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One third of Israelis expected to get Omicron, Jerusalem Post hacked, the bar mitzvah photography king of Montreal, Betty White's Jewish century, and 22 predictions for 2022.
THE WEEK IN POLITICS Each Monday, our senior political reporter, Jacob Kornbluh, shares what’s in his notebook...
On the shelves: In a new book, ADL chief Jonathan Greenblatt (pictured above left) argues that several issues pose a real threat to the wellbeing of Jews in America: the rise of antisemitic violence, the growing criticism of Israel, and the growth of fringe elements on both sides of the political spectrum. “Sometimes people mock this Jewish tendency – we’ve all heard jokes about the anxiety of Jewish mothers – but its roots are very real,” Greenblatt writes in the book, which is set to be released on Tuesday and titled “It Could Happen Here: Why America Is Tipping from Hate to the Unthinkable ― And How We Can Stop It.”
Trump’s shadow: Greenblatt says it was “reassuring to see” Trump leaving office in 2021, but bemoans the fact that he still received 47% of the vote. “In this environment, with hatred seething around us, the arrival of another demagogue – one smarter and more disciplined than Donald Trump – is all it would take to produce an explosion of violence, mass death, and the destruction of our society and democracy,” Greenblatt warns. Read more key excerpts here ➤
Banned for good: Twitter suspended on Sunday the personal account of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Georgia Republican who has repeatedly tweeted misinformation about the coronavirus. Greene, who has issued a torrent of antisemitic tweets and other comments since she was elected to Congress last year, has compared vaccination and mask requirements to Nazi rule during the Holocaust. Her official Congressional account was not suspended.
Drawing a line: Bruce Blakeman, a Republican who takes over today as Nassau County Executive, suggested in a weekend interview with the Forward that Greene was not being intentionally hateful. Blakeman said he draws a distinction between intentional antisemitism and “stupid” remarks. “I think in our party’s case, we don’t have people that we feel, by and large, are antisemitic,” he said. “But when they are, we call them out on it. And if they don’t educate themselves, and if they don’t change their behavior, we throw them out of our party.”
Making history: Blakeman is the first Jew elected to head the government of Nassau County, which has one of the largest Jewish populations in the state. On Friday, he hosted rabbis and other community leaders in his new office for a mezuzah installation that Blakeman described as “very moving.” In a Zoom interview ahead of his official swearing-in ceremony, Blakeman said that he is guided by his Orthodox traditions though he does not observe Shabbat. He joked that he calls himself “AOB” – Almost Orthodox Blakeman – in a nod to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s “AOC.” Read more here ➤
New mayor, new approach: Eric Adams, who was sworn in as the 110th mayor of New York City on Friday night, is calling his first 100 days a “get stuff done” period. He signed a number of executive orders extending the COVID-19 policies of his predecessor, Bill de Blasio, and pledged to improve communication and outreach. The former mayor was accused of being insensitive to the needs of Orthodox Jews during the height of the pandemic. “The goal is to be cooperative and not punitive,” Adams told the Forward last week. “What I have heard throughout this entire pandemic is the lack of proper communication and I’m not going to have that.”
In Washington: Congress returns with a packed agenda. The Senate will seek to pass $1 billion for Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system, funding that has been blocked for almost three months by Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. Democrats are also hoping to advance the confirmation of Deborah E. Lipstadt as the State Department’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, whether by convincing Republicans to remove their objection to a committee hearing, or by taking the matter straight to the Senate floor for a vote.
WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY 😷 Up to one third of Israelis are expected to get COVID in the next three weeks, according to the government’s leading health expert. Some scientists believe the broad infections will lead to herd immunity against the Omicron variant. (Times of Israel)
🤧 But wait, there’s more: Israel has recorded the first case of flu combined with coronavirus, a rare mixture called “flurona.” The twin infections were found in an unvaccinated pregnant woman who had mild symptoms. Meanwhile, the country began administering a fourth booster shot on Monday to medical workers and seniors. (Newsweek, JTA)
📚 A young woman who was said to have been a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of Haredi author Chaim Walder was found dead, apparently having taken her own life. Walder committed suicide on Dec. 27. Friends of the woman said she was distraught by the way some rabbis were ignoring Walder’s misconduct and highlighting his contributions to the community. (Times of Israel)
💻 The website of the Jerusalem Post was hacked early this morning, with the homepage taken over by a threat against Israel. The page included a picture of a missile shooting out of a red ring, an apparent reference to a distinctive ring worn by Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian general who was assassinated two years ago today. (AP)
📸 Meet Braulio Rocha, a Catholic Canadian from Portugal, who went from being a janitor to the “bar mitzvah photography king of Montreal.” Rocha often shoots half a dozen events each week, and is booked into 2023. What sets him apart is his flair for the dramatic – photos that look like stills from a movie, including one his favorites, inspired by “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” (New York Times)
🎭 The Sarasota Jewish Theatre opened in the middle of the pandemic. Its entire first season was done over Zoom. But now the theatre is offering staged, in-person performances at a Florida mall. “It seemed more important than ever to have a positive, creative, strong, successful Jewish voice playing in the world,” said Carole Kleinberg, the group’s artistic director. (Herald-Tribune)
Shiva call ➤Gertrude Pressburger, an outspoken Holocaust survivor, has died at 94 in her native Austria. In 2016, she gained national attention when she made an online video warning against the humiliations and exclusion of minorities amid the far-right rhetoric in Austria’s presidential election, calling on young people to vote. The video was watched and shared several million times.
FROM OUR CULTURE SECTION No, she wasn’t Jewish, but Betty White had a very Jewish century: News of the actress’ death on New Year’s Eve came shortly after we published a piece by Dan Friedman looking ahead to her 100th birthday. He had written a review of a Jewish century through the frame of White’s life. For example, she was featured on the radio before Hitler came to power. As one of the first women to own a TV production company, White featured Black dancer Arthur Duncan over the protests of NBC’s southern affiliates in 1954 – the year Stern College, the “first liberal arts women’s college under Jewish auspices,” opened. And on and on until 2021. The piece “was intended to be a joyous celebration of a century,” Friedman said, “but it’s now tinged with sadness.” Read the story ➤
ON THE CALENDAR President Carter with (l to r) Charles Schultze, Michael Blumenthal, Hamilton Jordan and James Schlesinger. On this day in history: Werner Michael Blumenthal, President Carter’s Treasury Secretary, was born on Jan. 3, 1926. He barely escaped Nazi Germany and spent World War II living in the Jewish ghetto of Japanese-occupied Shanghai until 1947. He immigrated to the U.S., where he got degrees from U.C. Berkeley and Princeton, launched a business career, and worked for John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson before Carter. After retiring from politics, he spent 17 years as director of the Jewish Museum in Berlin.
PHOTO OF THE DAY Palestinians roll a tire before setting it ablaze during confrontations with Israeli security forces on Saturday. They were protesting the return of Israeli settlers to the outpost of Homesh, near the village of Burqah in the occupied West Bank. (Photo by Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images)
––– Thanks to PJ Grisar and Jacob Kornbluh for contributing to today’s newsletter.
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