“I’m a Diamond Importer…. Yeah… That’s the Ticket!”

I’ve always said I blog to get people thinking and talking, so I’m always checking the newspapers for things we can agree on, but mostly things that cause us to stop in our tracks and say, “Hmmmm.”

Religion and race are always grist for the mill, but sex is king. People love to do it, talk about it, read about it and make movies about it. But today the discussion turns to lying about it. “Hmmmmm,” I say.

Something always gets my blog motor started. Today it was a story from Tel Aviv about an Arab convicted of “rape by deception” after having consensual sex with a Jew. Oy!

It seems a while back, Jaleel (not his real Arab name) met a woman in Jerusalem and introduced himself as a Jewish bachelor in search of a serious relationship, none of which were true. She was fooled and shortly thereafter they began to have consensual sex. Man! Jerusalem sounds just like New York, or LA, or Atlanta, or Portand, or Phoenix, etc.

But, (and men, will we never learn?), the woman eventually found out he was Arab and not a fellow Jew, and she filed a police complaint alleging rape. And consequently Jaleel was convicted of “rape by deception” and sentenced to serious jail time.

AND NOW HERE IS THE PART that should get everyone thinking. In the verdict the judge said the consent for sex was obtained under false pretenses. If she had known he was not a Jew interested in a serious relationship, and rather an Arab interested in, well you know, she never would have “cooperated.”

Jaleel is claiming the case is racially motivated because the woman did not go to the police until she found out he was Arab. Wow! Jerusalem sounds just like New York, or LA, or Atlanta…etc.

OK, so maybe you see where I’m starting to go with this? Does it, in fact, open the door to a possible rape charge AND conviction every time a person lies to another just to... well, you know? Will we hear testimony like, “I never would have had sex with her if I knew she wasn’t a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader,” or “I never would have slept with him if I knew he wasn’t Derek Jeter.”

Right now it’s Jerusalem and Arabs and Jews, but could this approach begin to be accepted around the world? I’m serious when I ask, is this a victory for women, as it appeared to be from some of the comments I read related to the story. We’ve always known that sexual consent is a physical matter, but is it an emotional one, too?

Personally speaking, the fact that I may have told occasional and not so true stories of my days as an astronaut or as the “Inventor of Pac Man” just to move dinner along shouldn’t land me in jail… should it? And what about my friend, Vecky (name changed) who may have told a couple of women, or two, he had won the America’s Cup Race? Actually he always had a good tan so that one was at least believable. By the way, women in the 70s LOVED Pac Man.

And my post would not be complete without mentioning that this deception works both ways. It's not just a man vs. woman thing.
As a man, I was a multiple time victim of women who may have not been so honest with me just to get me to… well, you know. That’s right! Where are you now Miss “Heir to the Mattel Toys fortune” and “Former Wonder Woman Understudy?” I’ll have you in court so fast it will make your head spin!!!

And that’s all I have to say about that.