The Jew News Review – May 25, 2024 – “Avalanche”

Shabbat shalom! 

A tip of the kippah on this Memorial Day weekend to the men and women who have served our country with honor, protecting our democracy, our freedoms and our way of life, many who in doing so, have made the ultimate sacrifice. 

Early in 1945, fifty Navy chaplains hit the beach of Iwo Jima with the Marines including Lt. Roland B. Gittelsohn (1910-1995), the first Jewish chaplain to serve with the Marine Corps. He was one of approximately 1,500 Jewish Marines who engaged in a 25-day battle for the island that cost the lives of 6,800 Marines. When the fighting was over, Rabbi Gittelsohn delivered a sermon to the mostly Christian soldiers. Here is an except from that sermon:

We dedicate ourselves, first, to live together in peace the way they fought and are buried in war. Here lie men who loved America because their ancestors, generations ago helped in her founding, and other men who loved her with equal passion because they themselves or their own fathers escaped from oppression to her blessed shores. Here lie officers and [privates], [Blacks] and whites, rich and poor…together. Here are Protestants, Catholics, and Jews…together. Here no man prefers another because of his faith or despises him because of his color. Here there are no quotas of how many from each group are admitted or allowed. Among these men there is no discrimination. No prejudice. No hatred. Theirs is the highest and purest democracy.

Amen.

Today, Israel, an immigrant nation like the United States, is in yet another existential war, defending herself against international prejudice, global hatred and a genocidal Jihadist enemy that has vowed to commit as many October 7’s as needed in their quest to rid the region of all Jews. While the IDF continues to make steady progress on the Gaza battlefields, they continue to lose on multiple diplomatic fronts, leading to this week’s “diplomatic avalanche” which saw the ICC ask for warrants on Netanyahu and Gallant, the ICJ order a ceasing of military operations in Rafah, and Ireland, Norway, and Spain recognizing a state of Palestine that doesn’t exist. 

We may kid ourselves into thinking that these international bodies are full of shit, and they don’t really matter. After all, Israel is not a signatory of the ICC, and as long as the US has their back, the UN Security Council will never allow the Genocide nonsense to advance in any formal capacity. And who gives a shit if a few more countries in western Europe join the 144 others that have recognized a Palestinian state that doesn’t exist. As Dr. Einat Wilf, former IDF lieutenant and Knesset member of the Labour Party, and author of The War of Return tweeted:

So you want to recognize the state of Palestine? By all means. Go ahead. Just make sure to note that since Palestine is a state, no one living in it is or can be or will be recognized by your country as a “refugee from Palestine”, that you are therefore defunding UNRWA, that there is no such thing as a “right of return” into another sovereign state in which one has never been a citizen or ever lived.

No, Israel will not heed any ICJ bullshit cease order and will continue their military objective of ridding the area of Hamas by continuing their advance into Rafah, as they should. In fact, immediately following the ICJ order, the Israeli Air Force made several attacks in Rafah, one of which was substantial and killed a senior officer of Hamas. This was basically and FU to the ICJ, and the Israeli defense apparatus saying, “business as usual, we’re going to go on and fight against Hamas.”

But because of Bibi, and how he and his coalition have conducted this war, Israel is rapidly becoming a pariah state within the global family of nations. Israeli scholars are being locked out of publishing, sports teams are being told they cannot play in public arenas, and some nations who have traditionally supported Israel are discussing an arms embargo. Even worse, a recent poll in Israel revealed that 40% of Israelis believe Hamas is winning the war, with only 10% believing that the IDF is winning, despite the fact that the IDF has destroyed about 80% of Hamas fighting capacity. That’s fucked up. How can that be? The problem is with the political wing of the war, a war which Bibi, the one time great communicator, has refused to fight. 

Bibi and his band of Nut-and-yahoos will probably continue to behave and make decisions based on their belief that world opinion doesn’t matter any more, they have lost that battle and have moved on, with one exception: The United States of America. Hence, the abrupt announcement that Bibi will speak to our congress soon, and Bibi’s constant public appearances on US platforms, including the ever important Dr. Phil show. Meanwhile, Bibi has still not agreed to a single interview with any Israeli news organization since October 7. That is reprehensible. 

That’s my rant for the week. What else is going on in the Jew S of A and around the world? Here then is this week’s generous selection of Jewie journalistic gems, culled and carefully curated, and copied and pasted from the likes of The Forward, JTA, The Times of Israel, Kveller, Jewish Boston, Haaretz, and other Jewish journals:

  1. The latest from the war:
    1. The Israel Defense Forces have recovered the bodies of three more hostages, after recovering the bodies of four hostages last week. Michel Nisenbaum, 59, Hanan Yablonka, 42 and Orión Hernández Rado, 30, were all killed on Oct. 7, and their remains transported to Gaza. Rado was the partner of Shani Louk, whose body was recovered last week.
    2. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum released on Wednesday footage taken by Hamas bodycams of five female soldiers being abducted on Oct. 7. The families of the five soldiers want the footage seen; it includes terrorists describing the soldiers as “women who can get pregnant.”
    3. Israel’s government criticized German authorities for saying they would arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if the International Criminal Court issues a warrant for him.
    4. Gaza’s Health Ministry announced the strip’s largest hospital is at risk of an imminent shutdown, as the onslaught in Rafah has made generator fuel increasingly difficult to obtain.
    5. CIA director William J. Burns will attempt to resuscitate stalled ceasefire talks during a trip to Europe this weekend to meet with David Barnea, head of the Mossad.
    6. The IDF is investigating a number of incidents of Israeli soldiers burning books, including a Quran, in Gaza; soldiers posted video of the book burnings to social media.
    7. All European Union donors to UNRWA, the United Nations agency that serves Palestinian refugees, have resumed their funding for the group after pausing it amid allegations that UNRWA staff participated in the Oct. 7 attack.
    8. Colombia, which has cut diplomatic ties with Israel over the war, announced it will open a new embassy in Ramallah, in the West Bank. Separately, the World Bank announced Thursday that the Palestinian Authority, which runs the West Bank, is at risk of “fiscal collapse.”
  2. Analysis: The risks and rewards of inviting Netanyahu to address Congress.After Speaker of the House Mike Johnson announced Thursday that Netanyahu will shortly address a joint session of Congress, The Forward’s Jacob Kornbluh writes, the big question is “who could this speech benefit, and who could it hurt?” Some senior Democratic leadership fear the speech will give Republicans more fodder for their claim to be the only party that truly supports Israel. “If he’s going to come here and pick a fight with Democrats, I don’t know that that helps anybody,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut. Read the story ➤
  3. More on campus:
    • Harvard’s commencement was rocked by protests Thursday, with hundreds of graduating students walking out. Pro-Palestinian students also walked out at the City University of New York School of Law’s Thursday commencement.
    • Police in riot gear dismantled a new pro-Palestinian encampment established Thursday at UCLA, after police dismantled an initial encampment earlier this month.
    • 16 people were arrested “on suspicion of aggravated trespass” at Britain’s Oxford University after a protest against Israel.
  4. Opinion | It’s time for American Jews to recognize a Palestinian state:“Recognition is a blow to Hamas and its supporters who don’t want a Palestinian state beside Israel, but a Palestinian state instead of Israel,” writes The Forward’s senior columnist Rob Eshman. “Gaza is in ruins, but recognition sends a message to Palestinians that the world is actively seeking an alternative to Israel’s open-ended occupation of the West Bank, to the cynical Hamas leadership that sparked this destructive cycle of conflict, and to the prospect of Israel asserting long-term control in Gaza.” Read his essay ➤
  5. Never liked the guy, still don’t – With antisemitism scandal behind him, Kyrie Irving is thriving — and Jewish fans in Dallas are cheering him on: “A lot has changed in the 18 months since NBA star Kyrie Irving tweeted out a link to a movie that denied the Holocaust,” reports our Louis Keene. And in November, he wore sneakers customized with the words “No more genocide” during practice; he also wore a black-and-white keffiyeh during a postgame news conference. But many Jewish Mavericks fans have decided not to let Irving’s off-court antics ruin a barnstorming playoff run. On the contrary: They are rooting for him to succeed. “When the ball’s in the air,” said one such fan, “I hope it goes in.” I hope he misses.

That’s enough for the week. I hope you all are enjoying this amazing weather! And hey, let’s remember to be careful out there.

Finally, as I am a glass half full kind of guy, I thought I should end this week on a positive note, from a speech by Israel’s favorite Goy, British-American journalist Douglas Murray, accepting The Alexander Hamilton Award at the Manhattan Institute. Murray has been a brilliant voice speaking the truth on the Israel Gaza war, and gets my vote for Mensch of the year.

Brad out.

The Jew News Review – May 18, 2024 – “World Happiness”

Shabbat shalom!

Holy shit batman, what a week! 

Last night my son Michael and I sat high above rink side at the TD Garden to cheer on the Boston Bruins in their attempt to stay alive in the NHL playoffs. Despite their best efforts, and the tremendous support of a rabid fan-base, their quest for the Stanley Cup ended last night in a 2-1 loss to the Florida Panthers. As Michael and I were descending the never-ending stairs to Nashua Street, we shared what many other fans were saying, “They made it further than we expected, so it’s all good. Next year will be even better.” True optimism in the face of heart-breaking loss.

It’s really hard to be an optimist these days in the face of the continuing onslaught of bad shit that pours endlessly into our media channels. Justice Alito’s wife raising a “Stop the Steal” flag shortly after Jan 6 comes to mind, along with embarrassing cat fighting on the floor of the esteemed House of Representatives, the orange turd in criminal court while polls show his lead growing over grandpa Biden, and more division in Israel as Bibi continues to mis-lead the country into a darker place than imaginable. Yet despite this week being a particularly zany one for anyone following the news, there is some room for optimism amidst the hurly burly of bad shit fermenting in the body politic both here and abroad. So, I have decided this week to focus on the silver linings instead of the gathering storm clouds.

Let’s start with the US economy:  Inflation cooled moderately in April, though the Fed signaled interest rates will likely stay high for a while to ensure inflation continues to decline. The Dow hit 40,000 for the first time ever — which is not a reflection of the financial security of most Americans, but rather a sign of investor confidence about the future strength of the economy (i.e., they see good times ahead). And the Supreme Court ruled to preserve funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency founded after the 2008 financial crisis to protect consumers and hold major economic players to account. The CFPB regulates mortgages, car loans, insurance and other major consumer finance products to elevate consumers rights and penalize big businesses for predatory behavior. For example, if you bought a ticket to the Bruins playoff game for $300, you would have to pay a usurious $130 in fees to Ticketmaster! Biden and the CFPB are trying to lower those fees and make them more transparent. A conservative group tried to gut the CFPB, arguing in a lawsuit that the CFPB’s funding mechanism is unconstitutional. The Court’s conservative supermajority was expected to agree with the challengers and slash the CFPB’s funding; they instead ruled 7-2 to preserve the consumer watchdog. That’s good news!

Over in Israel, while the country continues to be torn apart by what is appearing to be an endless war of whack-a-terrorist, and continuous bad images on social media, there is some good news for Gaza aid. The floating aid pier the US built to deliver aid to Gaza is now operational. US Central Command said the first trucks began entering Gaza from the pier yesterday, carrying food, hygiene kits, and temporary shelters supplied by the US, UAE and Britain. The administration says no US troops entered Gaza and the UN is distributing the aid. And regarding US-Israel military aid, after Biden threatened to pause certain military aid to Israel, this week the White House advanced a $1 billion arms deal with Israel. And the House of Representatives voted to force Biden to continue supplying all aid approved by Congress – though this bill won’t make it into law. More good news!

But even better news on the Israel front came in this year’s World Happiness report. The report bases its subjective analysis on what they call “Life evaluations”. The Gallup World Poll, which remains the principal source of data in this report, asks respondents to evaluate their current life as a whole using the image of a ladder, with the best possible life for them as a 10 and worst possible as a 0. Each respondent provides a numerical response on this scale, referred to as the Cantril ladder. Typically, around 1,000 responses are gathered annually for each country.

