Russell Crowe Offers Aid to Montreal Jewish School (was fire bombed)

yahoo ^ | Tue Apr 27, 2:50 PM ET

[dennisw]

TORONTO (Reuters) - Tough guy actor Russell Crowe (news) was so upset by a fire-bombing at a Jewish elementary school in Montreal, he called the school to offer a donation to help rebuild its library, a school spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

Crowe is in Toronto to film "Cinderella Man," a film directed by Ron Howard (news) about the life of boxer James J. Braddock, who defeated world champion Max Baer in an upset match in 1935.

"It was a huge morale boost for the school community," said Shelley Paris from Montreal.

United Talmud Torahs elementary school was fire-bombed earlier this month and police said a note with anti-Semitic comments was found on the outside wall of the gutted library.

"He said he was very upset about what had happened that a place of learning should be attacked that way," Paris said.

"He wanted to make sure that our students knew that he was thinking about them and that he was very upset about the fire-bombing," Paris said.

The Academy Award-winning actor, who captured an Oscar for "Gladiator" four years ago, offered to make a donation to help rebuild the library, Paris said. The figure was not available.

Paris said the school hopes to reopen the library by August, the start of the new school year, and has received donations and support from across the country.

The arson attack sparked outrage in Canada and prompted a fierce condemnation from Prime Minister Paul Martin. The incident was one of a series of attacks on Jewish targets in Canada and raised concerns about a rise in anti-Semitism.

In March, vandals knocked over dozens of tombstones in a Jewish cemetery in Toronto while someone sprayed swastikas on a synagogue in a separate incident.

[NYC GOP Chick]

I know a site with some rather, um, interesting pics (screen captures) from some of his earlier films -- especially the one which opened with him nekkid and riding a horse through a stream...

[MsMoose]

And you get the full rear view in Virtuosity, and The Sum of Us.

[VOA]

First Mel Gibson, now it's Russell Crowe bucking the politically-correct crowd.

Must be something in the water in Australia!
Hmmm...maybe I should see about importing bottled water from Oz!

[NYC GOP Chick]

Check your FReepmail for a link to that site... ;D

[af_vet_1981]

I watched "Master and Commander" last week. Great movie!

Thank you Russell Crowe for your tzedaka !

[cyborg]

I wouldn't mind a whiff of him.

[Alouette]

he smelled as if he'd just showered and had that clean, masculine scent about him. And my legs just about turned to jelly when he said my name.

Be still, my beating heart!

[ShakeNJake]

Yes I did. I wonder how many others realized who that sailor was.

On the Academy awards, any other year and it had a real chance. Up against LOTR, it was no contest. It is a shame that so many great films happen to come out in the same year while other years, a film wins by default because it was the "least bad" of the lot.

[SevenofNine]

ALRIGHT Rack Russell Crowe

YEAH I saw him that Master and Commander movie RACK IT

[lainde]

BTTT

[Brian Allen]

Shaggy to boris: << ... thought this may be of interest to you after you claimed New Zealanders weren't too fussed on Jews. >>

Russell Crowe is but a typical New Zealander on this count.

Without a doubt New Zealand [Along with America and Australia] is one of the three countries on Earth where Jews are even more secure, safe and beloved than in Israel, even!

When South Africa was still included among them there were four such countries -- but that was before the end of the term of the last National Party Government or as some would have it of "the apartheid regime." For which achievement, by the way, the extremely courageous (Jewish) Helen Suzman and her Democrats, the (Extensively Jewish and every bit as courageous) Anglo-America Corporation, (Jewish and ditto) De Beers Consolidated Mines and the rest of South Africa's every-bit-as-brave extensive Jewish Community must be afforded 95% of the credit -- while the convicted Marxist terrorist, Nelson Mandela's ANC gets 1% and various other assorted scallywags, assassins and troublemakers share 4% and the UN's obscene Lakhdar Brahimi whose self-authored "reputation" derives chiefly from credit he claimed in brokering the end of "the apartheid regime," gets none!

Blessings -- Brian

[mseltzer]

I'm with you on "A Beautiful Mind." Both Crowe and Jennifer Connelly were incredible in that film. First time I saw either one of them and I loved both performances. Haven't seen either since, but I will.

[meowmeow]

me too please!

[veronica]

GREAT man. GREAT actor.