Shabbat shalom! Hey! And happy Shavuot everyone! For those that need a refresher, as I did, Shavuot is the celebration of the delivery of the Torah to Moses on Mt Sinai. According to Wikipedia, when Moses descended from Mt Sinai with the Ten Commandments, he admonished all the Jews to eat only cheese blintzes to commemorate the day. Here is a link to a classic blintz recipe, FYI Click here.

So, no heavy topics this week, no politics, no guns, no bad news. After suffering the horrors and sadness of last week, how wonderful was it to watch the Celtics come from behind victory against Golden State last Thursday! I am admittedly a lapsed fan, having fallen off the green wagon shortly after the Bird era, but I am falling in love with this team. Unselfish ball, great passing and ball movement, amazing defense, and guys with character and great team chemistry. And a coach who should win Coach of the Decade! I don’t think Curry and company knew what hit them after the 4th quarter. So, stay tuned for more excitement and don your favorite green swag for the next game this Sunday night. 

I know you are all getting a little verklempt wondering what else is going on in Jew land, so without further delay, here is a quick summary of carefully curated jewish news:

1. Bat-Mitzvah Porn: Debbie Does Deuteronomy – In the “you can’t make this shit up” category, check out this story of bat-mitzvah embarrassment reaching new heights. Apparently, during a Zoom celebration of a young Minnesota woman’s entry into adulthood, a couple participating via Zoom neglected to turn their camera off, and provided the party with an adult mitzvah of their own. For about 45 minutes, and despite pleas from the congregation, the couple went at it in their bed upholding the Talmudic tradition of having sex on Shabbat. According to one participant, “Most people were not on camera except like, the old bubbes … who don’t know how to turn off their camera, and these two people. So the boxes were pretty big and everyone could see who was on camera.” For more click here. 
2. A Confederation for Peace in the middle East: Rainbows and unicorns? There is a new push for a twist on the two state solution making rounds among US policy wonks. The idea of an Israeli-Palestinian confederation has been around for some time, but the concept is getting new life as pressure mounts to do something. Under the new “confederation concept”, Israel and Palestine would be independent, sovereign states with a border roughly along the Green Line. The biggest difference between this idea and the two-state solution that has dominated discussion since the 1990s is that the border would be an open border, like the borders within the European Union, and would not cut through Jerusalem, which would be a wholly shared city and, likely, a dual capital. This would go a long way toward addressing two of the thorniest obstacles to two states: what to do about the millions of Palestinian refugees and their descendants yearning to return to the land of their ancestors, and about the 650,000 Israeli Jews now living in settlements in East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank. Let’s hope some daylight here might lead to something.
3. Boston to Tel Aviv: Delta now offering direct flights! Book your tickets now! Delta Air Lines launches nonstop service to Tel Aviv on May 26, part of a larger initiative to expand its Boston presence. Flights will run three times per week, landing at Ben Gurion Airport, making it even easier for New Englanders to visit Israel. These nonstop routes are in addition to newly reinstated Boston to Tel Aviv flights on El Al, Israel’s official airline carrier, which offers two flights per week. Those routes first launched in 2015 but had been put on hold during the pandemic. (New York and Miami are the only other cities in the U.S. with two carriers flying nonstop to Israel.)
4. Happy Birthday Scotch Whisky!  June 1, 1494 marked the first recorded historical mention of scotch whisky. Scotland’s exchequer rolls noted that one Friar John Cor had been given a portion of malted barley with which to make “aqua vitae,” or distilled spirits. As the Scottish liquor’s renown spread in ensuing centuries, Jews were among its acolytes and the golden liquid has become quite popular among US Jews. But the kosher bottlings from prominent whiskey labels, the growth of “kiddush clubs,” and the spread of national events like Whisky Jewbilee suggest that the Jewish love of whiskey is bigger than a few post-service drams.
5. More on the good news front: 💰 An interfaith coalition erased $6 billion in medical debts owed by more than 2,000 people in the Chicago area. The group was inspired by an ancient Jewish custom – the Biblical law to release people of debts during the shmita year. “I fell in love with it,” said Pastor Chris Harris. “And I said listen, let’s keep this thing rockin’.” (JTA) Of course, if we had a national health plan, this money could have gone to another charitable cause, but a good deed nevertheless. 
6. Good from the bad – 🏫  Rabbi Shlomo Noginsky, the Boston rabbi stabbed last summer in front of a Jewish day school, has raised $1 million to launch a rabbinical school. Noginsky plans to train eight rabbis a year – “one for each stab,” he said. (Jewish Journal)
7. Israeli Update: In Jerusalem, the annual flag march through the Old City passed with no major violence, despite some clashes between Palestinians and the Jewish nationalists celebrating Jerusalem Day by chanting  “death to Arabs” as well as early warnings of violence by Hamas. But Israel’s governing coalition remains unstable as it approaches its first anniversary. The leadership postponed an important bill that would extend emergency regulations for Israel’s civil authority in the occupied West Bank, after the Islamist party Ra’am refused to back the legislation. The opposition, led by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, announced it would oppose all legislation, and a new pollfound a plurality of voters preferring Netanyahu as a leader over current Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. Oh, nooooo, not Nut-and-Yahoo again???!! 

That’s all folks! And hey, I know I say it every week, but let’s please be careful out there. And go Celtics!!!!

Brad out. 

Like this post

LikeCommentShare

Shabbat shalom.

A tough and tragic week for the country, a horrific one for the friends and families of those children and teachers that were brutally assassinated in the Robb Elementary School. This is the 215th mass shooting in the country just this year, and its still only May! If there is such a thing as existential despair, I think our nation may be in it. I know I am personally feeling it. 

If you haven’t listened to NBA basketball coach Steve Kerr’s lament after the tragedy, you should. Here is a link. Kerr speaks with the moral authority of a man whose own father was assassinated by gun violence and pleads with Mitch McConnell and the 50 Senators to do something, specifically calling out HR 8, a law passed in the House for background checks on gun purchasers. There are so many things that could be done to curb this kind of killing if only the “do nothing” Republicans would just do their jobs instead of offering “thoughts and prayers” or their many useless, glib and insulting slogans. We need to update the definition of insanity to now be “doing nothing, over and over and expecting a different result”. The satire magazine, The Onion, has now run this headline over 20 times:

'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens https://t.co/8NNNNzc1xQ pic.twitter.com/DGFY2fTDCs

— The Onion (@TheOnion) May 25, 2022

This gruesome groundhog day needs to end. HR 8, banning assault rifles, red flag laws, raising the age to buy a gun to 21, and many other ideas would certainly not eliminate this madness, but COULD help! If not, then I have my own Swiftian satirical thoughts on the topic, and offer the following “Modest Proposal For Preventing the Assassination of School Children and Making Republicans Beneficial to the Publick”. To wit:

1. Put a M1A2 Abrams tank in every school parking lot – this would act as a deterrent to any would-be attackers as well as fuel the military industrial complex with a new sales channel.
2. Train kindergartners in the use of AR 15 assault rifles with Sesame Street characters used as target practice – In addition to giving more good guys guns, and toughening up our little ones, this has the added benefit of increasing the USA’s chances of winning gold in the winter biathlon skiing and shooting event.
3. Have all school children wear protective armor plating or kevlar uniforms – In addition to the obvious protection, this idea could spawn a completely new fashion industry. Check out this bullet-proof hoodie, eg.