This year, Israelis completed the survey in January, post October 7, three months into the Gaza war and after a brutal year of division over the judicial reform proposals. Guess where Israel landed: Fifth! Behind four Nordic countries! The US dropped several slots to 23rd. Some analysts believe Israel scores so high for a number of factors, including having one of the premier health plans in the world, and a strong sense of community across the small nation. Or as Israeli journalist and parent Haviv Rettig Gur put it, ““It is me knowing that in my street, every neighbor I have, the ones I like, the ones I’m arguing with about parking spaces, is going to run into fire for my kids. And therefore, I know that I will run into fire for their kids. It is that firm knowledge which is true across Israeli society.”

Even more surprising is the generational analysis, which shows Israel being #2 in respondents under the age of 30! That speaks to the optimism of the Israeli youth, and their view of their life expectations. BTW, the US ranks #62 in this category. Ugh.

In keeping with our theme of optimism, this week’s roundup will include more items in the “news that does not suck” category. Here then, is a positive spin on selective segments of savory semitic stories stolen shamelessly from the likes of The Forward, Haaretz, Kveller, Jewish Boston, Times of Israel, and other fine Jewishy journals:

  1. Ambassadors, musicians to headline today’s rally for international hostages – The families of hostages held in Gaza were set to rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, with a high-profile lineup of international speakers and musicians to demand the release of the 125 hostages still held by Hamas since October 7, who hold citizenship from 24 countries. Video messages from former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Dr. Phil will be screened for the crowd at the event. The rally will feature musical performances by Eurovision 2024 Israeli representative Eden Golan, as well as Montana Tucker, Noga Erez, Netta Barzilai and Lola Marsh.
  2. Trucks carrying 300 pallets of humanitarian aide roll into Gaza across new US pier – Operation expected to scale up to 150 trucks per day; UN to distribute supplies in Strip; aid groups reiterate warning that maritime project isn’t a substitute for land deliveries. The shipment is the first in an operation that American military officials anticipate could scale up to 150 truckloads a day, all while Israel presses in on the southern city of Rafah in its campaign against Hamas. 
  3. Volunteers help to save the fruit farms decimated by terrorists on October 7 – Before October 7, fruit farms on the Gaza border supplied 70 percent of Israel’s fresh produce as well as produce for export.  Now they are struggling to survive. Hamas terrorists killed, kidnapped or scared off most of the foreign farmworkers and destroyed or stole expensive agricultural equipment and infrastructure. Aside from equipment, the attacks caused approximately $500 million of lost farm income. Now, some of the foreign workers are back, but they are being backstopped by volunteers from Israel and abroad to keep fresh produce on Israel shelves.
  4. Israeli school wins international robot contest. (TY Yanky & Nevet) Team Orbit 1690 from the ORT Atid Cramim Binyamina High School, has won the international robotics competition (known as FIRST) in Houston, Texas, beating 600 other teams from around the world. Go nerds!
  5. These Jews are dominating the NHL playoffs – Jeremy Swayman, Zach Hyman, Adam Fox and Quinn Hughes have all excelled for their respective teams. Here are the highlights: Swayman, the Boston Bruins goalie, owns a .933 save percentage, among the best in NHL playoff history. Swayman has made 322 saves, the most in this year’s playoffs, and has faced 345 shots on goal, by far the most of any goalie this postseason. Check out this clutch stop Swayman made in the final seconds of the Bruins’ 2-1 Game 5 win on Tuesday to save Boston’s season. Unfortunately, Boston lost to Florida 34 in the Eastern Conference semis.Hyman, the Edmonton Oilers left winger, has extended his career year with nine goals — tied for the most this postseason — and two assists in 10 games. And yes, he’s also won the admiration of none other than Shaquille O’Neal. Edmonton trails Vancouver 3-2 in the Western Conference semis.

Finally, last week I mentioned Eden Golan’s stunning performance of the song “Hurricane” in the Eurovision competition. She got the most votes from the public in 14 different countries: U.K., Australia, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, San Marino, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Rest of the World (which collectively counted as one country). Hers represented, by far, the most dramatic disparity between the opinion of the judges and the general public.

If you haven’t yet heard of Westside Gravy, he’s an unbelievably talented and uplifting Israeli artist. Here is one of his more recent and popular tracks,  “From the river to the sea”. 

Enjoy. And hey, let’s be careful out there!

Brad out. 

From the river to the sea
A lifeline for the people like me
Fostering conditions where my people might flee
Acting shocked when we flock back to our history

We ain’t have a choice, even when we had it
Didn’t even matter how long we’d been scattered
Children of the land can’t leave our house abandoned
You shake leaves from a branch, the root’s still planted

From the river to the sea
Several million of us living in between
From the river to the sea
We ain’t gonna pretend that we don’t know what you mean…

The Jew News Review – May 11, 2024 – “What would your mother think?”

Shabbat shalom! 

A tip of the kippah this week to all the mothers out there, especially my own, who at 93 years young, is still going strong and who I consider to be the matriarch of the JNR! Mothers have always been held in high regard within our crazy culture, almost always considered paragons of virtue, and mine has certainly done more than her fair share of validating and extending that perception. Which reminds me of an ethics training course I was required to attend at Arthur Andersen back in the 80’s. In addition to some notable lessons on business ethics, the course provided some great meeting swag, including a mechanical pencil with the inscription, “What would your mother think?”, which of course was a thematic attempt to help guide our future decision making. Maybe if more Partners at Arthur Andersen infused the wisdom of the pen in their decision making, the firm would still be around. Maybe not.

Me and the Mumsy at Lauren & Ian’s wedding – 8/18/18

Unfortunately, as virtuous as many mothers may be, they bear and rear children into this world, many of whom go to college and don’t necessarily adopt their mother’s ethics, or the same mature understanding of the world. They are, after all, just kids, with half baked brains that are subjected to influences from within and outside the walls of their university. As the National Institute for Mental Health puts it, “The brain finishes developing and maturing in the mid-to-late 20s. The part of the brain behind the forehead, called the prefrontal cortex, is one of the last parts to mature. This area is responsible for skills like planning, prioritizing, and making good decisions.” In other words, their brains are half baked, or as one scribe put it, “their batter is still sticking to the toothpick”.

That is about the nicest thing I can say about the knuckleheads that continue to support Hamas and Palestinians in their catered “tentifatas” that are now disrupting commencement plans at many campuses across the country. At my Alma Mater, UMass Amherst, over 130 were arrested as police were called in to clear the encampments there. As a result of the university’s actions, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Colson Whitehead said he is withdrawing as this year’s graduation speaker. What would your mother think Colson?

And things could not get any crazier. The headlines this week were insane! Here are just a few: The cicada zombie apocalypse (Two broods of cicadas have arrived in parks and backyards, some infected with a “zombie” fungus); “Youth candidate” 70 year old Robert Kennedy’s worm-eaten and mercury infected brain; Puppy-killer Kristi Noem’s weird and fake story about meeting Kim Jong Un; Nikki Haley wins more than 20% of Indiana’s Republican primary votes despite dropping out of the race months ago; Sen. Katie Britt, known for her TradWife State of the Union response, is doubling down on the brand, introducing a bill that could start a database of pregnant people in the US. 

Buried beneath this rubble of news nonsense is the ongoing trial of a former POTUS and convicted sexual assault artist, the orange turd, for falsifying papers in order to silence a porn star from revealing their sexual dalliance, if that is what you call getting spanked with a magazine with your own image on the cover. And we have that trial to thank for bringing back historical reports of Monica Lewinsky doing oral on Clinton’s anal. You really can’t make this shit up, and, all of these headlines are my way of backing into the real headline story of the week, Biden’s abandonment of Israel. 

While many in Israel are practically apoplectic in their anger over Biden’s decision to delay any more arms shipments to Israel (“U.S. President Joe Biden’s betrayal of Israel is unpardonable, and he is beyond redemption”) due to the administration’s disagreement with Israel’s tactics in removing Hamas, some are more realistic. I was really proud of Biden’s initial support, and his trip to Israel where he met personally with and provided empathy to families of hostages, which is a lot more than Netanyahu has done. But I am also a realist, and recognize the political pressure he is currently feeling from the left to do more to end the collateral death and damage to innocents sooner rather than later. I do not agree with the decision, but could sense it was just a matter of time. Israeli experts Dan Senor and Haviv Rettig Gur also predicted the same on Dan’s “Call Me Back” podcast titled “Israel’s Sophie’s Choice”.Haviv’s attitude was that even if Biden eventually throws Israel under the bus for the sake of his campaign, “dayenu, he’ll have done enough”.

Well, you have probably had enough of my smarmy commentary on the headlines, so let’s get to the jewcy stuff! Here then, for your enjoyment and edification, is an especially engrossing edition of editorial exclusives copied and pasted from the likes of The Forward, Haaretz, Kveller, Jewish Boston, Times of Israel, and other fine Jewishy journals:

  1. On the war…
    1. IDF calls on Gazans to leave additional Rafah neighborhoods as it presses operation – 300,000 have left southern Gaza city to ‘humanitarian zone,’ military assesses; IDF also gearing up for fresh operation in north Gaza’s Jabaliya, as Hamas renews presence there
    2. President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he would not supply offensive weapons to Israel if it launches an all-out assault on populated areas in Rafah.
    3. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are urging the Biden administration to reverse course on any delayed congressionally approved weapons transfers to Israel. You can also make your opinion heard via this link: Tell President Biden and Congress to support Israel!
    4. 4 rockets fired at Kerem Shalom from Rafah; one intercepted, others hit open areas – Four rockets were launched from southern Gaza’s Rafah at the border community of Kerem Shalom, the military says. One of the rockets was intercepted by the Iron Dome, while the other three hit open areas, the IDF says. There are no injuries in the attack. In recent days, Hamas has repeatedly attacked the Kerem Shalom area and the nearby border crossing.
    5. The first shipment of aid to the U.S.-built floating pier in Gaza departed today from Cairo.
    6. Police in Amsterdam warned people to avoid a canal and thoroughfare in the city’s center as an effort to remove a pro-Palestinian encampment there turned violent on Wednesday.
    7. Should “From the river to the sea” be allowed on Facebook and Instagram? The company’s oversight board is now considering the question.
  2. On Campus…
    1. In an open letter, hundreds of Jewish students at Columbia University wrote that their “concerns have been brushed off and invalidated” when calling out antisemitism on campus.
    2. A pro-Palestinian student who disrupted a UC Berkeley dean’s backyard dinner by making a speech about the war in Gaza has filed a complaint, saying the dean attacked her because she is Muslim. The school is investigating the incident.
    3. The University of Southern California’s academic senate, which primarily consists of faculty members, voted to censure the school’s president after weeks of turmoil on campus, including the cancellation of a Muslim valedictorian’s commencement speech.
    4. Administrators at San Francisco State University negotiated with protest leaders over the school’s investments in Israel. That meeting took place on the campus quad and was livestreamed for all to witness.
    5. Administrators at Trinity College in Ireland agreed to divest from three Israeli companies as part of a deal made with protesting students.
  3. ✈️  Two Orthodox yeshiva students who had never met were both ordered off an American Airlines flight this week, after one raised concerns about the plane’s tail. One of them is now weighing legal action. (Forward)
  4. 🧬 Now, what was I going to publish here? – A new study is seeking to explain why Sephardi Jews are more likely to get early-onset Alzheimer’s. The research team includes both Israeli and American doctors, and is funded by a $13 million grant from the National Institutes of Health in the U.S. (Times of Israel)
  5. Antisemitic douche bag and rapper Macklemore released a new song that defends pro-Palestinian college protests and condemns Israel. The music video has garnered tens of millions of views. Macklemore has always been an anti-Semite, and with the widespread recirculation of photos featuring him with a fake rabbinic beard and prosthetic hook nose, this should be obvious to everyone.
Jewface is never acceptable
  1. Get the bastard – Sinwar not hiding in Rafah, as PM publicly prioritizes IDF op there – Officials say recent intel placed the Hamas leader in underground tunnels around Khan Younis, as the accused October 7 mastermind continues to elude Israeli forces in Gaza

Finally, let’s end on a more positive musical note. The Eurovision song contest continues in Malmo this week, with judges now narrowing the field to 10 finalists. Israel’s Eden Golan is among the finalists, representing Israel proudly, demonstrating grace, beauty and talent under intense pressure and security arrangements. Thousands of pro-Palestinians have marched in protest around the event, but undaunted, and laden with talent, Eden remains composed, focused, and a tremendous ambassador for the beleaguered Israel. Here is a link to her song she performs, “Hurricane”. The song is a re-write of an earlier version called “October Rain”, which was turned down by the Eurovision committee for being too political. The new version, which was panned by many Israeli critics as being “boring”, has become quite popular in Europe, and many Isreali’s feel it captures the current mood of the nation. It currently is holding second place in the competition.

