigbur Limudey Yahadut - Enriched Jewish Studies) schools. The curriculum for these schools has been devised by the Masorti Movement. Today, Israeli schools have increased security, but government allocations do not cover Continued on page 14

Muhammed of failing to stand up to an American Government that is framing Muslims for murder. The trial judge, who is a woman, gives Landen every chance to change his bizarre behavior in court and exhorts him to recognize that his attorney, Mr. Muhammed, is doing a fine job. But Landen/ Salim fires Muhammed and chooses to represent himself. He seems to score some points at the expense of a Jewish witness, a voice and electronics expert, who matches Salim's (that is, Landen's) voice with a voice mail recording at the murdered professors' home. "Are you Jewish?" Landen asks the witness. "As a Jew, isn't it your mission in life to destroy the lives of Muslims?" The witness is so dumbfounded by the absurdity of the question that he cannot even respond. True, the drama points to the bias behind the question. But the writers also have their judge allow the question because it "goes to" the "bias" of the witness, of the Jewish witness. This development gave me the uneasy feeling that a good response from the witness would have been helpful despite the irrationality of the question—an irrationality that was, after all, taken seriously by the judge. Salim/Landen also gets to

cross-examine his father, who had to testify that the family gun, whose ballistics match the gunshot wounds of the victims, was taken from the house. He actually asks his dad why the parents did not have any more children, suggesting that it was because "you didn't want me." As his mother walks out, he shouts at her, "You're embarrassed by me." He then goes on to harangue against America for "trying to destroy Islam for years. It sides with the Jews against the Palestinians because America is a JudeoChristian country. Since 1990 it has occupied our holy lands in Saudi Arabia." Landen then turns on the judge (once again), quoting the Koran to the effect that men are superior to women and shouting, "I will not allow a female to judge me." The writers allow Salim's rhetoric to stand without response. True, he is not presented sympathetically, so there is no reason that his words should be given credence. The writers decide that their murderous fanatic will not be taken seriously anyway, after they put a female psychologist in the courtroom to evaluate him for the prosecuting staff. The psychologist, a woman. Continued on page 14

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