GOING GLOBAL —For some reason there’s not much going on locally this week, so this week we’re dedicting this space to national and international tidbits.
MUHAMMAD ALI PLEADED FOR DANIEL PEARL’S LIFE (JTA) — LOS ANGLES — When Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped by Islamic extremists in January 2002, the most famous American Muslim of the day, Muhammad Ali, pleaded publicly for his release and life.
“I appeal to you to show Daniel Pearl compassion and kindness,” Ali implored Pearl’s abductors, who would behead the journalist in Pakistan after nine days of captivity, although his fate would not be known for another three weeks.
“Treat him as you would wish all Muslims to be treated by others,” entreated Ali, who died last June 3 at 74. “Daniel should not become another victim of the ongoing conflict. It is my most sincere prayer that Daniel Pearl be permitted to return safely to his family. May Allah have mercy on us all.”
Pearl’s parents, Judea and Ruth, also asked Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, to intercede with the abductors.
“Farrakhan said, day after day, that he wasn’t ready and when he was finally ready it was too late,” Judea Pearl, who was born in Israel, recalled June 4.
By contrast, Pearl noted, “Ali did not hesitate a minute and issued a plea that only Satan could resist; it was published next day in Pakistan. Ali further called me by phone and insisted on being invited to the party once Danny was released.”
Instead of the anticipated celebration to mark the journalist’s hoped-for return, Ali and his wife were invited to attend the private memorial service on March 10, 2002, at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.
At the service, which this reporter attended as a friend of Pearl’s parents, Ali walked in slowly, showing clear signs of the degenerative Parkinson’s disease that eventually contributed to his death.
But he brightened as Judea Pearl, a UCLA professor, mentioned Ali’s intercession for Daniel and lauded the legendary boxing champion and social activist as “a champion of humanity.”
In memory of their son, Judea and Ruth Pearl have established the Daniel Pearl Foundation to support causes that inspired his life, including promotion of cross-cultural understanding and prevention of hate-based violence.
ISRAELI FILM ABOUT WOMEN SOLDIERS TO BE MADE INTO AMERICAN TV SERIES (JTA) — JERUSALEM — An Israeli film about women serving in the Israeli army will be adapted into a U.S. television series.
“Zero Motivation” will be remade into a comedy-drama by BBC America in conjunction with American actress and comedian Amy Poehler’s production company, Paper Kite Productions, Variety magazine reported.
The successful 2014 film, which was directed by the Israeli filmmaker Talya Lavie, won two awards at the Tribeca Film Festival and was nominated for 12 Ophir Awards, Israel’s equivalent of the Oscars, winning six of them.
The TV rights were bought by Poehler, a former star of “Saturday Night Live,” and Natasha Lyonne, who stars in the hit Netflix series “Orange is the New Black” and is the daughter of Holocaust survivors.
SAMSUNG OFFERS NEW ‘KOSHER’ SMARTPHONE (JNS.org) — Samsung, in partnership with the Israeli company Askan, last week debuted a “kosher” smartphone for users seeking to avoid religiously offensive content.
“We chose Askan as a partner because the company helps the haredi society, which wants to make use of smart mobile devices, and gain access to our advanced instruments in complete conformity with their lifestyle,” said Guy Hibash, director of Samsung Israel’s enterprise division.
Askan creates technology that can program phones with Internet filters in order to block content that haredi users would consider offensive. The “kosher” operating system will run on various Samsung phones, including the Galaxy S6 and S7 series as well as the A5 and J1 models.
The kosher smartphone is still awaiting an endorsement from the rabbinical court of Rabbi Nissim Karelitz, who oversees smartphone usage in the non-Hassidic haredi community.