Enjoy the song. I know her mother must be proud. And hey, stay safe out there everyone! 

Brad out.

The Jew News Review – May 4, 2024 – “The intifada will be catered”

Shabbat shalom!

In the midst of all the campus chaos and 24/7 reminders that everyone hates the Jews, we had a most pleasurable distraction in attending our grandson Max’s shabbat service at his school within Temple Sinai. “L’Dor v’dor” as they say, and a very welcome way to balance out the bad Jew news with some glorious grand child nachas.

“Build it, and the grandparents will come” – Max erecting a magnet house that should be installed in the Louvre.

Speaking of distractions, the sports world is offering plenty this month, including NBA and NHL playoffs (please Bruins, do not choke again!) as well as today’s 150th running of the Kentucky Derby, which makes it THE oldest sporting event in USA history and long considered “the greatest two minutes in sports”. The first Kentucky Derby was watched by a crowd of 10,000 people who saw three-year-old chestnut colt Aristides, ridden by jockey Oliver Lewis, triumph at Churchill Downs. The Derby has been held at the same venue since, even during both World Wars and the Great Depression of the 1930s. This year, over 150,000 are expected to descend onto the famed racetrack to watch the race, wear funny hats, and revel in the celebrations. My bet is on one of the entries from Japan, Forever Young, currently at 10-1 on the morning line. 

Unfortunately, despite these wonderful distractions, I can’t seem to get passed my anger at the nonsense on campus’s across the country that dominated the MSM news this week. I’m sure you are all as tired, as I am, of watching the useful idiots being decamped by police from their designer “tentifadas” as one analyst described them. The latest is the discovery by police, not surprisingly, that these demonstrations are more organized than we thought, with suspicions falling of course on Qatari funded, Hamas supporting a-holes. Those suspicions were triggered by the discovery of “how to manuals” that started being distributed to pro Palestinian organizations and demonstrators even before October 7. One guide, called “De-arrest Primer,” teaches protesters to physically resist arrest or, in some cases, assault police officers or throw projectiles at them to protect fellow “comrades” from arrest. “Each de-arrest,” the guide states, “is a micro-intifada which can spread and inspire others until we may finally shake off this noxious ruling order all together.” Nice. 

Yet for some reason, the ass hats running these “institutions of lower learning” keep acquiescing to their nonsense as they prepare for commencement exercises, some of which have actually been cancelled! Some of these kids missed their high school graduations due to the pandemic, and now they may miss their college graduation all-together, or be subjected to an onslaught of imbeciles shouting and protesting their support of murderous thugs from behind blockades, calling for death to all Jews “from the river to the sea”. 

If you are detecting an angry tone here, you would be right. I have been enjoying a substack lately from Eve Barlow called, Blacklisted. I call her Angry Eve, because she has no patience any more for the anti-semitic nonsense spewing from these useful idiots on campus. Here is a short excerpt from her “Comedy gold” posting.

This is the skit SNL does not have the guts to write. Lo and behold we have an emergency shituation on our hands.

Can we PLEASE get an airdrop at Columbia university? We need 900 Acai Bowls, 1,300 Impossible Burgers on gluten free bread with sugar free vegan ketchup and 3,000 bottles of pH 9.0 electrolyte water. This is urgent @ UNRWA.

Please behold in this must-watch public address, the brightest minds of America’s Ivy League chosen elite:

Major props to the journalist who clarified the goings-on: “It seems like you’re sort of saying – we wanna be revolutionary, now would you please bring us some food and water.” They called it ‘“humanitarian aid” and they’ve demanded it. They need humanitarian aid! The students at Columbia must be provided with basic amenities for the resistance! The intifada will be catered! I present to you the sharpest thinkers of a generation. UNRWA, please help! WFP, where are you when the First World needs you?! Daddy Sinwar has ghosted these poor little slaves. Why is Daddy Haniyeh in Qatar in a luxury hotel and all they have are these REI tents? We must divert the food aid trucks from Gaza! These kids are starving!

Seriously, if the kids really wanted to do something to help the people of Gaza, they could follow the advice of NYT columnist Nicholas Kristof who argued in his column in The Times this week, universities “ending relations with Israel doesn’t help Gazans,” and could hurt students who rely on financial aid. He suggested that campus activists close down their encampments and raise money for Gaza humanitarian aid instead — or, better yet, spend the summer teaching English or learning Arabic in the occupied West Bank. But only if food aid trucks can deliver a decent Acai bowl of course.

On a more hopeful note, I was moved beyond my current anger by reading this essay from an Iranian, Amir Pars, who was once a typical Jew hater, but after reading an essay by Sam Harris’s “Why I don’t criticize Israel” blog post, had a complete change of heart. 

He writes, 

I tell you this to ensure you that my antisemitism credentials were solid. I not only know all the arguments, but I’ve vociferously expressed them loudly and proudly.

So, what happened? How did I go from despising and reviling every Jew, to today defending Israel every way I can, and idolise the Jewish people?

Like most other metamorphoses, it was a process. It started with Sam Harris’ outstanding blog “Why I don’t criticize Israel”. Although I “fought back” (translation: I tweeted disapprovingly at Sam Harris – see below), the seeds of moral vivication had been sown. For the rest of the essay, here is a link below.

https://open.substack.com/pub/amirpars/p/confessions-of-a-former-antisemite?r=lo3cj&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

And finally, for some additional comedy relief, check out this offering from an Israeli comedy team. Over the top, a bit funny, but also embarrassing. This is a satirical bit that will probably never appear on SNL.

Ok, enough student bashing this week and stressing out anyone with micro aggression sensitivities. Lot’s going on in Israel and beyond, with hopefully some progress on freeing some of the hostages. 

And this just in, BREAKING NEWS FROM THE JNR, with confirming sources from Ha-aretz and Times of Israel: With Arab and American mediators pressing intensely for a temporary ceasefire, several reports Saturday said Hamas was prepared to accept the latest proposal, in light of assurances from the United States that there will be a “sustainable cessation” of the war.

But, do not believe for one moment anything that Hamas says, as they are not likely to free anyone until they get Israel to agree to stop the war, and that is not ever going to happen, even with all the Israeli domestic pressure to make a deal and the US making assurances of a “sustainable cessation”, whatever that is.

So, without further aJew, here is your latest compendium of carefully curated content from the likes of The Times of Israel, Ha-aretz, Kveller, Jewish Boston, JTA, and several other notable journals of Jewish news.

“There’s the right to protest, but not the right to cause chaos,” President Joe Biden said Thursday.
  1. Campus roundup
    1. “Dissent must never lead to disorder,” President Joe Bidensaid in his first address about the pro-Palestinian protests rocking campuses nationwide.
    2. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators set up an encampment in the main quad of Binghamton University, a school known to attract Jews but not activists.
    3. Dartmouth was heralded for its reaction after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. Now it’s the latest campus to be rocked by protests.
    4. After Northwestern University brokered an agreement with protesters, members of the school’s antisemitism committee resigned, saying they were not consulted.
    5. The Philadelphia police department declined a request from the University of Pennsylvania to disband the Gaza solidarity encampment.
    6. Pro-Israel protesters at UCLA reportedly attacked four student journalists, sending one to the hospital.
    7. Protesters at Rutgers cleared out after reaching a deal with administrators.
    8. The University of Minnesota and protesters reached an agreement to end the dayslong encampment on the campus.
    9. To get protesters off lawns, some universities agreed to consider ending investments in Israel. But that’s not a simple task.
    10. A new survey found that 47% of U.S. voters believe colleges should ban pro-Palestinian protests.
  2. War in Gaza roundup:
    1. Hamas to agree to hostage deal? Believe it when you see it. 
    2. Kibbutz Be’eri said that Dror Or, one of its residents who was taken hostage, is now believed to have been killed on Oct. 7with his body being held in Gaza.
    3. Ella Chaimi — whose husband, Tal, was murdered on Oct. 7 — gave birth to her fourth child, a baby boy, on Thursday in Israel.
    4. AIPAC and the Republican Jewish Committee have both stopped fundraising for 15 Republican lawmakers who recently voted against emergency military aid for Israel.
    5. Turkey said it would temporarily pause trade with Israel, until an “uninterrupted and sufficient flow of aid is allowed into Gaza.”
    6. Organizers at next week’s Eurovision Song Contest said Palestinian flags will not be allowed, but fans can wave the flag of Israel, which is participating in the competition.
    7. Apple TV+ will delay the release of the third season of Tehran, the Emmy-award winning Israeli spy drama, until after the war.
  3. Local boy makes it big? 🎭  Alex Edelman will receive an honorary Tony Award for his one-man Broadway show, Just for Us, about growing up Orthodox in Massachusetts and, as an adult, attending a neo-Nazi meeting in New York. It is now streaming on Max. (Hollywood Reporter)
  4. Why top Democrats opposed bipartisan bill targeting antisemitism in universities: The House passed the Republican-led Antisemitism Awareness Act Wednesday by a bipartisan 320-91 vote. But 70 Democrats voted against the bill because it adopts a controversial definition of antisemitism which some Jewish advocacy groups say stifles legitimate criticism of Israel. The bill now moves to the Senate.
  5. Just how accurate is the Peacock series The Tattooist of Auschwitz? The show, about the real-life love story between two Holocaust survivors, is based on a 2018 international bestselling book which caused a stir for getting numerous facts wrong. The museum at Auschwitz stopped recommending the book. Now, the producer of the new series told us how important it was for her to get things right.
  6. Quotable ➤  “Jews are experiencing the hate that we white people have been experiencing the last decade.” — Far-right political commentator Charlie Kirk on his Tuesday show. A broken clock is right twice a day. 

That’s enough already! Let’s be careful out there, and in closing, here is a quick nod to a classic piece of music recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall in London, to honor the memory of Mike Pinder, one of the founders of The Moody Blues who passed this week. He was 82. The Moody Blues were formed in Birmingham, England in 1964, as part of the British Invasion. Their second album, 1967’s Days of Future Passed, was one of the first concept albums and I am listening to the LP as I complete this posting. It features their unique fusion of psychedelic and progressive rock and fused it with the world of classical music. Pinder was the last surviving member of the original five members of the group. Let’s hope the campus craziness swiftly becomes Days of Future Passed. Enjoy. 

Brad out. 

The Jew News Review – April 27, 2024 – “Useful idiots”

Shabbat shalom. 

Spring has finally sprung around New England. Soon, our cherry tree buds will pop open with a breathtaking display of pink, creating a scene right out of a Claude Monet painting that literally stops people on their walks to capture nature’s beauty on their phone cameras. Meanwhile, the gardens are popping with new life that the bunnies are feasting upon, and the orange turd is popping up in both new indictments and current criminal trials on a daily basis. 

Things seem to be popping these days. And none more so than that bastion of hate that has plagued our people for time immemorial: antisemitism. While it may appear that it popped all over campus’s across the country as a response to Israel’s handling of the Gaza war, it has actually been brewing on campus for decades and has even been nurtured there by “professors” in the Middle East departments of these “educational institutions”, unchecked by administrations who require “context” to recognize and respond to blatant hatred when it happens. Unfucking-believable. 

