

What could they possibly have in common?

One’s a Hassidic Reggae Superstar, and the other is a, uh… Web site that features naked goth-type women. Apples and oranges, right? Well, not quite, see both are the subject of criticism and boycott calls, in part because of their perceived Zionism. Allow me to explain.

Some guy named bruce posted a call to boycott Matisyahu on San Diego’s indymedia Web page. Amongst Matisyahu’s crimes is the cultural insensitivity of a reggae singer who is anti-marijuana: “Reggae is the music of Rastafarians and marijuana a sacrament … and Matisyahu’s marketing association with reggae is blasphemous to the Rastafri religion.” More importantly however, is Matisyahu’s association with Chabad Lubavitch, described as an organization that is “a primary purveyor of Zionism.” This bruce dude urges us all to

… call your radio stations and tell them not to play ‘King without a Crown’ until Matisyahu speaks out against the subjugation and bankrupting of the Palestinian people. And tell ormusic.com and jdubrecords.org and ‘hasidicreggae.com that you won’t be buying anything associated with Matisyuahu until he speaks out against the subjugation and bankrupting of the Palestinian people.

Dude, I’ll speak out against the subjugation and bankrupting of the Palestinian people… by corrupt PA officials. But whatever, let’s continue. A Lubavitcher who supports Israel isn’t such a stretch, but what of the Suicide Girls? Well I was reading this blog entry by one Andrea Rubinstein. Andrea is one of those people, so certain of what is right and what is wrong, so full of self-righteousness and hubris, that she can arrogantly assert what is best for you and for everyone else. I mean cripes, I consider myself left-wing – I am a strong supporter of things like socialized health care, freedom of choice, affirmative action, I oppose racism, sexismand homophobia etc. etc. but people like Rubinstein sometimes make me embarassed because we are ostensibly in the same camp.

But I digress. Rubinstein reported on trouble in Suicide Girl land. Apparently 30 of the Girls have left the company amid allegations of abusive practices by Sean Suhl, one of the founders of Suicide Girls. Rubinstein provides a plethora of links outlining the company’s misbehavior towards its staff, including the Wired News piece that broke the story. That’s all fine and good. But what really gets me is that one of the things Sean Suhl is accused of is that he is a Zionist and that the company gives 10% of its profits to the IDF. This and other similar claims are now all over the Web. I have no interest in defending Mr. Suhl, but why do people give a rat’s ass about his Zionism? How does one even give money to the IDF? Why are self styled progressives so stupid??

All this almost makes me long for days of dudes like Noam Chomsky and Edward Said. Say what you will about their politics, but neither guy was stupid… What? Chomsky’s not dead yet? Oh. OK.