4. Harden our schools by bricking over all windows and eliminating all but one door for entering and exiting. On that door, put an effigy of Ted Cruz armed with an AR15 as a greeter and guard – In addition to its deterrence effect, this might help the useless Senator add some value for a change. 
5. Finally, “The only thing that can stop a bad politician with a vote is a good citizen with a vote.” Vote any of these a-hole Republicans that do not support gun safety measures out of office.

I hope my lame attempt at satire has not offended anyone, but this is where we are at with Republicans these days who think the only answer to this problem is more guns and “hardening” our schools, as if training children in “active shooting” drills is something we should normalize. And I am 100% certain that the framers of our constitution were not thinking of arming 18 year olds with military assault rifles when they drafted the 2nd Amendment. 

Check out the latest polling from Politico/Morning Consult poll out Wednesday:

• 88% of voters strongly or somewhat support background checks on all gun sales, while only 8% strongly or somewhat oppose such checks. 
• 84% support preventing gun sales to people who have been reported to police as dangerous by a mental health provider while only 9% oppose it.
• 77% support requiring guns to be stored in a safe storage unit, while only 15% oppose such a requirement.
• 75% approve of a national database for gun sales while only 18% disapprove. 
• 67% approve of banning assault style weapons like the AR-15 while only 25% disapprove.
• 54% percent of voters approve of arming teachers with concealed weapons, while only 34% oppose it.

The only regulation supported by Republicans? Arming teachers. 

Israel, a well armed country that understands threats and violence, has developed sensible gun laws that require a mental health exam, local police approval, training and certifications in firearm use and safety, and so on. In fact, over 40% of those applications are rejected, and if they are approved, they limit the amount of firearms to only one per individual and also limit bullets to 50. Sensible stuff.

Let’s leave it at that this week. But hey, let’s also be careful out there. 

Brad out.

Shabbat shalom! 

The skies are gray here in New England, and a heat wave is moving in over the eastern seaboard. The heat and humidity should help the gardens, but will not do much to improve my mood which has been taking a beating from all the doom and gloom I cannot avoid due to my addiction to the news, podcasts, and social media. Wars, both real and cultural, baby formula shortages, a tanking stock market, Monkey Pox, a new Covid surge, mass shootings, replacement theory, and blah blah blah. But, a few rays of hope emerged during the week as well. Shout outs to my niece Natalie, who graduated from Northeastern with a rainbow of honor chords around her graduation gown and a cool job lined up at Apple, and another shout out to my brother Bill and family, who closed on their new house in Staunton, Virginia. Mazel tov! 

While I was horrified by the Buffalo mass shooting, I was not shocked. It was, in my opinion, the inevitable and hateful extension of the Great Replacement conspiracy that has become the mantra for mainstream Republicans and Fox media in order to incite the base and make money respectively. There is clearly blood on Fucker Carlson’s hands, and he knows it.

“His response was telling: the greatest threat to Americans is not the hateful rhetoric espoused by the shooter — which Carlson admitted was “definitely racist, and bitterly so,” while dismissing the shooter as “diseased.” No: it’s the “ruthlessness and dishonesty” of Democrats, whom Carlson claims want to limit the proliferation of any speech they hate. Mere minutes after Carlson’s segment on the shooting, his show pivoted to a video of a long line of immigrants seeking shelter: Carlson’s guest decried that “migrant encounters” were on the rise, as if immigrants are wild animals rather than human beings in search of a better life.”

Well, I hate Fucker Carlson, and I proclaim to be one of many Jews who want him replaced. I am thinking we need to replace the replacement conspiracy with a new one: Jews That Greatly Want to Replace Racist Pigs. Probably could come up with something catchier, but you get my point. The real problem here is that we are still dealing with the ripple effects of the Orange Turd and his mainstreaming of racism, anger and hate, all historical threads of this country that used to be part of the 10-15% fringe on the right, but because of Trump and his sycophants, are now part of the mainstream of the Republican party. Think I am exaggerating? Latest poll shows nearly half of Republicans believe in the replacement bullshit Carlson is peddling. Scary. After the Anti-Defamation League called for Fox to fire Carlson, Republican whack-job Matt Gaetz called the ADL a “racist organization”. 

To end on a positive note, I was very heartened by the Buffalo Jewish Community’s response to the shooting and their support of the black community. Since the only supermarket in the area is now indefinitely closed, the JCRC and other Jewish organizations have focused on donations to food charities to help close the retail food gap, and they have been attending prayer vigils and services in support as well. 

Meanwhile, back in the homeland, Israeli Prime Minister Bennet’s coalition is clinging to life, while most Israelis are still squawking about the incompetence and insensitivity of the Jerusalem police in their response to the funeral procession of the Palestinian journalist killed in crossfire over a week ago. I assume a certain level of competence and confidence in all things Israel, but based on the facts, I need to revisit that assumption. According to reports, during what was probably the most potentially volatile event in recent history, the chief of the Jerusalem police was on a junket in Germany, and it wasn’t even his Deputy that gave the order to rush the procession, but his Deputy’s Deputy. So far, there is no official response from Jerusalem police or the politicians. The PR on this could not be worse. Come on Israel, you can do better.

What else? Without further ajieu, here are some carefully curated selections for your reading enjoyment:

1. During Jewish-American Heritage Month, the White House celebrated a great (Jewish) American tradition. Shawn Green was an early-aughts baseball icon: A power hitter who recorded one of the best single-game performances in Major League history. He’s also a Jew who consulted Sandy Koufax about whether to play on Yom Kippur. At a Zoom talk Thursday, Green spoke about the Rosh Hashanah where he stepped up to the plate and greeted the opposing team’s Jewish catcher — only to learn the umpire was Jewish, too. “I was proud,” he said, to “always have a small little fan base in every city of Jewish kids.” Read the story ➤ 
2. 🇮🇱 Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s embattled government lost its Knesset majority Thursday when an Arab lawmaker in the leftist Meretz party quit the coalition over what she called its “hawkish, hard-line and right-wing positions.” The lawmaker, Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi, cited recent police actions in clashes on the Temple Mount and at the funeral of a slain journalist. Separately, a right-wing activist was indicted for allegedly sending bullets to Bennett and his family as a threat. (Haaretz, Times of Israel) 
3. Forever in Blue Jeans – On this week in history: The German-born Jewish businessman Levi Strauss and his Latvian-born Jewish associate, a tailor named Jacob Davis, received a patent on May 20, 1873, allowing them to make a new type of garment: blue jeans. At the time, the denim pants were most notable for the metal rivets on their pockets, which made them more durable for the gold miners who wore them. But jeans eventually came to symbolize much more: American capitalism, rugged individualism and a rebellious spirit. They became so culturally powerful that during the Cold War, East Germany banned the sale of Levi’s Jeans until economic problems forced the government to begin allowing them again. As of 2015, Levi’s controls about 11% of the United States denim market, a $15 billion industry.
4. Borat for kids – “Chelm: The Smartest Place on Earth” is an animated HBO Max special featuring Sacha Baron Cohen. Chelm, the real-life Polish shtetl, took on a mythic identity as a village of fools: a land populated and governed entirely by idiots, who solve problems in hilarious counterintuitive fashion. “This unique project will breathe new, hysterical life into the nonsensical Chelmic wisdom that originated from this imaginary city of folks who aren’t quite the sharpest tools in the shed,” Amy Friedman, head of kids and family programming at HBO parent company Warner Bros., said in the release. Click here for more.
5. 🇮🇱  Lag B’Omer celebrations at Israel’s Mount Meron stayed peaceful and safe — with 8,000 police officers on hand, a year after a stampede killed 45 people at the festival popular with Orthodox Jews. Police made multiple arrests of people they said intended to force their way into the event without tickets. (Associated Press)
6. What the Buffalo shooter’s screed says about Jews: Saturday’s supermarket massacre targeted Black people, and 11 of the 13 people shot were Black. But the 180-page diatribe the 18-year-old suspect posted online spends more space demonizing Jews, mentioning the word more than 100 times and emphasizing his antisemitism with bold, capitalized letters and exclamation points. Read the story ➤
7. ‘Nazi Billionaires’: New book chronicles the exploits of wealthy dynasties who cozied up to the Third Reich – Financial incentives fostered popular support for the Hitler’s regime from families that today own German auto companies such as BMW, Porsche and Volkswagen; European luxury hotels; and American brands including Krispy Kreme, Panera Bread and Dr Pepper. “It is galling to learn how readily these businessmen — whose 1930s empires included weapons manufacturing, energy, transportation and banking — agreed to fund the Nazi Party,” Julia M. Klein writes in a review. Read the story ➤

That’s all folks! And I know I say this every week, but believe me, this latest surge is no joke. Be careful out there!

Brad out.

Like

Comment

Shabbat shalom to all my JNR friends!

Well it seems as though the mysterious man behind the curtain decided to flip the New England weather switch and turned the dial to the summer setting before we could even get used to spring temperatures. We will hit the 80’s today, which should make for some sweaty gardening this afternoon.

Shout out today to the Bruins and Celtics. While our Red Sox continue to falter and try to find their footing, there is nothing like two game seven playoff matches to make the weekend a magical one for New England sports fans. I am admittedly a fair weather fan, having lost interest in the NBA shortly after the Bird era, but I have recently renewed my interest in the Bruins, mostly out of respect for my son Michael’s crazy passion for the home town hockey team. I grew up during the Big Bad Bruins era and was just as crazy about them back then. The poster of Bobby Orr flying through the air while scoring the Stanley Cup winning goal hung in my bedroom for years, and I still remember the old saying, “God saves, but Esposito scores on the rebound!”

Speaking of fanaticism, what a freaking awful week in Israel. More on that in a bit, but before I go there, amidst last week’s abortion kerfuffle, I neglected to mention Israel’s celebration of their Independence day. Israel turned 74 years young on May 4th, and what I find interesting is that the country deliberately timed their independence day celebration immediately following their Memorial day, as a reminder that freedom and independence come at a price. And therein lies an interesting and I think uniquely Jewish duality, the happiness and bitterness of life. 

Memorial day is considered one of the holiest of days in Israel, and usually transcends politics, except this year. Naftali Bennett, Israel’s Prime Minister currently ruling over a very tenuous coalition, was delivering a speech to the bereaved families of the fallen, a yearly tradition in Israel. While delivering his speech, ironically on the topic of unity, he was interrupted by hecklers from the bereaved families and by a Nut-and-yahoo supporter. During the endless 5 minutes of heckling, Bennett stood silent with his hand over his heart, never responding, until the heckling stopped. That my friends, is a demonstration of true leadership. 

But, no sooner had the independence day celebrations worn off, the following week was one of tragedy, bitterness and a really bad look for Israel. A little context: over the last 6 weeks, 19 Israelis have been killed by terrorist attacks. In the midst of this violence, the IDF has been pro-actively conducting anti-terrorist actions in and around the west bank. During one of those actions, a well know and respected Al Jazeera journalist, Shireen Abu Aqleh was shot to death during a battle between the IDF and terrorists in Jenin. Fingers started pointing right away, and after 4 days we are no closer to the truth of what actually happened. But that’s not the worst of it. While I am certain the IDF did not wake up on Wednesday and decide it was a good day to assassinate a Palestinian journalist, (there are actually some making this claim), I am also certain it was not a good idea for Israeli police to start brawling with mourners at her funeral procession, throwing stun grenades and almost causing her coffin to tumult to the ground. I have watched the video, and it is horrifying, and no matter what excuse is given, a really bad decision and tough one to explain. Let’s hope the latest agreement to a 3rd party investigation helps to quell the situation and that justice somehow prevails. 

By now, I am certain you must all be clamoring for more news on the Jews, carefully curated by myself for your reading pleasures. Clamor no more, here you go:

1. What happened to Shireen Abu Aqleh? This opinion piece gives you a sense of the dynamics fueling this tragedy. I agree with her that an independent, international inquiry into Abu Akleh’s killing, launched immediately with the full cooperation of Israeli and Palestinian authorities, is the best way to help Palestinians, journalists — and Israel. I believe the Palestinian Authority thankfully agreed to this earlier today. Click here for more.
2. 🇮🇱  With funding from a hedge fund billionaire, a new group is aiming to be a New York version of AIPAC – The new group is called the New York Solidarity Network and is trying to establish a counter balance to the the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and the Democratic Socialists of America. They intend to funnel money to stridently pro-Israel candidates in the state. “You put three Jews in a room,” said Liz Krueger, a state senator from Manhattan, “and you get four or five organizations, because none of them can get along.” (New York Times)
3. Is “The Music Man” the last great goyish musical? One of my favorite musicals as a kid, there is a new version out now starring Hugh Jackman in Robert Preston’s role as Professor Harold Hill. This critic believes the new version ain’t great, but the score carries the day anyway. But why did it win the Tony against the even more iconic “West Side Story”? “Despite its reputation as a bland feel-good musical, The Music Man harbors a deceptively complex message. It’s about insiders and outsiders, and the difference between illusion and delusion.”  Click here for more.
4. 🍷  Manischewitz a gateway drink? Selma Blair, the actress best known for “Cruel Intentions,” wrote in her new memoir that her decades-long battle with alcoholism began with “small sips” of Manischewitz at a Passover Seder. “The first time I got drunk it was a revelation,” she writes. “A light flooded through me, filling me up with the warmth of God. But the year I was 7, when we basically had Manischewitz on tap and no one was paying attention to my consumption level, I put it together: the feeling was not God but fermentation.” (People)  
5. On Culture: Israel’s Bridgerton, can it succeed even if it’s not good history?Throw some steamy sex into a period piece, and my guess is the answer is a profound yes! ‘The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem’ spans the decades from Ottoman rule to nationhood. Yet somehow, the politics and events of the era are missing from the show. For more click here.
6. ✍️  More than 100 prominent Harvard faculty and alumni have denounced the student newspaper’s recent endorsement of a boycott of Israel.  The Harvard Crimson’s recent endorsement of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movementhas attracted far more wide-ranging attention than a typical student paper’s editorial page, as faculty and alumni of the Ivy League institution have lined up to denounce the student paper’s op-ed and condemn the shift in Israel discussion on college campuses. The open letter – signed by Alan Dershowitz, Larry Summers and others – said that the editorial “merely coarsens the discourse on campus and contributes to antisemitism.” (JTA)