I can almost forgive a bunch of naive privileged kids becoming useful idiots in their bleeding heart response to the horrors of war and the resulting death of Palestinian innocents. Even though Gaza and the West Bank Palestinians support Hamas and their October 7 brutality by 70-80% respectively, it is horrifying to see innocent women and children being pulled from the rubble. We all want it to end, sooner rather than later. But I cannot forgive their idiotic and illogical anti-Israel arguments, nor can I forgive them for being duped into supporting the nonsense spewed by the so called “Students for Justice in Palestine” (SJP). The SJP has chapters at campuses all over the country, and while they claim to be an organization primarily focused on “Palestinian rights and self-determination” they are actually a pro-Hamas organization, filling our useful idiot student’s heads with lies and propaganda. According to the ADL,

In the days following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel, the national leadership of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and many of the organization’s campus chapters explicitly endorsed the actions of Hamas and their armed attacks on Israeli civilians and voiced an increasingly radical call for confronting and “dismantling” Zionism on U.S. college campuses. Some SJP chapters issued pro-Hamas messaging and/or promoted violent anti-Israel messaging channels. 

And here is what one of the SJP leaders at Columbia had to say when he was brought before a disciplinary committee, which the misguided imbecile recorded and then posted to instagram. According to the NYT,

The hearing, conducted by an administrator of the university’s Center for Student Success and Intervention, was focused on an earlier comment he shared on social media, in which he discussed fighting a Zionist. “I don’t fight to injure or for there to be a winner or a loser, I fight to kill,” he wrote. A Columbia administrator asked, “Do you see why that is problematic in any way?”

Mr. James replied, “No.”

He also compared Zionists to white supremacists and Nazis. “These are all the same people,” he said. “The existence of them and the projects they have built, i.e. Israel, it’s all antithetical to peace. It’s all antithetical to peace. And so, yes, I feel very comfortable, very comfortable, calling for those people to die.”

And, Mr. James said, “Be grateful that I’m not just going out and murdering Zionists.”

Nice guy. Glad I didn’t invite him to our Passover seder. If you can stomach it, here is a link to his own posting. Columbia’s best and brightest. 

Here’s the kicker. This shit has been going on for decades! Did we turn a blind eye? Jews did not, as many Jewish students have registered these issues appropriately, but for whatever reason, (I can think of a few), the administrations have let it run its course. Here is a documentary film, “Columbia Unbecoming”, produced at Columbia by Jewish students (in 2004!), laying out the issue very clearly. The Professor leading the Middle East department at the time was none other than Joseph Massad, who stated in one of his lectures, “The Jews are not a nation. The Jewish state is a racist state that does not have the right to exist.” Head of the department. The same moron whose reaction to October 7 was, “Awesome!” He was investigated after the film came out, but the board reviewing the investigation was made up of all his friends in the department. Hence, he was found innocent, and eventually became tenured.

If I am sounding a bit tough on our future leaders, so be it. Our elite educational institutions have not only failed to educate these useful idiots, but they have planted demon seeds, nurtured them, and now, we are unfortunately reaping what the “brilliant” minds at these elite institutions have regrettably sown. If I had college bound kids, I would seriously consider Brandeis, or Yeshiva University, both excellent schools, both of whom have extended their transfer deadlines in order to accommodate Jewish kids who no longer feel safe at other institutions of lower learning. 

For a more in depth account of what is going on in Columbia, here is a link to the latest from Dan Senor, who interviews Columbia professor Shai Davidai, an Israeli American who has been in the thick of the issues there.

Now, let’s get to the rest of the news from Israel and across the Jew S of A. Here for your enjoyment and edification, is an especially engrossing edition of editorial exclusives copied and pasted from the likes of The Forward, Haaretz, Kveller, Jewish Boston, Times of Israel, and other fine Jewishy journals:

  1. The latest on campus…
    • Pro-Palestinian activists clashed with authorities on campuses across the country Thursday, leading to more than 400 arrests. Here’s a map showing where. The schools included Emory University, the University of Texas and Ohio State.
    • At the University of Southern California, where 93 protesters were arrested, the school took the unusual move of canceling its primary graduation ceremony in May. Some expressed sympathy for the class of 2024, which also missed its high school graduation because of the pandemic.
    • At Brown University in Rhode Island, our reporter found a different story. The university is taking a less confrontational approach: not arresting people who set up encampments, and keeping its main campus green open to the public.
    • A day after Brandeis University, where a third of the population is Jewish, invited students to transfer to its campus, Yeshiva University did the same. The Modern Orthodox institution, located about 70 blocks north of Columbia, said it was reopening its transfer portal to allow students who feel unsafe at other schools to switch to Y.U.
    • Meanwhile, an umbrella group for colleges in Israel has also said that they will do their “best to assist” U.S. students “who wish to join Israeli universities and find a welcoming academic and personal home.”
  2. The latest on the war…
    • Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected in Israel on Tuesday to discuss a possible Rafah invasion and the latest on a hostage deal.
    • Israel is now willing to accept less than 40 living hostages in the first phase of an upcoming deal.
    • Freed hostage Noga Weiss, 18, said in a new interview that her Hamas captor gave her a ring and said they would get married and raise children together. The captor went so far as to reunite Noga with her kidnapped mother, so that he could get her blessing for the marriage.
    • U.S. troops began construction on a pier off the coast of Gaza to help with the flow of humanitarian aid into the enclave. It should be operational by early May.
    • An interfaith memorial service was held Thursday in Washington, D.C., for the seven World Central Kitchen aid workers who were killed while trying to deliver food to Gaza.
    • Sheryl Sandberg, the former Facebook COO, released a new documentary, Screams Before Silence, about Hamas’ sex crimes on Oct. 7. It is free to watch on YouTube.
    • The upcoming Eurovision Song Contest, set for May 7-11 in Sweden, is adding extra security for expected protests against Israel’s participation in the annual event.
  3. Bring them home! – President Biden on Wednesday spent over an hour with several children who were held hostage by Hamas at the start of the war — including Abigail Edan, a 4-year-old American girl. “She’s remarkable and recovering from unspeakable trauma,” Biden said, adding that the visit “was a reminder of the work we have in front of us to secure the release of all remaining hostages.”
  1. Kraft says no cheese for Columbia – New England Patriots owner Robert Kraftsuggested Monday that he will cut off financial support to his alma mater, Columbia University, amid contentious pro-Palestine protests that effectively shut down the campus Monday after the school’s president, Minouche Shafik, announced that classes would be going remote for the immediate future. “Over the past days, there have been too many examples of intimidating and harassing behavior on our campus,” she said, referencing complaints lodged by some Jewish students at Columbia who reported antisemitic attacks and harassment by the protesters. Kraft echoed the sentiment in a statement issued through an organization he founded called the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism. “I am deeply saddened at the virulent hate that continues to grow on campus and throughout our country,” he wrote. “I am no longer confident that Columbia can protect its students and staff and I am not comfortable supporting the university until corrective action is taken.”
  2. The Jewish Sport Report: For Max Fried and Dean Kremer’s Passover dominance, dayenu – It was a stellar week for two of MLB’s most notable Jews. Atlanta Braves ace Max Fried produced one of the more dazzling performances you’ll ever see in his Tuesday night win over the Miami Marlins: Fried threw a complete game shutout, allowing only three hits while striking out six. The most impressive part? He did it all in only 92 pitches, earning the lefty his third career “Maddux,” a feat named for Hall of Famer Greg Maddux that represents the rarity of a complete game shutout in under 100 pitches. According to Baseball Reference, Fried became the 41st pitcher in MLB history with three “Madduxes.” Maddux himself leads the history books with 15, while Sandy Koufax threw five. (MLB added pitch count as an official stat in 1988.) In the American League, Baltimore Orioles pitcher Dean Kremer earned his first win of the season on Wednesday as he struck out 10 across 5.1 innings as the Os beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-5. It was only the second time the Team Israel alum has reached double-digit strikeouts in his 75 career starts.

I hope you all had a wonderful Passover! Ours was amazing, and delicious! Here is the cover for this year’s Haggadah, featuring the latest grandchild, Cameron, which I hope brings a smile to your faces, as it did with ours. 

And here is the latest rendition of “Go Down Moses” from the world famous Matzah Men. And on that sweet note, let’s call it a post. And remember, be careful out there. Shits getting crazy.

Brad out.

The Jew News Review – April 20, 2024 – “The only genocide since October 7 is of the truth”

Shabbat shalom and chag sameach. 

I am a big Passover fan. Every year family and friends gather at our house, as people all over the world have been doing for over 5000 years, to celebrate the Exodus story of liberation and freedom. “Ma nishtana” (literally, “what has changed”) we ask ourselves, and then proceed to answer the 4 questions, usually answered in song by the youngest at the seder table. This year, a lot has changed. This year, for the first time in my life, I fear for Jews all over the world. This year, for the first time in my life, I am beginning to feel like I could become an unwanted guest in my own country. 

It’s been a brutal week for Jews, beginning with Iran’s massive, direct attack on Israel that thankfully was neutered by the superior Israeli Iron Dome technology, and by the help of allies, including Saudi Arabia and Jordan, truly a silver lining in the very dark and gathering clouds. But equally disturbing, and closer to home, is the awful, ongoing anti-semitic nonsense at Columbia University and other college campuses around the country. Pro-Palestine protesters gathered near the entrance to Columbia University on Thursday to continue action after dozens of demonstrators were arrested while attempting to occupy school grounds earlier that day. Then on Friday, over 100 of the misguided a-holes were arrested. They were chanting, to a cheering mob, “Never forget the 7th of October–not one more time, not five more times, not 10 more times, not hundreds more times, not 1,000 more times, but 10,000 times!” And, they were calling for an “intifada revolution”, a reference to a period when suicide bombers were blowing up Israelis on an almost daily basis. Nice people. 

I use to reserve my most blistering prose for the orange turd and his MAGA nut jobs, who the orange turd has managed to mainstream in the Republican party. Now the whack jobs on the left pose an equally disturbing challenge to common sense and decency, and the view of Israel as a “colonizing, oppressor” has taken hold in the mainstream of the American left. 

Times are not tough – they are maddening. Yesterday, the ADL released their 2023 report which revealed, to no-one’s surprise, the largest annual rise in antisemitic incidents since records began in 1979. There were 8,873 incidents of antisemitic assault, harassment and vandalism, up 140% on the previous year and nearly 900% in a decade. It is, according to the head of the ADL Jonathan Greenblatt, an issue of national emergency. 

Fortunately, we live in Sharon, a very diverse community with a large Jewish population. Hence, we are a bit insulated from many of these overt acts and displays of antisemitism. But the alarm bells are ringing pretty loudly these days, and if you haven’t yet been impacted directly, consider yourself lucky. I have a feeling the worst is yet to come. I was particularly incensed by a column this week in The Atlantic, “The Rape Denialists”, about Israeli critics accusing the Israeli government of “weaponizing” accusations of rape to justify Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza, as an open letter from dozens of feminist activists put it in February. The letter has since been signed by more than 1,000 other “feminists”. Since allegations of sexual violence first appeared in the fall, a contingent of anti-Israel activists have sought to disprove them. “Believe women” and “Silence is violence” have been rallying cries of progressive feminist organizations for decades. But the same empathy and support have not been shown for Israeli victims. Hmmm, I wonder why? The organization responsible for the letter signed by these horrible hypocrites is hard to decipher, but the contact is 2024SMSa@gmail.com. I have sent them a short email stating, “You should all be ashamed of yourselves.” 

This is evil and stupid and antisemitic: send the jerks a message!

