1.Heavy Heart

Tonight I travel to Israel with a heavy heart. My nephew (who lost his father a year-and-a-half ago when my brother passed) lost his mother last week. I have become very close to him during the time of my brother’s illness and since his passing and I need to be with him this week. I also travel at a time where the outlook and expected policies of the next Israeli government are also heartbreaking.

I will write next week’s Bulletin from there and look forward to sharing with you what I see firsthand. I hope my mood improves. Interestingly, while Bibi was out of a job as prime minister he joined the gym where my nephew Omer works out and even stopped for a selfie. Who knew these two would one day headline a Bulletin item?

2.Trump's Threesome

If you were wondering about what some Trump supporters are thinking after his recent dinner with outspoken antisemites Kanye West and Nick Fuentes, please consider that Bibi Netanyahu condemned it (yes, he did). Furthermore, my good friend and someone always supportive of all things conservative, Jonathan Tobin, published "Trump’s Jewish Supporters Must Condemn and Disavow Him." It is very hard for me to imagine what his Jewish grandchildren are thinking.

In his party, "a week after former President Donald Trump dined with two men who are known for their outspoken antisemitism, Republican leaders are beginning to speak out — though some are sparing Trump direct criticism. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader in the Senate, said Trump’s November 20 dinner with Kanye West, the rapper and designer who in recent weeks has come out as antisemitic, and Nick Fuentes, a white supremacist who has denied the Holocaust and said he wants all Jews out of the United States, was a blow to Trump’s bid to be reelected in 2024."

Read the full story in "From McConnell to McCarthy, Republican leaders criticized Trump's dinner with Holocaust denier."

Not familiar with one of those names? The ADL answers with "Nicholas J. Fuentes: Five Things to Know."

4.Ooh Netaneh Tokef

Leonard Cohen's Yom Kippur War concerts will be dramatized on TV. "Who by Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai will be written by Yehonatan Indursky, a co-creator of Shtisel, the landmark Israeli drama about an Orthodox family in Jerusalem, according to Variety, which reported the news on Monday. The limited series, an adaptation of journalist Matti Friedman’s 2022 book of the same name, will film in Israel in 2024."

5.Bleak Tidings

While not exactly uplifting news, it is good journalism. Read "How the Next Civil War Begins" in Tablet for what-ifs the majority of us do not want to consider. The writer, B. Duncan Moench, is Tablet’s social critic at large and a scholar of political thought and American character studies.

"It now seems clear to me that America’s demise will be inaugurated by what has become our country’s pastime: a contested election. In two years from now, both parties will declare themselves the electoral victor, with neither presidential candidate conceding defeat; state electors will ratify two different presidents, according to their preferred narrative or conspiracy theory; the country will then fracture, legally and institutionally, along red and blue lines.

"According to recent polling, more than 50% of Americans expect a new civil war in the 'next couple of years.' It’s a pathetic scenario more fitting for a semi-authoritarian backwater than the world’s beacon of democracy. National breakup efforts will be coming and, if we’re being honest, they’re behind schedule.

Since 2000, the U.S. has witnessed three contested presidential elections, with one side labeling the results illegitimate."

6.Soccer by Any Other Name

"The headlines going in are focused on the country’s widely-criticized human rights record. The preparations for the first World Cup hosted in the Arab world have taken years to complete, have cost more than $200 billion and, according to human rights organizations, have led to the deaths of thousands of migrant workers." 

Check out all the Jewish players and storylines to watch in the 2022 World Cup. Some quick facts? The U.S. has two Jewish players. A pair of Jewish Telemundo announcers are back. Israel isn't in the tournament and hasn't qualified since 1970. Israelis normally aren't allowed into Qatar, but this World Cup is an exception. (Israel's only-ever World Cup goal - an equalizer against Sweden - was scored by the legendary Motal'e Spiegler in this link.)

7.Shaken, Not Stirred

"Good news: Hanukkah-themed pop-up Maccabee Bar is back, this time with two locations. The annual Hanukkah cocktail event from bartender extraordinaire Naomi Levy will operate at Union Square’s Backbar and Harvard Square’s newly revamped Noir throughout the month. Levy used to work for Noir, so it’s a homecoming of sorts.

"On the cocktail menu: a drinkable latke (really!) called the Latke Sour, made with potato syrup, apple brandy and lemon; and a bourbon-and-fig concoction called the Whiskey Shamash. Both kitchens will serve Jewish-themed snacks, too, which is a bonus: Noir shares a kitchen with The Charles Hotel, while farm-to-table superstars Field & Vine will provide food at Backbar."

"Jews love food, right? We’re all about flavor and food and gathering together. And I think that, in this world of cocktails that we live in now, it follows the same rule," say Levy. I’ll plead the 5th when it comes to Maccabee beer (the Israeli Bud). I will however say that when I’m in Israel, I only drink Goldstar.

For more, read JewishBoston's article about Levy and "8 Kosher Cocktails to Get You Through Hanukkah." Bonus: two extra recipes below.

January 29, 2023

"The Elephants in the Room: Israel, Palestine, Zionism, and the Role of Religion in America 

Can we talk about them? We can, and we do."