Finally, best wishes to the Queen of England, who at the age of 96, appears to be having some health issues. She was notably absent from the opening of Parliament this year, the first time ever during her 70 year reign she has missed this important formal event. 

That’s all I have for the week. But hey, the surge continues here in New England, so continue to be careful out there. 

Brad out.

Shabbat shalom! 

Shout out today to my grandson Max, the world’s most amazing, brilliant and beautiful grand child, who celebrates his first complete orbit around the sun later this afternoon. I just wish some of that sun would shine down on us today!

Before I take a dive into the murky and deep end of the political pool, let’s continue with some more good news. I am pleased to announce, and you heard it here first on the JNR, that Mensches With Wrenches had our first customer! For those not fully informed, myself and Steve Holtzman recently launched a community service here in the Sharon area that provides handy man services to elderly folks in exchange for a small donation to a local temple or church, or in the case of our first client, a small batch of chicken matzah ball soup! Here is a link to our recently launched, and award winning website Mensches With Wrenches. So, if any of you JNR locals know of anyone in our target demographic that might need some help, spread the word!

What a crazy week! Some refer to it as the week of the womb, while others have warned to buckle up your IUDs, as we are definitely in for a crazy roller coaster ride. For over 50 years, Roe has been the law of the land, but stare decisis be damned, the right for a woman to chose is about to be unchosen by a Supremely conservative court whose pending opinion in the best case will make getting an abortion difficult for low income women, and in the worst case, lead to a slippery slope of crazy ass red state legislation. For those right wingers who think the libs are exaggerating these claims, 11 states are already proposing there won’t even be exemptions for rape and incest. A bill moving through the Louisiana Legislature would allow prosecutors to charge those having abortions with homicide, and a Missouri lawmaker has introduced a measure that would let private citizens sue anyone who helps a Missouri resident get an out-of-state abortion. Under a Texas law passed last year, people in other states sending abortion pills through the mail to Texas residents could be extradited to face felony charges, though the authorities in liberal states are unlikely to cooperate. And women are being warned to delete their period tracking apps as they could be used against them by red state crazy prosecutors. Crazy? Not according to Ray Walsh, a digital privacy expert at ProPrivacy. “There appears to be a real danger that if anti-abortion laws are passed in the US, menstrual cycle tracking app data could potentially be exploited to place women under surveillance and single them out if they become pregnant and are later suspected of terminating their pregnancy.”

If you thought this country was already hopelessly divided, and if this opinion ends up as currently written, things will only get worse. I am already envisioning protesters and crazies on both sides amassing at state borders. My closing thought is actually a quote from Gavin Newsom, “If men could get pregnant, this wouldn’t even be a conversation”.

You are all, by this time, wondering about the Jewish angle to this issue? Well, wonder no more. Here is a quick summary of where Jewish law stands on the issue of abortion. While a majority of non-orthodox, 4 in 5 according to Pew, support a woman’s right to abortion, not surprisingly, there is not much legal source material to go on here. And interpretations will vary depending on denomination, and even then, depends on who you ask. But, in general, there appears to be agreement on the edges, that it should be done as a last resort, and, to protect the life and health of the mother if she is in imminent danger. 

Jewish legal opinion begins with a verse in Exodus 21 that institutes a financial penalty against a man who injured a pregnant woman, causing her to miscarry. As Rashi, the 11th-century commentator notes, that the consequence is only monetary indicates the Torah’s view that a murder has not been committed. Modern scholars extrapolate from Rashi that abortion is at worst not a capital crime.

But in the core, opinions and legal interpretations vary. For the sake of brevity, let me over-simplify it the best I can:

• Conservatives – The Rabbinical Assembly — the international organization of Conservative rabbis — codified in 1983 a ruling that a fetus does not have legal status as a human until it is born. In the case of a Tay-Sachs child, abortion would be permitted “not out of mercy for the baby, but out of compassion for the mother.” In its seven-page decision, however, the RA made clear that abortion was anathema to Jewish concepts of the sanctity of life. Abortions to ensure the mother’s quality of life, it said, were impermissible. 
• Reforms – On the other end of the Non-orthodox spectrum, the Reform movement, which holds that a woman’s bodily autonomy is a matter of “kavod ha’briyot,” the Jewish principle of respect for life, has been advocating for reproductive rights for decades.Inveighing against a George W. Bush administration ban on late-term abortions, Rabbi David Ellenson, a national leader of the Reform movement and chancellor emeritus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, said in 2003 that “Jewish religious tradition surely accords the fetus status as potential life. However, Judaism does not regard the status attached to the fetus as potential life as morally equivalent to the condition enjoyed by the mother as actual life.”
• Orthodox – Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, a leading American halachic authority of the late 20th century, said that the monetary punishment did not necessarily prove that killing an unborn child was not murder — in other words, that the seriousness of a crime could not be derived from its punishment. In his view, abortion would be prohibited even with the knowledge that the child would be born with a life expectancy of just a few years. In spite of the prevailing opinion within Haredi Orthodoxy that abortion is only permitted in the case of immediate risk to the mother, an umbrella Haredi organization has weighed in against abortion bans. “Blanket bans on abortion, to be sure, would deprive Jewish women of the ability to act responsibly in cases where abortion is halachically required,” wrote Rabbi Avi Shafran of Agudath Israel wrote in 2019. “And so, what Orthodox groups like Agudath Israel of America, for which I work, have long promoted is the regulation of abortion through laws that generally prohibit the unjustifiable killing of fetuses while protecting the right to abortion in exceptional cases.”