Before I move on to the news of the Jews headlines, I want to share a short story which I think symbolizes the courage and resilience of the Israeli people. One of the creators of the popular Israeli TV show, Fauda, was recently interviewed on the podcast, “What Matters Now”. Here is Avi Issaharoff’s story:

“So just like many other Israelis, I was kind of very much frustrated from not only the situation, but also the fact that I couldn’t do much. I mean, I crossed the 50 not that too long time ago, but I crossed the 50 and my military unit, the reserves in the Miluim didn’t call me. And I was almost begging them to take me, but they didn’t.

So I was looking to do something and I’ve heard that Achim Laneshik, brothers and sisters in arms, open up a kind of an operation room not far from Sderot in Bet Kama. And from there, they’re trying to help people that are living in Gaza’s periphery, including Sderot, to get them out of the danger zone. Because Gaza’s periphery was still under fire and there were some terrorists on the streets and the fields of Gaza’s periphery.

And this is what brothers and sisters in arms did, meaning go into those towns and villages, bring the people out of the war zone or the danger zone, and try to bring them to safe zone as fast as possible. So I joined them at around 2 p.m. in Bet Kama.“And I remember that when I entered the kibbutz, I was kind of shocked. I was kind of shocked because I saw hundreds of Israelis, more or less my age, again, people that could not go to the army, that were there waiting in line to get a mission. What was the mission?

You know, you get a name, you get a phone number of someone that is stuck in Sderot, let’s say, and you need to pick him up and bring them out of Sderot. And those men were standing in line, just like, you know, I don’t know, waiting in line for coffee or for something very tasty in the streets of New York. And waiting to get a mission that would put their own life in danger in order to help people that they don’t know, that they don’t have any idea who they are, but just in order to help them.

And, you know, you say, kol Yisrael arevim ze laze, meaning we’re all responsible for each other. And this is the feeling that I got when I saw this amazing thing. You know, this was a kind of a ray of light in the total darkness of what happened these days, that days in Gaza’s periphery and in the war against Hamas.”

Now what about the rest of the news for Jews you may be asking? Where are those selective segments of savory semitic stories stolen shamelessly from the likes of The Forward, Haaretz, Kveller, Jewish Boston, Times of Israel, and other fine Jewishy journals? Ask, and ye shall receive:

  1. Israel used radar-evading missile to hit S-300 defenses near Natanz nuke site – report – NYT says attack was ‘calibrated’ to show Israel’s capability to dodge Iran’s air defenses, make Tehran ‘think twice’ before another assault; Iran’s FM claims it merely faced ‘toys’. Two unnamed Western officials cited by the newspaper said the missile aimed to show Tehran that Israel is able to dodge and neutralize its defenses. Two Iranian officials said the strike hit a Russian-made S-300 air defense system. They told the newspaper that Iran had not detected intrusions into its airspace from drones, missiles or aircraft. The newspaper said the missile was from a warplane fired “far from Israeli or Iranian airspace.”
  2. No shit! Columbia University’s president, at House hearing, says school could do more to fight antisemitism: On Capitol Hill Wednesday, Nemat Shafik pointed to actions she’s taken to curb antisemitism, such as suspending pro-Palestinian student groups; agreed that some professors had crossed the line with their rhetoric; and avoided the stumbles that doomed her counterparts at Penn and Harvard. Related: A confidential letter obtained by the Forward shows that investigations were opened over the conduct of several Columbia professors accused of making antisemitic and anti-Israel comments in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks.Read the story ➤
  3. More jerks on Campus –Don’t blame Jews for canceling USC’s valedictorian: The University of Southern California canceled a commencement speech by a pro-Palestinian student, Asna Tabassum, citing safety concerns. “There are two problems with this,” writes L.A.-based Rob Eshman, who has taught at the school. One, the university hosted the Obamas at the 2023 graduation. “It’s hard to believe Tabassum would need more security than the former president of the United States.” And two, the school blamed outside groups, “largely Jewish and pro-Israel critics, accusing them of threatening violence.” Read his essay ➤ Plus: Students at Rutgers University voted overwhelmingly to call on the administration to divest from companies and organizations that do business in Israel, and to end a partnership with Tel Aviv University.
  4. The latest…
  5. Spielberg’s Shoah Foundation distances itself from pro-Palestinian valedictorian: Asna Tabassum, who promoted an anti-Israel website and had her commencement address canceled, said she earned a minor in “resistance to genocide” and touted her ties to the USC Shoah Foundation, which is affiliated with the University of Southern California, where she is a student. The foundation said it was not involved in her minor and used the opportunity to decry any attempt to use the Holocaust to “dehumanize” Jews and Israelis. Read the story ➤
  6. Can Jews sing Dayenu while there are hostages? The Passover Seder gets a post-Oct. 7 rethink: Many Seder tables will have empty seats representing victims, hostages and soldiers who are unable to return home. Dozens of rabbis and Jewish community leaders recently reimagined the Haggadah; the result of their work will be a supplement for families to use during the first major Jewish holiday since Hamas attacked Israel — an assault that itself pierced the observance of a holiday, Simchat Torah. Read the story ➤
  7. Cleaning cracks – A worker on Tuesday morning cleaned the cracks of the Western Wall and removed stuffed paper notes scribbled with prayers. It’s a twice-a-year ritual, before Rosh Hashanah and before Passover. The notes — an estimated one million are left each year — are not read to respect people’s privacy, and are buried in the cemetery on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives.

That’s all I have for this week. Have a great Passover everyone! And remember, let’s be careful out there. And, enjoy this cheesy Passover parody from Six13!

The Jew News Review – April 13, 2024 – “Chazak v’ematz”

Shabbat shalom! 

We are heading north to the great state of Maine for a birthday celebration this morning. Hence, this will be a different form of the JNR this week. 

As I write this post, Israel is expecting, at any moment, some kind of retaliation from Iran for the suspected Israeli strike that killed a top Revolutionary Guard general last week in Syria. There has also been some movement, too little too late perhaps, in opening up more aide routes to Gaza as the population there now faces eminent hunger. The reports on aide progress differ so widely, it is hard to understand what the facts are, but even Samantha Power, US Ambassador to the UN, now claims that hunger is potentially widespread in the north Gaza region. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Wednesday night that increasing aid efforts is a top priority. “We plan to flood Gaza with aid and we are expecting to reach 500 trucks per day,” said Gallant. He did not specify a time frame for reaching that goal.

Meanwhile, no progress on the hostages.

These tough times call for the kind of leadership that Bibi seems reluctant to provide. I would have thought that if Israel wanted to send a signal to the world that they are taking the aide issue seriously, they would have appointed an “Aide Czar”, with sweeping authority to break through some of the administrative, political and military challenges hampering their humanitarian efforts. Bibi’s leadership is now under severe attack, with the latest coming from former head of Shin Bet (Israel’s FBI) who called him “unfit for office”. Israel, he said, was “already in the abyss, and if Bibi Netanyahu does not leave office — it will be our doom… I think if the State of Israel doesn’t get its act together and fast, we’ll reach some very, very, very bad places.”

It is during these darkest of times that we supporters of Israel need to stand strong. “Chazak v’ematz”, which translates from Hebrew to English to, “be strong and courageous”. I found the following guest essay in Joshua Hoffman’s “Future of Jewish” Substack helpful in keeping perspective, providing context, and further articulating the double standard applied to Israel. The essay is written by Elissa Wald, a writer with her own Substack called, “Never Alone” and her essay is titled, “On Defying the Human Urge of Genocide”. 

But before I close, a quick shout out to the Marathoners, thousands of whom will run the 26.2 mile route from Hopkington to Boston this Monday, defying the boundaries of human endeavor. As they make their way through Ashland this year, runners will see a familiar face cast in bronze. Spencer, who became the marathon’s official dog before he died last year, has been honored with a statue in his likeness along the route.

Following the 2013 marathon bombings, Spencer became a fixture of the marathon as he stood alongside the race holding a “Boston Strong” flag in his mouth to support the runners. He gained further fame in 2018 after a video posted by his owner, Rich Powers, went viral. The video showed the golden retriever in a raincoat cheering on the runners despite the inclement weather.

Dogs have always been an important part of our family, and so it was a sad note this week when our niece Carrie informed us that her loving Dexter passed after a long illness, but also after a long, happy and loving life. 

Enjoy the weekend everyone, and remember, be safe out there.

Brad out. 

On Defying the Human Urge of Genocide

A real genocide in Gaza would be less than a day’s effort if Israel did not care about civilian life.

ELISSA WALD

APR 13, 2024

As uplifting as I try to be, I will be real here: These have been some very dark days.

But what has pulled me through it is reaching for perspective: Israel has suffered excruciating setbacks countless times in the past, even situations where it looked like all would surely be lost. And yet, kayn ahora, she always pulls through.

Consider this account, in “Hadassah” magazine, about the tail end of Israel’s war with Egypt in 1973, better known as the Yom Kippur War. The parallels to today are very striking:

On October 20th, U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger learned that the Arab members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries had imposed an oil embargo on the United States and other nations in retaliation for their support of Israel during the war. The CEOs of America’s oil companies informed him that while World War II rationing had reduced oil supplies to American consumers by six percent, the embargo threatened to reduce it by 18 percent.

The cease-fire was declared in the United Nations Security Council on October 22nd. Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir told her generals to ignore it and encircle the Egyptian Third Army. The Soviets were irate. Using unusually strong language, they warned ominously “of the gravest consequences” for Israel. They also hinted at sending in troops, and thereby sparked the most dangerous superpower confrontation since the Cuban Missile Crisis. Golda, a lioness in orthopedic shoes, dug in her heels and stood her ground.

During the many talks that ensued between the U.S. and Israel, Kissinger did everything he could to discourage Meir from standing strong.

The Egyptians were adamant that Israel had to pull back to the October 22nd cease-fire line and release the grip on their Third Army. Golda refused. Israeli soldiers would stay put. They would allow supply of the Egyptian army, but only if prisoners of war were exchanged. No withdrawal would take place without an agreement on Israel’s terms.

On November 3rd, Kissinger lost patience. “You will have a hell of a time,” he said, “explaining to the American people how we can have an oil shortage over the issue of your right to hold territory you took after the cease-fire.”

Washington had supplied practically all of Israel’s weapons for the war. An American air bridge had all but rescued the Jewish state. Kissinger now warned Golda that if fighting resumed, Israel could not count on further resupply. He also offered the opinion that there was “next to no chance” that the Egyptians would accept her proposal. Golda demanded that he march back to the U.S. State Department and present it anyway.

Within hours, the Yom Kippur War was over. Egypt had indeed conceded to Israel’s terms. The Jewish state won.

 I deeply believe Israel will prevail again, this time. But in the meantime we — her family — must stand fast in our support of her, our belief in her, our alignment with her.

Perspective has many facets. An Israeli named Adam Fisher posted the following account two days ago, and it really helped me to put the World Central Kitchen tragedy into the universal context of war everywhere. I have already touched on that, but the specific details of his example are especially apt:

For 30 minutes on Oct 3rd, 2015 an AC-130 gunship from the U.S. Air Force pummeled what it thought was a building that had been seized by Taliban fighters in the city of Kunduz. It was actually a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders and there were no Taliban fighters there. The hospital was on a military “no strike” list, and the air crew had observed the trauma center and personnel for 68 minutes prior to firing the 211 rounds.

Despite phone calls from within the hospital to halt the airstrike, the attack killed 42 people, including 14 staff and 24 patients. According to Doctors Without Borders, “Patients burned in their beds, medical staff were decapitated and lost limbs.”

The subsequent U.S. military investigation found that “human errors, fatigue, process and equipment failures were at fault.” In a statement the U.S. Central Command said, “These factors contributed to the ‘fog of war,’ which is the uncertainty often encountered during combat operations.” It was negligence, but unintentional and therefore not a war crime. Sixteen servicemen were disciplined but none were court-martialed.

I do not remember a global firestorm in response to this incident. I do not remember Americans or the world demanding en masse that the U.S. stop its war in Afghanistan. I do not remember phrases like “international fury” or “outraged and heartbroken” in the headlines — and a search of said headlines today reveals nothing of that nature.

