1.There's No Crying in Baseball

After a promising come-from-behind win against Nicaragua, Team Israel followed up with three consecutive losses to Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic tournament. The good news is that at 1:3 they get an automatic invitation to the next baseball classic three years from now.

"Pulling the team together took a combination of personal cajoling, a widely respected manager, Jewish geography and an effort to tap — and ignite — the sometimes embryonic Jewish identities of players who hadn’t given much thought to how their Jewish roots and baseball prowess might be combined," reports JTA in "How Israel built its most talented baseball roster ever for the 2023 World Baseball Classic."

And while we are on baseball, former star Darryl Strawberry is now an evangelical preacher focused on promoting Israel. "Strawberry, 60, was a New York sports icon in the 1980s as a leading member of the 1986 World Series champion Mets. With a picturesque, looping swing, the lanky 6-foot-6 outfielder could both hit for power and show off speed on the bases, drawing early predictions from sports analysts that he was destined to be an all-time great." He played in the first baseball game I ever attended in 1985 at Shea Stadium.

2.Draw the Line

Last night artists and demonstrators for democracy painted a red line through the streets of Jerusalem leading to the Supreme Court building to send a message about the "inseparable connection between an independent judiciary and the freedoms of speech and expression through art, leisure, culture and sports." The Jerusalem Marathon is tomorrow and unless painted over or removed, thousands of runners will run along the line. Painted over is one of the messages here illustrating how the Netanyahu government is “painting over” concerns for democracy. Netanyahu himself is off to Germany to address German concerns for the Israeli judicial reform just like he did last weekend when he traveled to Rome.

In a country where fewer than five million votes were cast in the last election, more than 10 percent of the people demonstrated in the streets last weekend. Imagine for a moment if (by percentage) 18 million Americans took to the streets in one day to demonstrate (for example) when Roe v. Wade was overturned. This protest is now 11 weeks old and seems unlikely to go away anytime soon. Personally I fear it will soon get bloody as well. For Tom Friedman’s point of view, here's his NY Times column from Tuesday.

3.Topol, Part Two

Chaim Topol, who died last week, turned Tevye into a Zionist according to JTA’s Andrew Sillow Carroll.

"But (Broadway lead) Zero Mostel didn’t star in the film, which landed in theaters while the afterglow of Israel’s victory in its second major war of survival had yet to fade. Famously – or notoriously – the part went to Chaim Topol, a young Israeli actor unknown outside of Israel except for his turns in the London productions of Fiddler. With an Israeli in the lead, a musical about the perils and dilemmas of Diaspora became a film about Zionism."

4.Hebrew Hammer

Steven Spielberg picked Adam Goldberg to play a Jewish soldier who is so shocked or scared from the war he can’t shoot the soldier trying to kill him when he has the advantage, leading to the Nazi killing him with his knife. Goldberg (aka The Hebrew Hammer) is a tech wiz in The Equalizer where last week the show focused on an antisemitic hate crime in Brooklyn.

5.More Mel Brooks - Of Course

If you thought I’d leave this opportunity to sing along with Mel Brooks at one Bulletin think again. Check out "The Real Jewish History in Mel Brooks' and Hulu's History of the World, Part II."

6.It's the Law

I was once at a Republican Jewish Coalition event that introduced (then) potential presidential candidates to Jewish media. Orrin Hatch, who entertained a run, concluded with a signature line (planned or error, I'm not sure) recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Utah. At the time, the conversation about moving the American Embassy to Jerusalem was happening. The politician was so used to talking about Utah that the gaffe was actually charming.

I was thinking about that when I read about this article: "Why a county in Utah could play a role in Israel's judicial crisis."

7.Passover Planning

Thanks for sharing, JewishBoston! Here's "From Brisket to Chocolate Mousse Puffs, Our Ultimate Collection of Passover Recipes" to help inspire your menu. (And a few that inspire me below.)