Rick Sanchez, the anchorman fired from CNN after calling Jon Stewart a "bigot" and implying that Jews control the media, is entering comeback mode. First step: Meet with a high-profile rabbi.



Sanchez will "hold a public dialogue" with Rabbi Shmuley Boteach at a synagogue in New York City on January 13. "My career path was changed because of a misconstrued comment, which very few actually even bothered to listen to," Sanchez said in a statement. "I have spent the last few months concentrating on my family, but instantly jumped at the opportunity for a public dialogue with my friend, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. I look forward to addressing any and all questions and concerns of the Jewish community."

Rabbi Boteach, who bills himself as "America's Rabbi", is kind of the Father Cutié of Judaism. He's discussed gay marriage with Rosie O'Donnell and the afterlife with Christopher Hitchens. Now he's going to discuss Rick Sanchez with Rick Sanchez.

"Our community has enough problems without looking for anti-Semitism where it doesn't exist," Boteach said. "Rick Sanchez was humiliated and his reputation dragged through the mud without being allowed to explain himself. The Jewish religion says that a man's most cherished possession is his good name. Rick deserves the opportunity to reclaim his."

Tickets to the meeting, at the Carlebach Synagogue on Manhattan's Upper West Side, cost $25. Oh, and you should probably check out Friends of Rick Sanchez, a pro-Rick Sanchez Comeback site, which may or may not be written by Rick Sanchez.

From the page titled "Where's Rick?":

People inevitably ask those of us who know Rick what he's up to, where he's been, what his plans for the future are and why he's been so... quiet. Quiet is, after all, not a word most people associate with Rick. His fans regularly ask him those questions on Twitter too. The answer is an easy one. It's fair to say that Rick was blindsided by all of this. One day, you've got a job you love. The next, you get a phone call finding out you're unemployed. In an instant, Rick's life changed. Unfortunately, it's a story that gets played out everyday in this country. Many others know exactly how Rick feels, and he now knows exactly how they feel too.

Follow Miami New Times on Facebook and Twitter @MiamiNewTimes.