the definite article 67
too much stuff
tda 67
I am overcorrecting from the paucity of the previous week by including enough fascinating reading material for the next two weeks at least. In addition to the links below, I would also highly recommend the debate between Alan Deshowitz and Dana Loesch on the second amendment: would America be safer without it. The debate is on the Free Press and moderated by Bari Weiss.
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/community/articles/setsuzo-kotsuji-saved-generation-jews
An excellent article which tells a side of the Sugihara story which I’d never heard, with insights on Judaism and the Jewish people that are acute and thoughtful.
*************************
https://www.ynetnews.com/opinions-analysis/article/hyu0vmngbg
Yes, Jews have a tendency to respond to antisemitic threats or acts by re-emphasizing the need for greater outreach and dialogue. I think that is b.s. Antisemites are not interested in dialogue, they are interested in humiliating and degrading the Jewish people. Want to do something against antisemitism? Take over the Dean’s office at Columbia (or wherever) and refuse to leave until your demands are met. Gather the remnants of the JDL and the next time “pro-Palestinian” fascists demonstrate outside your synagogue, make sure that some of them will have to visit the hospital before going home. Giving cultured speeches and groveling for understanding, well, you know where that gets us.
*************************
https://ideas.tikvah.org/mosaic/picks/why-the-jewish-sabbath-is-unique
A sweet book review of a sweet book that tries to deep-dive the beauty and wonder of Shabbat.
*************************
https://jewishreviewofbooks.com/contemporary-israel/12561/frenemies-a-love-story%ef%bf%bc/
Did you know that the State of Israel was created as much because of the support of the Soviet Union as the stalwart backing of Harry Truman? This is a well-written and researched article that taught me something about a period that I thought I had known.
*************************
A reaction to Jews who had the audacity to violate international law at Park Synagogue in NYC.
*************************
A somewhat more passionate article about the same, and worthwhile.
*************************
I probably have linked a few articles about the discovery that many of the X sites presumably authored by people inside of Gaza were in fact in Mexico or Pakistan or Lower Slabobia. Kudos to X for increasing transparency.
*************************
Shari Oz does it again, showing up the broad narrative about the violence of Jews in Yehuda and Shomron is a myopic reading of the situation, ignoring the much more prevalent violence Arabs against Jews in the area.
*************************
https://newcriterion.com/article/zwig-shift/
Ah, I had a student at one time who told me it was her family’s myth (true? not? I wouldn’t be surprised) that they were related to Stephan Zweig. I would not be surprised were that so: she turned out as a quirky and stunning actress, an artist in any sense of the word. Zweig was an actor himself, and his writing is worthy of your attention. Um… the movie The Grand Budapest Hotel was inspired by two f his short stories. Good enuff?
*************************
https://firstthings.com/the-rest-as-history/
Another book review of a book about Shabbat - by Jon Levenson.
*************************
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/viral-prison-rape-never-happened
“The whole strange affair was recorded on multiple cellphones and posted in real time on social media. By nightfall of the same day, the press in Israel and around the world would learn the cause of the raid: The arrested reservists were suspected—falsely, it would turn out—of raping a detained Palestinian terrorist.” - Yes, this story went viral and was a cause celebre for those drooling mobs who eat anti-Israeli stories like hostess Twinkies. Great reporting of an absolutely bizarre story.
*************************
Well, I put it at the end, but make this one the one you read. Based on a back-and-forth between Rabbis Jonathan Sacks and Shlomo Riskin about the role and meaning of power in a post-Holocaust Jewish state, Alex Israel writes in Tradition magazine about the deeper issues involved and provides, I think, a fine insight into the thinking of Rabbi Sacks.
Thank you so much for linking to my essay.