Editor-in-chief: David Suissa
January 10, 2022
With children returning from winter break, school administrators are scrambling to figure out how they can keep school open amidst high numbers of exposures and infections.
In a rare show of pandemic consensus, political leaders at all levels are singing from the same hymnal when it comes to in-person learning during the omicron surge. Governors as ideologically far apart as Ron DeSantis in Florida and Gavin Newsom in California are pledging to keep classrooms open…
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has compiled dozens of studies that show schools can be some of the safest places in terms of covid-19. Research from North Carolina, Utah and Missouri have shown that even when community infection rates are high, there was minimal school-related transmission…
…as a father with a mild case of PTSD from a full school year of remote Zoom education, I would bet that classrooms close before commerce, again.
Don’t say this is an unreasonable fear
Deputy PM Benny Gantz is under fire from right-wing voices in Israel over “trust-building” steps taken with the Palestinian Authority, such as his meeting with PA president Mahmoud Abbas.
Gantz is giving legitimacy and encouragement to Abbas, who is leading a deadly move against Israel in the International Court of Justice… As such, Gantz consistently prepares the ground for a Palestinian state…
With Bennett handling domestic issues, Lapid and other key coalition partners are laying the groundwork for Israel to return to a two-state paradigm that had been effectively frozen under the previous government. And in doing so, they are giving ammunition to parties and institutions that delegitimize Israeli land claims in the disputed territories of Judea and Samaria.
…last week’s meeting between PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and Defense Minister MK Benny Gantz was important for the sake of strengthening cooperation, but cannot replace a significant diplomatic process.
Jewish comedian and sitcom legend Bob Saget passed away yesterday at the age of 65. Here are three takes on what he meant to those who knew him:
Beautiful Bob Saget passed away today at 65. He had a big, big heart and a wonderfully warped comic mind. He gave the world a lot of joy and lived his life for goodness’ sake.
Bob Saget was as lovely a human as he was funny. And to my mind, he was hilarious. We were close friends and I could not have loved him more.
I know that people lose loved ones, good people, every day. No one gets a pass. But the loss of Bob Saget hits deep. If you didn’t know him, he was kind and dear and cared about people deeply. He was the definition of “a good egg”. Too soon he leaves. #RipBobSaget
A scandal in the world of international tennis has quickly become a moral parable for the era of Covid-19. Novak Djokovic, a Serbian tennis star, had come to Australia to compete when he was put in immigration detention for refusing to be vaccinated. He has now been released, but what comes next has yet to be decided.
The conversation is as much about fairness as it is about public health. Why should a player get a free pass when other players, and the fans keeping them in business, have to be vaccinated and abide by travel restrictions?
It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that Djokovic was looking to game the system at the risk of putting people’s lives in danger. What makes this spectacle even more distasteful is the way that Djokovic’s supporters insist on casting him as the victim.
Australians are mad about a perceived double standard. Perhaps they should wonder why they allowed the government to set strict standards for themselves in the first place.
After allegations of corruption and revelations of a shocking lack of diversity among the voting committee, the Golden Globes went on the downlow, deciding not to broadcast the event and taking place without a red carpet or press access.
…this is probably the last year we’ll discuss the Globes with any real seriousness, anyway. It’s hard to believe NBC will ever air them again — the ratings are abysmal — and most other award shows other than the Oscars are getting smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror.
What was the HFPA to do? After pledging to make “transformational change,” the group hired its first-ever “chief diversity officer” and adopted new rules barring members from accepting studio gifts or favors. It also got a new president, German journalist Helen Hoehne, and added 21 members…
If an awards show happens and nobody sees it, does it matter? [.] And if indeed no one cares, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association should take a long, hard look in the mirror.
Have you tried a “ma’amul?”
How did kohlrabi get so trendy?
Is Tel Aviv an international cuisine hub?
Almost 30 years ago, when our friend Yosi was dating his wife Esther, he was amazed that her family in Florida and Brooklyn served the same cookies that his grandmother had baked for him when he was a little boy growing up in Jerusalem.
In the United States, kohlrabi—a humble member of the cabbage family—barely registers in the garden of culinary delights. But in Israel, kohlrabi is a shining star, appearing on tasting menus of the trendiest restaurants, and flirting with the country’s best food influencers.
Asif, the Hebrew term for harvest, is a culinary center that opened in Tel Aviv in July 2021, dedicated to cultivating and nurturing Israel’s food culture, and, yes, stating unequivocally that there is such a thing as Israeli cuisine.