The week has been hijacked by the abortion issue, and my time is fleeting. But, here are some other Jew News highlights worth knowing about from the week:

1. Jews and weed: get the straight dope or the dope straight? A special selection sure to get the attention of certain people named Nathan Hirsh, this article describes a new exhibit at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research dedicated to Jews and cannabis. “Am Yisrael High” displays texts and artifacts tracing the connections — some speculative and most very real — between Jews and weed, and how an often taboo subject and substance has intersected with religion, politics, crime and science. Click here for more.

2. Culture vulture: Ridley Road on PBS – “Ridley Road,” a gripping and provocative four-part miniseries debuting on PBS’s “Masterpiece” on Sunday after airing on the BBC last year, is a fictional story set in the very real world of British neo-Nazis in the early 60’s. Sandy and I watched the first episode, and give it two thumbs up! Click here for more.
3. Why are Bob Dylans archives in Oklahoma? Good question. Might have something to do with Woody Guthrie, but read here for more.
4. Anti-zionism and anti-semitism – An interesting follow up to my piece last week about the uptick in anti-semitic reports. Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, blasted “radical left” anti-Israel groups as being the “photo inverse” of the extreme right, in opening remarks at the ADL’s virtual national leadership summit on Sunday. Greenblatt pointed to a rise in anti-Zionism as a root cause for the uptick in antisemitic incidents across the U.S. and Canada. “If you demonize another group enough,” he said, “there are more than a few people out there who will act, who will think it’s OK to slur a classmate during a pick-up basketball game, or spray paint a synagogue, or jump the Haredi man walking down the street in Brooklyn, or – God forbid – do even worse.” Read the story ➤

I am running off to Max’s birthday party, so that’s all I can do for now. But, hey, there is a huge uptick in Covid going on, so let’s continue to be careful out there.

Brad out.

Shabbat shalom! 

It was a busy week caring for the world’s most adorable grandchild, and ended with a haircut and a therapeutic massage, so no complaints from me. It’s been rather cool here in Sharon weather-wise, but as I gaze out the JNR office this morning, I am loving the spray of violet myrtle blossoms and yellow daffodils in one of our gardens which just reinforces my longing for more warmth, lush gardens, and backyard ballgames. 

This week the world marked Holocaust Remembrance Day, commemorating the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, and the heroism of survivors and rescuers. Yom HaShoah opens in Israel at sundown in a state ceremony held in Warsaw Ghetto Square at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes Authority, in Jerusalem. During the ceremony the national flag is lowered to half mast, the President and the Prime Minister both deliver speeches, Holocaust survivors light six torches symbolizing the approximately six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust and the Chief Rabbis recite prayers.

The journalism world was chock full of inspiring, tragic and compelling stories about survivors, Jews and non-Jews, all contributing in various ways to keep this history lesson alive for the generations to come. On that front, a big shoutout to my sister Phyllis, who back in 2009 taught the Holocaust to her high school class culminating in a field trip to the Holocaust Museum, and was so inspired by the experience, passed up an opportunity to work at the New York Times in order to continue her teaching career. I have always been very proud of her work as a teacher, and never more so than when she was honored by her school for her work on that project. 

Nothing underlies the importance of this work more than the latest statistics on anti-semitism released this week by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Scary stuff. Each week in the JNR, I try and feature at least one story about anti-semitism, as my small way of carrying the torch of history. And now, according to the ADL, the number of antisemitic incidents in the United States in 2021 reached an all-time high. The 2,717 incidents identified in news articles by the ADL or reported to the ADL directly in 2021 represent a 34% increase from the 2,024 incidents of antisemitism tallied by the group in 2020. Previously, the 2,107 incidents in 2019 were the highest total since the ADL began publishing annual counts in 1979. It is possible that part of the increase can be attributed to better reporting, but at least 20% is attributed to right-wing actors, according to the report, which notes a sharp rise in the distribution of antisemitic pamphlets by groups such as the Goyim Defense League. And I won’t get all wound up about my gut instinct that connects the orange turd and his minions to mainstreaming the radical right, which I believe constitutes a large portion of the increase.

Now, more on the Jew news front.

1. Shoah Foundation shares ‘lost’ testimony of Holocaust survivor who died in Mariupol – The 91-year-old Holocaust survivor Vanda Semyonovna Obiedkova died near her home in Mariupol, Ukraine, April 4, while the city was under a devastating Russian attack. Her family believed that her survivor testimony died with her. Obiedkova died, reportedly cold and emaciated, while sheltering in the basement of a store near her home; her daughter and son-in-law fled the city after burying her. The house they shared burned during the attacks, and the VHS tape containing the video testimony Obiedkova had recorded of her Holocaust experience for the USC Shoah Foundation in 1998 was destroyed along with the family’s other possessions, her family told Chabad.org.
2. Ben Foster pulls no punches playing a Holocaust-survivor-turned-boxer in HBO’s new movie“The Survivor” — Airing this week on Yom HaShoah, after premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall, “The Survivor” is not your typical Holocaust movie. Though it does tell the improbable story of a single Jew’s survival, it doesn’t linger on the misery of the camps themselves. Most of the film (which was co-produced with the USC Shoah Foundation) takes place after the war, as Harry attempts to resettle in an immigrant-heavy Brooklyn Jewish community suffused with loss. He uses his survivor’s status to create a marketable ringside identity (“In this corner, the pride of Poland, the survivor of Auschwitz!”) even as he remains haunted by his time in the camps. For more on this, click here.
3. Shiva call: Senator Orrin Hatch wore a mezuzah?!!! Former Sen. Orrin Hatch, who died on Saturday at 88, wore a mezuzah around his neck for more than four decades, wrote a catchy Hanukkah song with Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic, and admired Jewish megastar and actress Barbra Streisand. He also sat in for then-Vice President Joe Biden on the dais during Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial joint address to Congress against the Iran deal in 2015. Who’d a thunk?
4. Hasidic rapper? Now I’ve seen everything –  HBO Max is currently producing a new comedy series based on the life of former gang member-turned-Hasidic-rapper Nissim Black.  Black, who lives in Israel, announced the upcoming show on Twitter on Monday, writing that he hopes “this series brings Joy, and dispells [sic] a lot of the misinformation going on out there.” Not sure what is being dispelled, but check out this rap version of Hava Nagila! click here.Hava nagila I’m breathing, hava nagila we even
   Got a Mazel Tov for the game, but I really do the thang
   Dance homey, G-d’s only, G-d’s man how they know me
   Call me NIS in the street’s, but we nobel like peace
   I ain’t tryna hurt nobody, we just came here to party
   Like it’s 59.99, they gone see us in our prime
   Big house coming down, from thе sky to the crowd
   We gon’ sing it out loud, Black Jewish and I’m proud
5. President Joe Biden is expected to travel to Israel in the coming months, the White House said on Sunday, following a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. Biden first visited Israel 49 years ago – in 1973 – and met with then-Israeli prime minister Golda Meir. Timing is interesting, as both Bennett and Biden could use some good press. Bennett recently lost his Knesset majority and could be facing early elections, so a visit from the president of the United States could help boost his stature. Biden could also use the visit to bolster support among Jewish voters – his approval rating among Jews has fallen to 63% from a high of 80% last summer – before November’s midterm elections, when his party is projected to suffer heavy losses.