I do not remember a single suggestion that the U.S. killed those doctors or patients deliberately, despite the many, many factors in place to protect the hospital that were violated by American forces.

If any one of my American friends sent money to Doctors Without Borders or some contribution to Afghan civilians, I do not remember that either.

Does anyone else?

Now there is widespread chatter that Israel will be forced to end its war on Hamas without accomplishing the terror group’s total destruction and without getting our hostages back.

I can only say that I hope with all my heart that this does not happen, and I do not believe it will.

America’s War on Terror in response to 9/11 — a single terror attack perpetrated by an enemy 7,000 miles away — lasted for 13 years.

The Washington Post reported last year that, while the final death count as a result of that war is yet to be determined, the total so far is 4.5 to 4.6 million and counting. Per the Watson Institute of International & Public Affairs at Brown University in a report updated this past August, more than 7.6 million children under the age of 5 are suffering from acute malnutrition in the wake of the carnage.

And let’s also remember that it took more than a decade for the U.S. to hunt down and kill Osama bin Laden.

American friends, did you ever discourage international artists from playing concerts in America in response to any of this? Did you feel unworthy of appearing in international conferences? Did you send a single dollar to any of the countries impacted in an attempt at reparations?

American friends, how the hell can you possibly feel superior to Israelis and entitled to bully your Jewish peers?

Here’s another point of perspective: Around 20 years ago, soon after it came out, I read a dense book titled “A Problem from Hell” by Samantha Power, who would later serve as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

This book was a chronicle of major genocides during the 20th century. Besides the Holocaust, it delves into Turkey’s wholesale slaughter of Armenians, the Khmer Rouge’s widespread massacres in Cambodia, Saddam Hussein’s decimation of the Kurds in northern Iraq, the Hutu genocide perpetrated on Tutsis in Rwanda, and the Bosnian Serbs’ annihilation of non-Serbs in Kosovo.

It was an emotionally torturous book. I remember thinking that, while most of these genocides were smaller in scale than the Holocaust (though sometimes still in the millions), they were every bit as merciless and brutal. And these were just the most major genocides of the 20th century. There were dozens and dozens of others, as defined by the UN Convention on Genocide.

I remember thinking, as I read that book, that one could come away postulating that a tendency toward genocide is an integral part of the human condition, and no corner of the globe, no race or culture, is immune to it.

And that is why it remains so extraordinary to me that Israel has not gone there. For 75 years, she has endured countless terror attacks on her own soil and lost thousands of her own people to the struggle to contain an explicitly genocidal enemy without committing genocide herself.

Because she could. A real genocide in Gaza would be less than a day’s effort if Israel did not care about civilian life.

But she does, and I am proud and grateful that she does.

My family, we are not in control of what happens. We are only in control of our response to what happens. My progressive peers will never succeed in making me renounce the Jewish nation.

Israel is very far from perfect, but I know who she is, and I love who she is, and I will continue to stand with her with my head held high. I devoutly hope you all will stand with me.

Am Yisrael Chai.

The Jew News Review – April 6, 2024 – “Bring them home”

Shabbat shalom.

This morning, as LBJ use to say, I come to you with a heavy heart. My heart is heavy from grief – not just over the horrible accidental killing of the seven innocent aide workers, but also, grief over the soul of Israel. Hamas may be diminished in its military capability, but it is clearly achieving its goal of further isolating Israel from the rest of the world. And, as the relentless images of death and destruction in Gaza continue unabated, I have to ask myself, is this the time when its most understanding allies call “time” on the killing and even fervent believers in Israel, like myself, begin to waver? And where are the global protests and pressure to release the Israeli hostages, the true innocent victims in this madness!

As Jonathan Freedland stated on his latest podcast, “If you had asked me to imagine what is the one thing we could do to make sure that Israel’s already battered public image and reputation gets even worse, it would be to hit not just any NGO, but one that’s really loved, that fed Israelis in the Gaza envelope following October the 7th, that has unbelievable connections in Washington, that was founded by a beloved TV chef who is a close friend of Joe Biden, and that has workers from several of Israel’s allies, Poland, the US, the United Kingdom.” A perfect storm of bad shit for sure.

War is horrible business. If you think Israel is unique in the amount of accidental civilian casualties is has incurred in it’s execution of this war, you would be wrong. In fact, although the news feeds would have you believe the IDF is an aggressive killing machine with no regard for civilians, the opposite is true. Colonel John Spencer from the Marines out of West Point maintains the position that no other Western army takes the same kind of measures that the Israelis have taken in Gaza in order to prevent killing of civilians. And the facts support Israel’s contention that their ratio of combatants killed to civilian deaths is well below the accepted threshold. That does not justify any civilian deaths, but puts some context around the current propaganda perpetuated by the lame stream media. Nuf said. 

As Howard Jacobson, Booker prize winning author, said so eloquently in his latest essay, “Will the gathering storm of rage be too much for us this time? Or will we feel obliged to go on salvaging the truth from the noise and cacophony of war, even as those who don’t want to hear us — the libelous, the malevolent, the misinformed and now the usually friendly who are running out of patience — grow in number and in volume?”

No reasonable expert on the region believes that any number of bombs, or years spent in control of the territory, could actually eliminate every Hamas commander, fighter, weapon and underground tunnel from Gaza, never mind prevent the next generation of terrorists from replacing them. 

Backstopping this strategy with a brutal and clumsy obstinance is Bibi and his coalition of the callous, who are not only doubling down on it, but still considering storming Rafah with a force that will surely bring more collateral killing and images of dead babies being pulled from the rubble, and will likely bring an end to US support. There is already pressure from legal scholars in Britain to stop supporting arms to Israel, and now other nations are sure to follow. And in the midst of all this, including an eminent retaliation by Iran, the Knesset decides to go on vacation. Unfuckingbelievable. 

Jodi Rudoren, Editor in Chief of The Forward, is one of those fervent believers that has wavered in her support, or at least in the current Israeli strategy. In her latest editorial, she writes, 

“Six months into the devastating war that Hamas spawned, my head and heart are filled with a single word, one used by both Israelis and Palestinians: Khalas. Enough.

Israel must immediately end the fighting in Gaza, committing to a ceasefire in exchange for the release of as many hostages as possible — and start the hard, hard work of restoring its international standing to ensure its future as a Jewish democracy alongside an independent, unoccupied Palestine.

Stopping the bloodshed and letting the world feed the starving people of Gaza is the clear moral imperative. It is also, now, clearly the only way forward for Israel and world Jewry.”

Rudoren argues that the goal of totally eradicating Hamas is not realistic and impossible to achieve: “Destroy Hamas. That is a slogan, not a strategy — reductive and simplistic, not unlike “Free Palestine.”” She continues:

The Israel Defense Forces said in mid-February that it had killed 12,000 Hamas militants in Gaza, including top commanders Marwan Issa, the No. 3 terrorist leader in the enclave; the head of Hamas’s aerial division; two battalion commanders; a brigade commander; and a deputy brigade commander. The military also has dismantled 20 of 24 Hamas battalions, officials said last week, and rendered inoperable up to 40% of the group’s estimated 300-mile tunnel network.

These are major, historic achievements that have eroded if not erased the threats to Israel from Gaza for the foreseeable future. As an email I got yesterday from the Jewish Federations of North America put it: “The number of Hamas rocket attacks on Israel remains negligible on most days, due to Hamas’ significantly diminished capabilities.”

The IDF could have declared victory on the battlefield weeks or even months ago in order to focus on the war’s other goal, freeing the remaining 134 hostages — several dozen of whom are believed dead — a goal truly essential to the soul of Israel and the Jewish people. Instead, it has promised to press its deadly campaign on through Rafah, the southern Gaza city where some 1 million Palestinian evacuees have been sheltering in tents — an operation that might further degrade but also cannot “destroy” Hamas, and would have disastrous collateral consequences.

And while some think Israel may be suffering from PTSD after the horrors of October 7, most Israelis will tell you they are not post trauma, but still in trauma! As a diaspora Jew, my feelings are more aligned with anger – anger at the mainstream media, anger with Nut-and-yahoo, anger with the woke nut jobs on US campuses and around the world supporting Hamas and their brothers’ jihadist genocide against Jews. And lost in the daily cacophony of death and destruction and main stream media propaganda is the fate of the hostages. Where are the campus protests to release the Israeli hostages? This war after all, would end immediately if Hamas laid down their weapons and released them!

Jacobson goes on, much more eloquently than I:

And here is another of the truths we save from that most terrible event. That we do our humanity a great wrong when we let theories of power rule our politics and politics rule our hearts. Nothing that Zionism had done or ever could do would justify this glorying in the torture of individual Israelis. That so many of those doing the glorying were, on the face of it, highly educated put paid to our sentimental faith in education as our final and most reliable bulwark against the hysteria of race-hatred. Voice for voice, the educated out-sang the ignorant in bigotry and bloodlust. As did the highly principled out-sing the more ideologically easy-going when it came to such causes as the inviolability of a woman’s body.

And he continues:

I don’t want to be sentimental about Israel, but it’s enjoyed no peace from the beginning. It is a country that has lived under arms since before its declaration of independence. And on the very day independence was granted it was attacked once more. No, no, and no again. No to Jews. Not here. Not ever. No, no, no.

For Israel to have thrived in the face of a hostility with no end is remarkable. But there can be no denying that the fighting, the conscription of almost all its citizens, the having to live cheek by jowl with a people who cannot and will not accept its presence anywhere “between the river and the sea” has been a toughening, not to say desensitising, experience.

In defence of last year’s massacre, it was argued that it could not be understood independently of the circumstances that led to it. Hamas’s attack, its apologists insisted, was the child of the Israeli occupation. I have always resisted the word “occupation” because it suggests a pre-planned policy, rather than — as I see it — the consequence of all the wars between the two people, most of them instigated by the Palestinians, after which Israel found itself with territory it needed to demilitarise for its own safety. But alright — an occupation it became. After which, what were Palestinians expected to do?

The elusive two-state solution was presented to them several times. Not equitable enough, they said, even when it was the United Nations that had done the divvying up. “Don’t accept,” the cosmopolitan Palestinian writer Edward Said urged from the comfort of his home in North America. “Demand more.” Was he right? Wouldn’t an inequitable divvying up have given Palestinians better if not perfect lives? Well, it’s not for one person to tell another what’s fair. But right or wrong, there was to be no deal.

And so the bloody impasse — a tragedy, as Amos Oz saw it, of two rights. Later, a tragedy of two wrongs. For calling it a tragedy, Oz’s erstwhile Palestinian supporters deserted him. Tragedy meant there was no villain. And the Palestinians needed a villain.

Netanyahu fitted the bill. Netanyahu put his hand out and took. In retaliation for which — though nothing in the history of the two people would ever justify its extreme and twisted violence — the massacre of October 7. But if Israel must take some blame for the massacre, the Palestinians must, by the same token, take some blame for Netanyahu, the lumbering, unsubtle child of unrelenting war, a man hardened in suspicion and fear who does not know the difference between justice and revenge.

To hold out against the Palestinian narrative of dispossession, while allowing that not all of it is fantasy or self-pity, has necessitated, these last few years, more flexibility of mind than dedicated anti-Zionists are willing to try. That’s how we know they are wrong: they do not attempt to understand their enemy and do not cry for him. Did Gazans — educated in their schoolbooks to loathe Jews — dance in the streets on October 7? Whatever the truth, may Israelis never dance the dance of blood.

The heart breaks, seeing the destruction of Gaza. But seeing the destruction of Tel Aviv will hurt no less. Do I fear that? Yes. I sense a change of mood. The constant chanting on the streets of London and elsewhere has, to a degree, contributed to that change. One lie, endlessly retold, can weaken the cause of truth eventually.

But, all on his own, Netanyahu is enough to try the patience of the West whose leaders have little appetite for sticking to a mission. There is a flaw in our natures that leads to our growing bored with even the noblest causes, let alone those grown stale in their own complacency. Oh, what the hell. Enough of them. So those are swastikas. So what? It’s all just a matter of context.

