the definite article 62
Mad Magazine, troubled US Jews, and male drama queens
Liel Leibowitz, writing for Tablet, presents a typology of the American Jewish community based on whether they are committed (or not) and troubled (or not). Yes, it is simplistic like most typologies, but Leibowitz is about to make his analysis both enlightening and entertaining.
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/uja-gaza-donation-troubled-committed-liel-leibovitz
Oh, a couple of months ago, Jewish residents of the Shomron were accused of burning down a church near Taiybe. You can imagine in your mind what was left : burnt outlaws, destroyed breviaries, charred crosses. It turns out that the church was in fact an old ruin, just some stone walls. The firsenever reached the church and in fact the only Israeli “settlers” who were there were trying to extinguish the flames.
“I don’t see any signs of a fire,” she says in the now‑viral clip. “I don’t see a church burned down here. Even on the outer walls, there are no signs of fire. Someone has an interest in making you believe Jews burned a church. It makes a great story when you have enough funding to spread the word.”
Amit Barak, a researcher who has spent a decade helping Arabic-speaking Christians integrate into the IDF and Sherut Leumi (National Service), was direct: “Yesterday, the villain was simply ‘The Jew.’ Today, it’s ‘The settler.’ The label updates the trope for modern audiences, but the reflexive blame is exactly the same.”
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-861878
Oh, sorry - another Liel Leibowitz piece from Tabet. Here he is talking about how social media male figures have become drama queens in the quest for more likes and to underline their emotional authenticity.
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/when-did-men-become-drama-queens
A third piece from Tablet about how the indigenous of North America - particularly in Canada - understand the Jews attachment to their land as a classic indigenous people issue. This is an interesting and unexpected piece!
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/real-decolonization-indigenous-peoples
The Jewish Review of Books moved away from their high-brow rep this week with such-a-ggod-article about the Jewish influence of MAD Magazine on American culture. I mean, I grew up reading MAD, which was kind of like literary Monte Python for young Americans. And the Jewish part didn’t surprise me, I just took it for granted.
https://jewishreviewofbooks.com/the-arts/18844/sorry-no-more-borscht/?login=1756151051
Another JRB article, and another home run. Here is a review of a book that analyzes and personalizes two of the most influential personalities in the early days of Hollywood. Yeah, there are some “not nice” aspects revealed here, but also some real pearls. A great read.
I was excoriated by a former student for lacking moral sensitivity to the starvation of Gazans by the State of Israel. Even worse, I posted on FB that I did not believe anyone was starving in Gaza aside from Jewish hostages. Certainly the Gazans clambering up trucks to “help unload them” were not starving. The Hamas terrorists are not starving. The only people who seem to be really in trouble in Gaza are journalists who are presenting profoundly ill people as malnourished. Just more of the same lies. But you know: fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2025/08/26/the_genocide-famine_hoax_153216.html
Another in a series of how profoundly Wikipedia is determining truth for future generations.
A cute little shortie about how “incidents” are manufactured for the media. It’s more sophisticated than just taking photos os a kid with cerebral palsy and calling it starvation.
JRB returns to its highbrow form intros very interesting and touching review of o book of Paul Celan’s letters.
Spiked is one of those publications you should be checkin your regularly. Here is an excellent article about how the film clips of the two Israeli hostages, starve down to skin and bone, has virtually zero impact on the west.
https://www.spiked-online.com/2025/08/04/the-west-is-complicit-in-hamass-torture-of-the-hostages/