That’s all folks! And hey, let’s remember to stay safe out there. 

Brad out.

Shabbat shalom! I hope everyone had a great Passover! This year’s celebration seemed especially delightful with my mom, sister and niece joining us from Virginia and California combined with a few other special visits with friends and family. And of course, my incredibly delicious short ribs and Ruth’s savory chicken served with grace and elegance at a beautiful seder table. Next year in Jerusalem? Sharon would be ok with me. 

It’s good to be back in the writers saddle after taking the week off. It was a busy week all around, with Putin’s poison, culture wars, and economic news dominating the headlines. Lost in that cacophony of news noise was the celebration of Earth Day this last Friday. Since 1970, Earth Day has been celebrated on April 22, a date selected since it fell between spring break and final exams for college kids, its original targeted demographic. US Senators Pete McCloskey and Gaylord Perry, along with environmental advocate Denis Hayes started Earth Day as a series of teach-ins across college campuses in the US. The first Earth Day inspired more than 20 million Americans to demonstrate against the harmful impacts of industrial development on both the planet and human health, including thousands of university protests and city rallies from coast-to-coast. That momentum helped lead to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and eventually the celebration caught on globally where it is now the most widely observed secular holiday around the world. 

My first recollection of Earth Day came in 1978. As a reporter for the UMass Daily Collegian, I was covering the event and a conference associated with it called “Learning Tomorrows”. I met and interviewed 82 year old R. Buckminster Fuller, otherwise known as “Bucky”, an eccentric inventor (expelled by Harvard not once, but twice!), who was better known for his invention of the geodesic dome (inspired by the structure of a fly’s eye), and who was a featured lecturer at the event. It was Bucky who coined the term “Spaceship Earth” to describe our planet, a cosmic metaphor underlying the idea that all human beings were passengers on Spaceship Earth, and, like the crew of a large ship, people had to work together in order to keep the planet functioning properly. Well, according to the latest from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the ship is not functioning well at all, and we may be careening into galactic space junk unless the crew makes some course corrections sooner rather than later.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said the IPCC report showed “a litany of broken climate promises” by governments and corporations worldwide. “It is a file of shame, cataloging the empty pledges that put us firmly on track toward an unlivable world,” Guterres said.

Earlier this month, the IPCC published a report warning of the dangers of rising global warming levels – noting that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius could be “beyond reach” if significant emission reductions across all sectors are not taken immediately.

What can we do? Buy an electric vehicle if you can afford one. Or keep working from home! As stewards of this great planet, it is incumbent upon all of us to reduce our carbon footprints and advocate for leaders here in the US of A to adhere to our commitments we made in the Paris Accords in 2015. The consequences of not doing so are dire. Nuf said. 

And on that humble and happy note, let’s move on to news for Jews! What’s happening in the Jewish world beyond Passover you may be asking? Let’s get to it:

1. “Hava Nagila” played after every Utah Jazz win in the Mormon Capital – Another entry from the “you can’t make this shit up” category. I haven’t been following the NBA for a few years now (go Celtics!), so this one took me by surprise. For a team with no Jewish players, in a market with relatively few Jewish residents, the choice has long baffled and amused basketball fans in Utah and beyond. The Jazz organization cites the song’s “memorable beat” in explaining the phenomenon. I think it’s a great tribute to what was originally a zionist song, but not everyone thinks its appropriate. Go figure. For more, click here.
2. Book about Jewish kid with two dads removed from Florida school district – In another sad sign of Rotten Republicans Run Amok, the Walton County school district has banned a Purim picture book about a Jewish child whose fathers are gay. “The Purim Superhero,” by Elisabeth Kushner, is one of 58 titles removed in the Walton County School District, located in Florida’s Panhandle. It appears alongside books dealing with race, sexuality and mental health that are more common targets of the book-removal activists who are often affiliated with Moms for Liberty. “The Purim Superhero” is also not the only book by Jewish authors on the Walton County list. The list also includes “Forever” by Judy Blume, a frequent target for censorship because of its portrayal of teen sexuality, and “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,” Jonathan Safran Foer’s 2005 novel about a child whose father dies on 9/11. That book was also on a list of 16 proposed for removal in Polk County, Florida, earlier this year. For more, click here.
3. AIPAC, the largest pro-Israeli political action committee in the United States, supports Republicans who support the “big lie” – Anticipating renewed criticism over its new endorsements, AIPAC struck a defensive posture in its statements on the new round of endorsements. “Our goal is to make America’s friendship with Israel so robust, so certain, so broadly based, and so dependable that even the deep divisions of American politics can never imperil that relationship and the ability of the Jewish state to defend itself,” AIPAC PAC said on Twitter. “In an increasingly polarized environment, sustained support from both parties makes our alliance with Israel stronger.” To be fair, they also support a boatload of Dems as well, but they view support of Israel above and beyond any sense of moral duty to our country. This dude can’t abide that. For more, click here.
4. Continued violence in Israel – Sadly during this time of Ramadan, Passover and Easter, the violence on the Temple Mount and Gaza seems to be picking up rather than subsiding. There are jerks on both sides provoking stupid behavior in Jerusalem and beyond. The Iron Dome has been activated a number of times this last week protecting against rockets coming from Gaza targeting Israeli communities, and Israel has retaliated with their heaviest airstrikes since last May. Let’s hope Arab and Israeli leaders can quell things and restore some hope for more peaceful times. For more, click here.
5. The Twitter activist behind the far-right ‘Libs of TikTok’ is an Orthodox Jew. Should that matter? Chaya Raichik says she’s responsible for getting teachers who discuss gay and transgender issues in the classroom, whom she calls “evil,” fired. She helped pioneer the term “grooming” to describe teaching about sexuality. Her Twitter account has hundreds of thousands of followers, and she has influential fans, including the spokeswoman for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and podcaster Joe Rogan. Anyone shocked that an orthodox Jewish person could be an unhinged right-wing maniac has clearly not been on social media very much. And some conservatives are not happy that the Washington Post outed her. Yossi Gestetner, a haredi Orthodox political activist who for years has posted on social media, blasted the Post for identifying Raichik as Orthodox, saying it was not germane. “Opposing the destruction of basic standards for what is spoken to young kids is a popularly held view that is not necessarily Orthodox Jewish-based, so why did the paper mention it?” For more, click here.
6. Ending on a sweet note – It is synonymous with Passover treats, an iconic Jewish dessert known to all — chewy, colorful, candy fruit slices. The fruit jelly slice is an American product invented sometime between the two World Wars in either Winnipeg, Manitoba, or in Boston (two companies claim to have invented it). While there are competitors, Boston Fruit Slices is the best known brand. The sweet confections have a unique production process. First the sugar and gelling mixture is boiled and immediately cooled. Next, the flavor and color is added to the mix and the thick syrup is poured on waxed paper. Then, the mixture that makes the rind is poured on top. More syrup is poured into wedge shaped molds, which are later put through a slicing machine. Once the wedges are sliced, they are tossed into vats of sugar to coat each slice. Finally, the slices are dried before being packed. More importantly, they are delish!