I fear they — papers and commentators and politicians — are losing interest and sympathy at the same rate. They’ve heard it all before. We Jews need to find other ways to make our harrowing history compelling. We’ve tried losing. We’ve tried winning. I’m not sure what’s left.

I have relied heavily this week on other’s essays since I am having trouble mustering the words that express how dreadful I am feeling right now about Israel and for what might lie ahead. I wish I could be offering my usual light-hearted and smarmy commentary, or writing about the fabulous Caitlin Clark, the coming eclipse, the surprisingly excellent Red Sox pitching staff, or the Bruins and Celtics chances in the playoffs. But my heart remains heavy, and I worry about my friends in Israel, and what the fucking Iranians may be doing in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike that killed a top Revolutionary Guard general earlier this week in Syria.’

Despite all the bad and ominous news, I remain a stalwart defender of Israel and everything she stands for. For sure, Bibi needs to go. For sure, moderate Arab countries need to de-radicalize their jihadism, as Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka have done. For sure, Hamas needs to be neutered, however that is best defined, and a new generation of Gazans needs to accept Israel. For sure, as Golda Meir once said, “Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.”

Instead of my usual buffet of carefully curated news items, below are a few links to podcasts and essays about Israel you might find interesting. 

  1. Eve Barlow’s rant on so called “progressives” really captured the anger I feel toward the pro-Palestine imbeciles who have no concept of moral clarity. Today the IDF accidentally killed seven aid workers in Gaza, and admitted to this tragic error and issued a statement. The uproar and outrage and incessant posting by the parasites was insufferable. It was an accident. Hamas, however, do not kill anyone by accident. Death for Hamas is a strategy. The entire Bibas family has been in capitivity for 180 days. These same puritans have said not a single word about Shiri, Yarden, Ariel and Kfir Bibas. Not one! What kind of humanitarian is that? Oh but the International Court of Justice says… Who gives a shit? Iran pays for that.
  2. Susan Bordo’s Substack Essay, “The Rhetorical Escalator” – Susan is a journalist who has been observing and writing on the coverage of Israel in the main stream media. 

When I posted a note about a particularly anti-Semitic stack and questioned why there wasn’t any “progressive” protest against it, I was pelted with: “Have you rebuked Israel for killing innocent kids? Do you object to Israel killing non-combatants?” And “Are you at all concerned about the mass slaughter by Israel since the Hamas attack?”

This rhetorical move can be likened to a child’s “Oh yeah? So what about you?” Nowadays, though, it’s all over social media, as those, sure of their own moral high ground, applaud each other for exposing the callousness of what they assume (often unjustifiably) is a “pro-Israel” position on the war. I very rarely comment on the war itself. Virtually everything I’ve written has been—to put it simply—about the way we talk about the war, particularly the way the mainstream media reports on the war. There’s a lot to be criticized there. Apparently, though, concerns about the imbalances and distortions of discourse about the war—which I believe have inflamed and divided people who otherwise could be working together toward peace—just show I’m in league with baby-killers.

Finally, I would like to end this week on a more positive note. Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, considered one of the most influential rabbis in the country, was asked this week about how best to deal with the fear and anxiety of being Jewish in these challenging times. She offered 3 strategies to help: 1. Love and kindness – do something good for others, 2. Celebrate Shabbat and be present with other Jews, and 3. Do something to experience wonder and awe. I found the following musical performances to be awesome. I hope you do to.

I hope you all have a great rest of the weekend. And please, be safe out there. 

Bring them home.

Brad out.

The Jew News Review – March 30, 2024 – TTBS, Veto vote, aide madness, and Jewish sports stars

Shabbat shalom! 

And a tip of the kippah this week to Daniel Kahneman, the Israeli born 2002 Nobel Prize winner who virtually invented behavioral economics, who passed away this last week at the age of 90. Kahneman and his collaborator, Amos Tversky’s work illuminated how the human mind uses two systems of thinking – one fast, one slow. The fast system relies on shortcuts and biases, acting on habit and impulse, and it has significant blind spots. The slower system requires a lot more mental energy to use, but it can override the fast system and allow us to make careful, deliberate decisions.

I can’t help but sense a connection between Kahneman’s work and the shrinking of our overall attention span, mainly due to what I am now calling the “TikTok Brain Syndrome”, or TTBS, (pun intended). As Ted Gioia pointed out in his now viral substack on the State of Culture, silicon valley has elevated the distraction/addiction business model to an art form. 

The fastest growing sector of the culture economy is distraction. Or call it scrolling or swiping or wasting time or whatever you want. But it’s not art or entertainment, just ceaseless activity. The key is that each stimulus only lasts a few seconds, and must be repeated.

It’s a huge business, and will soon be larger than arts and entertainment combined. Everything is getting turned into TikTok—an aptly named platform for a business based on stimuli that must be repeated after only a few ticks of the clock.

TikTok made a fortune with fast-paced scrolling video. And now Facebook—once a place to connect with family and friends—is imitating it. So long, Granny, hello Reels. Twitter has done the same. And, of course, Instagram, YouTube, and everybody else trying to get rich on social media.

Gioia concludes that the silicon valley titans of social media have tapped into The Dopamine Loop, as depicted below.

My amateur view on our national psyche is that TTBS has significantly INCREASED our fast thinking brain, and dramatically REDUCED our slow thinking brains. It’s the only explanation I have for example, as to why the orange turd is leading the Republican Party, or why so many Gen Z folks were so quick to support Palestinians over Israel even before Israel launched it’s war against the Hamas barbarians. We can only hope that the ban on TikTok comes sooner rather than later.

Meanwhile, Israel continues to become more and more isolated around the globe. Even Germany, one of its most consistent and ardent supporters, has now started waffling on their support due to the death and devastation that continues in Gaza, and Ireland has mentioned that they will join South Africa in the United Nations genocide investigation. And of course there was the non-veto by the United States of the latest United Nations resolution that called for more aide to Gaza, but did not directly link that aide to releasing the remaining 134 hostages. The Biden administration tried to pass it off as no change to current policy, but the reaction in Israel was far less sanguine. 

And our kids, clearly suffering from TTBS, continue to stage protests against Israel at campuses across the country, including the latest from UCLA which saw a protest against the Regents of the college that included a disgusting display depicting a pig holding a bag of cash and a Star of David. Anti-Defamation League Los Angeles Regional Director Jeffrey I. Abrams said in a statement posted to social media, “The most recent display of Jew-hatred on a University of California campus speaks volumes to what Jewish and Israeli students are experiencing every day. Students and faculty across California are impacted by this hateful bigotry and it must come to an end.” To their credit, the University did issue the following statement: “We are offended and deeply saddened by the ugly antisemitic caricature that was displayed as part of a protest aimed at the University of California Board of Regents that met at UCLA on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. The protest has ended and the display has been removed. It is absolutely critical that Jewish members of our community — as well as those of all backgrounds and faiths — are treated with respect and dignity, and we remain committed to doing all we can to ensure the safety and protect the rights of everyone on our campus.”

Unfortunately, the news of the Jews continues to be dark and its pace relentless. Netanyahu is barely holding his coalition together, with the latest challenge coming from the Supreme Court, whose decision this week allowing the exemption from national service for the Orthodox to expire, will cause political and cultural shock waves across Israel. And here are some other headlines and carefully curated items for your information and personal edification:

  1. The aide situation – WTF? conflicting reports – While clearly there are huge humanitarian challenges in Gaza, one of those challenges is getting reliable information, due to the chaos of war, and the reliability of the UN’s IPC data, some of which comes from Hamas sources. The IPC study said the number of people projected to experience “catastrophic hunger” across the besieged enclave between now and mid-July had nearly doubled to more than 1.1 million, or about half the population, since the IPC last reported in December, when there was already record hunger. Israel calls bullshit on the report, citing the following:the report grossly underestimated the amount of water available per person per day (claiming over 20 liters versus the report’s assessment of less than 1) while noting it lacked key information amid the chaos of the conflict — as acknowledged by the IPC report — and subsequently relied on incomplete data, including from Hamas.“Given the difficulty in conducting surveys and samplings, the remotely conducted surveys, or third-party surveys within the Gaza Strip, diminish the reliability of the data,” COGAT said.It said it has tracked reports in Palestinian media “every day” of “food markets filled with food of all types and kinds” in various parts of Gaza, including its north.“Even at the height of hostilities, in a war that was forced upon it, Israel places no limits on the amount of aid that can enter Gaza, and absolutely does not limit the entrance of food. Israel also facilitates entry of complementary products such as cooking gas and diesel fuel for the operation of aid centers, bakeries, etc. Additionally, 14 million liters of water are supplied by Israel.”It added that “in recent months between 150 and 200 trucks are admitted per day, most of which are food trucks. This is an 80% spike in comparison to the daily average food trucks that entered Gaza pre-October 7.”“We outright reject any allegations according to which Israel is purposefully starving the civilian population in Gaza,” COGAT also said.If you want to go a little deeper on the aide issue, here is a link to a Rand sponsored article that originally appeared in Foreign Policy a week ago. The argument here is basically that security is the major problem, not supply or distribution.  Trucks, Piers, and Parachutes Will Not Solve Gaza’s Crisis
  2. Lieberman broke boundaries as the first Jew on a major presidential ticket. But it wasn’t all praise and glory for the “moderate — some would say conservative — Democrat turned independent,” who represented Connecticut in the Senate from 1989 to 2013. “Lieberman was known for his attempts to build bridges in an increasingly polarized Washington, sometimes losing old friends and allies along the way,” an obituary recalls — including when Lieberman blasted his former friend, then-President Bill Clinton, over his affair with Monica Lewinsky in a fiery speech on the Senate floor. Read the story ➤
  3. Latest on the war…
    • A Gallup poll found that a majority of Americans now disapprove of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza; only 36% of respondents approve of the war. Democrats, Republicans and independents all recorded lower approval of the war than in November.
    • A State Department official resigned in protest of U.S. military support of Israel, writing in a CNN op-ed that “whatever credibility the United States had as an advocate for human rights has almost entirely vanished since the war began.”
    • In a press conference, families of male hostages still held by Hamas claimedthe Israeli government had warned them not to speak to the media, and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is only meeting with us today after six months, after many official requests and requests through the media.”
    • Netanyahu is once more in conversation with President Joe Biden’s administration about visiting the White House to discuss Biden’s objections to Israel’s planned ground invasion of Rafah, in southern Gaza. Netanyahu earlier this week canceled a planned meeting in protest of the U.S. abstaining from a United Nations Security Council vote on a ceasefire resolution, which allowed the measure to pass.
    • A 25-year-old Druze man was killed in a Hezbollah bombardment of the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona.
    • Three Israelis were injured in a West Bank shooting that targeted school buses and cars along a highway.
    • The U.S., along with several Middle Eastern governments, is pressing Israelover reports that Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti is facing mistreatment in Israeli prison. Barghouti, a leader of the second intifada, is serving five life sentences; he is one of the most prominent prisoners whose freedom Hamas has requested as part of a potential hostage deal.
    • Hundreds of students occupied an administrative building at Smith College, demanding the school divest from military contractors they say are complicit in Israel’s war.
    • Rutgers University is the latest campus to face a Republican-led congressional investigation over allegations of antisemitism on campus.
  4. A Russian court ordered Evan Gershkovich, a Jewish reporter at the Wall Street Journal imprisoned for a year, to remain in jail on espionage charges until at least June. Friends and colleagues have recently organized a swim, a run and a read-a-thon to help bring attention to Evan’s plight.
  5. You can’t make this shit up entry for the week: 🤔  In the lead-up to Good Friday and Easter, former President Donald Trump is selling “God Bless the USA” bibles for $59.99 as he faces mounting legal bills. “Religion and Christianity are the biggest things missing from this country,” Trump said in a promotional video. (AP, Religion News Service) The comedy skit for SNL writes itself.
  6. The Boston Red Sox’s Fenway Park has a Jewish organist. His 22nd season starts Thursday: Josh Kantor has played 1,698 games and is arguably the best-known ballpark organist working today, partly because of his side gigs performing with rock bands. Also because he takes requests: Sure, he plays “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” at every seventh inning stretch, but most everything else he plays during a game is because of requests he receives from fans on social media. Play Ball! Gotta love those Sox!
  7. More Jews in Sports – The “Frozen Chosen” has a starting goalie. Boston Bruins all-star goaltender Jeremy Swayman, whose Jewish heritage was previously only rumored, confirmed in a video message to a fan celebrating their bar mitzvah that he, too, had celebrated his bar mitzvah growing up in Alaska. And speaking of hockey players, a hearty mazel tov to Zach Hyman of the Edmonton Oilers who on Sunday scored his 50th goal of the season. Watch the shot here.
  8. And finally, another Jewish sports star in the making – I thought I would close with this bit of comic relief. A few years ago, friends put the idea in my head that I could make the Israeli Olympic ski team, which of course did not exist, so my chances were greater than zero, but not by much. Having lost out on that opportunity, I recently turned my sports focus to Curling, with the hopes that I might be able to join the Isreali team and help them make it to the 2028 Winter games in Milan. Enjoy.