Well, I think I have harassed you all enough at this point. But hey, let’s be careful out there. And for goodness sakes, help the good ship Earth make it to the next millennial!

Brad out.

Shabbat shalom!

I am taking the weekend off to prepare and celebrate the holiday. I hope everyone has a safe, enjoyable weekend with family and friends. 

Chag sameach!

This latest surge seems to be everywhere, so hey, let’s remember to be careful out there!

Brad out.

Shabbat shalom! 

Shout out this week to Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was confirmed as the first black female Supreme Court Justice this week. No amount of Republican hate can detract from what is a profoundly good thing for our country and was clearly a high point for me in the news this week.

Otherwise, the news was mostly not so good. While the baseball season started this week, bringing some sense of normality and “hope springing eternal” for our Red Sox, the despicable Yankees put a damper on opening day for our hometown team, eking out an extra inning, walk-off victory with the help of the crappy “ghost runner” rule, a rule the morons in charge of the league left in place to help speed the games along. Despite the loss, it’s good to see baseball back in action and I look forward to attending opening day at Fenway with family next week. And for my Canadian friends, the lowly Jays started on a good note, but once again, they look great on paper and will undoubtedly finish poorly. 

And in Israel, the news was also grim. Yet another terrorist attack left several dead and injured at a Tel Aviv bar Thursday. Israeli forces raiding the home of the terrorist responsible for the attack were met by gunfire. In the midst of this new wave of terror, Prime Minister Bennet’s coalition fell apart following the shocking resignation of the party’s coalition whip Idit Silman, a move that deprived the government of its parliamentary majority, amid murmurs of further potential defections from party members. Silman’s main excuse for her defection was a letter from the Health Minister to remind hospitals in Israel of a Supreme Court ruling a year prior that allows for chametz to be brought into hospitals during the Passover holiday. There are obviously more reasons for her defection, but who would have thought some leavened bread could help topple a government? Will Chametz-gate open the door for the return of Nutten-yahoo? Stay tuned for further developments in this breaking and developing scandal!

All of this in the deathly shadows of the continuing atrocities in the Ukraine made for a dreary week. Speaking to reporters this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the future he sees for his country in unusual terms: as “a big Israel.” Gone, he said, are hopes for “an absolutely liberal” state—replaced by the likely reality of armed defense forces patrolling movie theaters and supermarkets. “I’m confident that our security will be the number-one issue over the next ten years,” Zelenskyy added, eloquently stating, “My high expectations of Israel are more than Israel can provide”

So, let’s get to some happier news. My selections this week will hopefully be a bit more uplifting, and bring some enjoyment and maybe a smile or two. So here you go:

1. Kosher chicken shortage: What the cluck is going on? While anyone who wants kosher chicken at their Passover seder should be able to get it, doing so might require more effort, cost or compromise than usual. That’s because an unusual array of forces have conspired to depress chicken production in the United States, and kosher plants have suffered alongside everyone else. Read more here.
2. Smokey fish, or a fishy fire? Barney Greengrass, the beloved Jewish deli, famous for its smoked fish, was one of five suspected targets of arson on Thursday. The other four fires were outdoor rubbish fires, the FDNY told West Side Rag, and appear to have been set between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. The NYPD confirmed that the fires were “intentionally set.” Though antisemitic hate crimes have been the rise in New York City — including an incident on the Upper West Side last Saturday, when six Jewish kids were threatened by teens brandishing weapons — Greengrass told the New York Jewish Week that he didn’t believe the fire was antisemitic. Click here for more.
3. Jews in baseball and a statue honoring “the left arm of god” – Despite its diminishing audience and aging fan base, I still love the summer game. And there seems to be an increasing amount of Jewish ball players making the “bigs” these days. In addition to Max Fried, Alec Bregman and Joe Pederson, there are at least a dozen others and more coming up the ranks in the minors. And we couldn’t talk Jewish baseball without mentioning the legendary Sandy Koufax, who will be immortalized with a statue at Dodger Stadium this summer. Play ball! Click here for more.
4. A Jewish Doctor takes on Santa Claus for Alaska Congressional seat – You really can’t make this stuff up. There are about 50 candidates in the election being held to replace Don Young, the longest-serving Republican in House history, who died last month while in office. But the real attention in this race is on the Democrat, Al Gross, a physician who was raised in the Last Frontier’s close-knit Jewish community. He is one of the leading Democrats, but opposing him for the Democratic vote is Santa Claus, a city councilman in the city of North Pole (outside Fairbanks) who changed his name legally to Santa Claus from Thomas O’Connor in 2005. Claus, who did not declare a party affiliation, is a self-described “independent, progressive democratic socialist” who loves Jewish Sen. Bernie Sanders, and he told the Anchorage Daily News that, if elected, he might wear his Santa suit to Washington, D.C. He says he does not accept campaign contributions. Who knew there were any Jews in Alaska?

5. 🚀  Over the moon for Matzah! – An Israeli astronaut is making a decidedly low-tech delivery to the International Space Station: handmade matzah.Eytan Stibbe, 64, is one of three astronauts paying for the privilege of launching into space on Friday, in an initiative of Axiom Space, a private company based in Houston. Chabad of the Space and Treasure Coasts in Florida delivered Stibbe a Passover food package, noting that he will be on the space station when Passover starts on the evening of April 15, Chabad.org reported.Stibbe explained the significance of the holiday in a Zoom press conference earlier this week.“The seder, Passover, is all about freedom which is a value we celebrate annually and remind ourselves about the importance of freedom,” he said. (CNN, JTA, Chabad)
6. Blue and yellow macaroons? Jews find ways to add Ukraine to their Seders:Rabbis and other leaders are encouraging people to incorporate readings, symbolic foods, and charitable gifts relating to the war into their holiday observance. One person has created name cards in the shape of sunflowers, the national flower of Ukraine. Another has bought kosher wines from Moldova, one of the border countries welcoming thousands of refugees. The Krakow JCC is hosting a Seder for displaced Ukrainians. “Doing nothing is not an option,” said a Jewish activist. Read the story ➤

That’s all I’ve got this week. Time to start sweeping out chametz from all the nooks and crannies! Have a great Passover everyone, Chag Sameach! And hey, let’s continue to be careful out there!

Brad out.

Shabbat shalom! Quick shout out to our cousin Ari Berman, joining the JNR community this week. And a tip of the hat to Chris Rock, the only person involved in this most tawdry affair worthy of any commendation. 

What a crazy week. Amidst the 24/7 Ukrainian news cycle, there seems to be an endless flow of other notable news events that may be falling under our collective and cluttered radar screens (Ginny “whacko” Thomas, Israeli terror, Republicans voting against reducing the cost of insulin, and on and on). But, certainly one event that did not fall under the radar is the infamous “slap heard around the world”. I hate using that reference, as though you could ever equate the ignominious events during and after the Academy Awards with a real gunshot that led to the creation of the greatest democracy in world history. Nevertheless, something about Will Smith’s smackdown ignited the country and lit up social media and water cooler conversations across the nation. Hence, despite my lowly opinion of all things Hollyweird, I offer this rant: “F-you Will Smith!” I think my father’s favorite Muslim (he hated Kareem when he played for the Lakers) summarized it best in his Substack piece, “With a single petulant blow, he advocated violence, diminished women, insulted the entertainment industry, and perpetuated stereotypes about the Black community.” But, I reserve my more harsh criticisms for Smith’s “enablers” in Hollyweird: First, the majority of hypocritical morons that gave him a standing ovation, second, the nincompoops at the “virtuous” Vanity Fair that let him in to their post party to celebrate and dance away to his music all night, and lastly, the executives (Hudson and Rubin) at the Academy who sent Smith’s agent to ask him to leave, rather than asking him directly (why do these morons get paid over $1Million if they can’t at least do their jobs!) There was so much wrong on so many levels….this kind of nonsense can only in happen in Hollyweird. 

On the Jew news front, the headlines out of Israel have been mostly ugly. After 20 years without any major acts of terrorism, a recent wave of attacks by Arab-Israelis has left at least 11 dead and many wounded, and have put the normally resilient Israelis on edge. While there was hope for calm before the start of Ramadan, that hope gave way to scenes of knifings and terrorist gunmen shooting randomly at victims. Most don’t believe this is a 3rd Intifada, as the Palestinians have mostly condemned the violence, but older generations with muscle memory of the violence that erupted after the Oslo Accords in the mid 90’s and after the failure of the Camp David peace agreement in the early 2000’s are worried about revenge attacks and an escalation of copy cats and other extremist events. 

Now for the good news. As you all know, I have been a harsh critic of the orange turd and his sycophants ever since the a-hole descended from the Trump Tower escalator and announced his candidacy for President. And I do still believe, and always will, that he is a supreme a-hole. And I am also not a big fan of his douchie son-in-law, Jared Kushner. However, the Abraham Accords are proving to be the one bright spot on an otherwise dark and depraved four years of Trumpian torture. So, I will eat some crow on this and agree that yes, there appears to be progress on normalizing relations, commercial and political, with many other countries in the middle east as a result of the Accords negotiated by Jared and crew. I hope the momentum on that front continues to bear fruit.

My other bit of bright news on the Jew front is from listening to an interview with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. It was refreshing to hear him advocating strongly for a two-state solution, which he thinks is still very much within reach and will probably look a lot like what was discussed at Camp David many years ago. He also spoke eloquently of Israel’s moral role in the Ukrainian Russian war, saying in essence that, Israel, more than any other country, has a moral responsibility to take sides against a country threatening the existence of another country, and that doing so would not jeopardize Israel’s current detente with Russia regarding Syria and other Iranian proxies since Russia has keen interests in those regions that may be more serious than it’s detente with Israel.

Here are a few other news items carefully curated for your reading pleasure:

1. Mensches With Wrenches (MWM) wins “Webby” Award – Sharon, MA – Launched earlier this year, the website for Mensches With Wrenches was awarded a “Webby”, the internet’s highest website design achievement. The site was recognized in the Webby “Weird” category, for sites that just seem strange, offbeat, or odd. This category includes sites that “reflect a fresh perspective in thought and action strong enough to start a revolution, change a behavior pattern, or provide a platform for a few old fogies to do something constructive with their free time — or that are just plain weird.” Upon accepting the award, the ever-so-humble co-founders Brad Goverman and Steven Holtzman, thanked their mom’s and then promptly slapped each other. April Fools!
2. Give a “Get” or go to prison? As a follow up to last week’s note on this topic, here we have Britain throwing an Israeli ex-pat schmuck in jail for controlling and manipulating his Israeli wife for many years by refusing to grant her a divorce. Rule Britannia! Click here for more
3. Bennett vows ‘Israel will overcome’ this wave of terror too – An update from the Times of Israel from Friday’s edition – With security forces on high alert, PM says authorities taking the initiative to thwart attacks, hunt down illegal weapons. In a series of tweets, Bennett said “Israel has known waves of severe attacks such as the Second Intifada that lasted several years, or the [wave of attacks in 2015 and 2016] in which 47 Israeli citizens were murdered, and after a little over a year we defeated the wave. “We will overcome them this time too, and we’ll strive to do so as fast as possible,” he said. For more click here.
4. A scripted TV series about Russ & Daughters is in the works –  Polish-Jewish immigrant Joel Russ opened the store in New York in 1914, and moved it to its still-operating location at 179 E. Houston St. in 1920. With his daughters Hattie, Ida and Anne as business partners, Russ & Daughters became the first business in America to add “& Daughters” to its name in 1935, according to its website. Now run by the 4th generation of the family, the iconic deli will be the subject and backdrop for a new television series. “What started as an immigrant story about pursuing a new life in America grew into generations of family members with their trials and tribulations set against the backdrop of dozens of critical moments in our society,” said Time Studios’ vice president of film and TV, Kaveh Veyssi. While their story is so specific and unique, there are elements of it that will appeal to everyone.” For more, click here.
5. 👍  The Senate confirmed Deborah Lipstadt as the State Department’s antisemitism ambassador in a unanimous vote late Wednesday. Finally! The much-delayed confirmation occurred after an impassioned four-minute speech by Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat from Georgia, in which he talked about his family that perished in the Holocaust. Lipstadt told the Forward following the vote: “This is a tremendous honor and responsibility and I pray that I will prove worthy of the task.” (Forward)
6. It was never an advantage to be Jewish in Ukraine — until nowUkraine may be a country bloodstained in the imagination of American Jews by a succession of pogroms and centuries of anti-Jewish prejudice. But with more than 10 million Ukrainians displaced by Russian aggression over the past month, Larry Cohler-Esses found during a week in the border region that those who are Jewish are finding they have advantages over their neighbors. For more, click here.
7. 🇺🇦  Russian shelling on Saturday struck a Holocaust memorial, damaging a nine-foot menorah in Dobitsky Yar, near Kharkiv. “During World War II, the Nazis executed about 20,000 people there,” President Zelenskyy said. “Eighty years later, they are killed a second time.” (JTA)

That’s all I’ve got for you this week. But hey, make sure you continue to be careful out there. This Covid crap is still amongst us! (Get well soon Judy!)

Brad out.