That’s all the Jew News fit to print this week. I hope you all have a great weekend. And hey, stay safe out there, and always strive to get your stones inside the house!

Brad out.

The Jew News Review – March 23, 2024 – Israel Alone?

Shabbat shalom! A quick shout out of sympathy for the victims and their families of the horrendous terrorist attack in Moscow. More proof, unfortunately, that jihadism is a global threat to the civilized world. 

And a tip of the kippah this week to Eon Productions, producers of the James Bond movie franchise. They have offered Jewish actor, Aaron Taylor-Johnson the role of the iconic 007 super spy in the next Bond film which starts filming in 2025. “The names Bond, Schlomo Bond”.

And Happy Purim to one and all! Purim is a much bigger deal in Israel, akin to Halloween here in the USA, but this year many of the Purim celebrations were scaled back or cancelled due to the war and the overall dour mood of Israelis. 

And who could blame them. They are still suffering from the worst attack on the Jewish people since the holocaust, their people savagely raped, murdered and mutilated beyond recognition, hundreds taken hostage, including babies, that are still being tortured by their inhuman captors who do not even value the lives of their own citizens beyond using them as bait and human shields. Hence, I am not surprised that celebrating Purim, a contrived holiday to begin with, is going to be the same this year in Israel. 

Last week I mentioned how difficult it has become to continue supporting Israel, given the lame stream media serving up images daily of the death and destruction in Gaza, and the appalling hubris of Bibi Netanyahu in his decisions that seem more self serving than in the best interests of the country. Bibi will be gone in due time, Israelis will make sure of that, as soon as either the next election or a call of “no confidence” occurs within the Knesset. The latter is technically complicated, but could happen. Schumer’s speech last week did not help, and if anything, it helped boost Bibi’s position within Israel since many were not happy with Schumer weighing in on internal Israeli matters. Let’s hope Bibi does not take up Speaker Johnson’s invitation to speak to the US Congress, as that would only further politicize our relationship with Israel and only muck up matters worse than they already are.

Meanwhile, the war council will continue making all major decisions regarding the conduct of the war, and they, as well as the IDF, have the confidence of a majority of Israelis. But, as the IDF continues to make progress and prepares for an assault on Rafah, Israel has lost the social media war bigly, and already, according to the latest Pew Research, a majority of young people in this country, who have only grown up with Bibi and are fed a daily diet of TikTok rubbish, support Palestinians over Israel! Yikes! Red alert! So, what does Bibi do? He fires Elon Levy, one of the better PR guys in Israel, then complains that there aren’t any Israelis that know how to put more than two english words together in a sentence! Incredible. It doesn’t take a genius to understand Israel now has a huge PR problem. Just check out the cover of this week’s Economist:

Such a sad headline. It kills me to watch this great nation, the home of our people, “start up nation”, winner of 13 Nobel prizes, become so isolated in a world that was already reeling from a new wave of anti-semitism even before October 7. Part of the challenge for Israel on the PR front is that Hamas and the Palestinians have artfully turned lies and propaganda into the lame stream media narrative. And they have used “inversion strategy”, (a la the orange turd) telling lies that are the precise opposite of what is true. Here is a list of those from Nachum Kaplan’s “The Hamas PR machine”post:

  • Israel is using starvation as a weapon. Israel has placed no restrictions on the amount of aid allowed into Gaza. More food trucks enter Gaza daily now than before the war, 126 a day versus 70 a day, according to the UN. More than 9,500 trucks carrying 200,000-plus tons of food have been delivered since October 7. This makes Israel the only country in history to provide aid to its enemy during a war, and to one holding Israelis hostages at that. Food security is a serious issue because Hamas is hijacking and hoarding aid and selling it for an easy profit. Hamas has threatened to kill any Gazan who helps Israel secure incoming foreign aid.
  • Israel is a colonialist state: Israel’s re-creation was decolonialization. The Jews are the indigenous people of Israel. It was Jewish insurgents that drove the British out of Palestine. The British were the last in a long line of colonizers that includes the Arabs.
  • Israel is imperialist: Israel is small. It is only 470 kilometers (290 miles) north to south, and 135 kilometers (85 miles) east to West. It is surrounded in all directions by large Arab and non-Arab Muslim states. The tiny spec on the map is not an empire. That is absurd.
Israel is a small state, not an empire.
  • Israel is engaged in ethnic cleansing. The Jews are the victims of ethnic cleansing, from Europe and the Arab world. About 21% of Israelis are Arabs, and another five million Palestinians live in what was British Mandatory Palestine. By contrast, there are no Jews in Palestinian territories because they were ethically cleansed.
  • Israel is committing genocide: The Jews were the victims of the worst genocide in history in the Holocaust, and on October 7 were the victim of a genocidal attack from Hamas. The US Census Bureau International Database shows that the Palestinian population of Gaza was 265,800 in 1960, 342,700 in 1970, 431,600 in 1980, 645,100 in 1990, 1.1 million in 2000, 1.5 million in 2010, and 2.1 million in 2023. This is the opposite of what would happen if there was genocide.
  • Israel is bombing Gaza indiscriminately. Israel is targeting Hamas terrorists who are using civilians as human shields. Despite this, it has achieved the lowest civilian-to-combatant ratio in the history of warfare. It has achieved this by warning of attacks, creating civilian passages and safe zones, and by using precision-guided weaponry. Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, by contrast, targeted civilians.
  • Israel is an apartheid state: All Israeli citizens have full rights whether they are Jews, Arabs, Druze, Circassians, or anything else. Citizens in the Arab states and the Palestinian territories, by contrast, have no democratic or political rights.
  • Israel is built on stolen land: Israel is the only country in the world built partly on purchased land. This is the myth of stolen Arab land.
  • Israelis are white European Jews: This fiction is perverse as it legitimizes racism against white people. In any case, there are Jews of every skin color. Only 30% of Israelis are Ashkenazi (European) Jews. Almost 45% are indigenous Mizrahi Jews. There are many others, such as Maghrebi Jews and Ethiopian Jews.
  • Israel is attacking civilians: Hamas uses civilians to defend its soldiers, while Israel uses its soldiers to defend its civilians.
  • Israel does not want peace: Israel has offered the Palestinians a state on at leastsix occasions (1937 Peel Commission, 1947 (UN partition of Palestine), 1967 (end of Six-Day War), 2000 (Oslo Peace Accords), 2005 (Israel’s unilateral pullout from Gaza), and2008 (improved version of Oslo Accords). On each occasion the Palestinians rejected peace.
  • Israel is an occupying force: Israel has not been in Gaza since 2003, when it unilaterally pulled out. Hamas then gained power and built a terror state.

Hate to admit it, but the Palestinians are great liars. And I urge all of you to hang tough with Israel. For those interested in a deeper dive answering some of the tough questions, here is a link to a transcript of Sam Harris’s podcast, “5 Myths About Israel and the War in Gaza”. 

Moving on, what about other news of the Jews this week? Without further ajieu, here then is this week’s generous selection of Jewie journalistic gems, culled and carefully curated, and copied and pasted from the likes of The Forward, JTA, The Times of Israel, Kveller, Jewish Boston, Haaretz, and other Jewish journals:

  1. Israel/Gaza updates:
    1. Ceasefire Resolution Vetoed: Russia and China vetoed a US-proposed ceasefire resolution at the UN Security Council. The resolution called for an “immediate and sustained ceasefire” in Gaza “in connection with the release of all remaining hostages.” Eleven member states supported the resolution. Algeria, the sole Arab state currently on the Security Council, also voted against the measure, and Guyana abstained. Russia said the proposal was “exceedingly politicized” and China said the proposal did not sufficiently condemn a potential Rafah assault. The US pointed out that the vetoing nations still have not condemned Hamas or the 10/7 massacre and objected to this resolution because it acknowledged the importance of releasing hostages.
    2. Blinken and Bibi: Meanwhile in Israel, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Israeli PM Netanyahu against invading Rafah, saying such an attack “risks further isolating Israel around the world and jeopardizing its long term security and standing.” Netanyahu insisted an assault on Rafah is critical to destroying Hamas, and that while he’d prefer to have US support, “if we have to, we will do it alone.” According to Axios, Blinken also warned Israeli leaders to develop a plan for a postwar transition – or risk a forever-insurgency and occupation. 
    3. Seven Israelis were wounded in a Friday morning shooting in the West Bank. The suspect in the shooting was killed after a standoff with Israel Defense Forces soldiers.
    4. Sen. Chuck Schumer said he would welcome Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress, days after calling for new Israeli elections and saying Netanyahu’s leadership is an “obstacle to peace.”
    5. Israel’s Supreme Court temporarily blocked the planned deportation of 20 Palestinians receiving cancer treatment in Israel to Gaza, requesting that the government hold off on action until it has time to review a petition by the patients and a number of human rights organizations.
    6. The IDF is investigating after a reservist shot and killed a Palestinian who had converted to Judaism in the West Bank
    7. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, currently on a tour of the Middle East, said progress is being made toward normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia despite tensions raised by the war. Blinken is in Israel today, meeting with Netanyahu, the war cabinet and the families of hostages.
    8. Jerusalem’s mayor agreed to changes to the city’s first Purim parade in 42 years after meeting with representatives of the families of hostages, after objections over the appropriateness of a raucous celebration in wartime.
  2. Antisemitic conspiracy theories about the Congressional push to force a sale of TikTok are proliferating, with one antisemitic influencer writing that the “Jewish lobby” is behind the effort, with aims to gain “complete control over narratives and information.” (ADL)
  3. Malmö, the Swedish city hosting this year’s Eurovision competition, is preparing for possible unrest related to Israel’s controversial participation in the beloved song contest. “There is currently, according to the information we have from our partners, no direct threat to Eurovision,” the city’s safety director said on Thursday, but “given the situation, things could change.” (Reuters)
  4. Good luck finding them – Israel is quietly developing a plan to put anti-Hamas Palestinians in charge of distributing aid in Gaza, and eventually creating a Palestinian-led government there.
  5. Take that Jonathan Glazer! A group representing more than 1,000 American rabbis across denominations released a statement Wednesday opposing a ceasefire in Gaza and rejecting the conditioning of U.S. military aid to Israel.
  6. Told you so: The IDF says troops have so far killed more than 90 Hamas gunmenduring its ongoing raid at Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, and detained more than 160.
  7. Et Tu Canada, eh? Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, praised Canada’s decision to stop selling weapons to Israel, adding that “the U.S. should not provide another nickel for Netanyahu’s war machine.” In further Canadian news, a Jewish film festival in Ontario scheduled for April was abruptly postponedafter security concerns arose.

Dayenu. That should do it for the week. Enjoy the rest of the weekend everyone, and hey, let’s remember to be careful out there. 

Brad out.