Grab bag week
What it says on the tin
And we’re back!
Housekeeping notes: Paid subscribers this week got ET Ask Home, a monthly questionnaire. This month’s featured podcaster and author Mike Duncan.
Also for paid subscribers: I’m thinking about what paid-only features to offer next year, in 2024. If you have any opinions on this—if you like the monthly questionnaire but not the reading list, for example, or if you think I should keep both, or if you’d rather something entirely new—please do feel free to let me know either in the comments or via email.
And anyone else should feel free to email (polite, constructive) feedback, too.
And now onto news, views, and Jews.
THE NEWS
For Slate, I wrote about how wasting time on “of course criticism of this Jewish person is okay, but the issue is conspiracy” is—well, a waste of time.
For the Forward, I offered a reminder that Congressman Matt Gaetz has spent the last several years doing antisemitisms, which is connected to his chaos agenda.
I went on The Majority Report to talk about the alliance between Republicans and Fidesz.
It’s a great time for Sofia Coppola content.
India has reportedly told Canada to withdraw over 40 diplomats by October 10.
Germany’s far-right party is reportedly rising in the polls.
After Sen. Menendez stepped down as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee over allegedly taking bribes in exchange for helping the Egyptian government, Sen. Cardin took over and pretty promptly announced he’d be holding back military aid to Egypt.
Lech Walesa had a meat cake for his 80th birthday.
MY VIEWS ON…
…a grab bag of things!
I don’t have time to write an essay this week, so here is a grab bag of ideas.
Kind of funny—funny oh no, not funny ha ha—that the House decided to keep the government open for another 45 days and then immediately set about burning through that time. (By “the House,” I mean Matt Gaetz and company, mostly, and also Kevin McCarthy, who for some reason started blaming Democrats at the moment he needed their help to survive as Speaker.)
I saw Stop Making Sense on the big screen this week. It was great!
I have run into a few people recently who seem to think that “I’m freelance” does not mean “I work hard and write, report, and edit regularly.” If that describes you, you should disabuse yourself of that notion! Or at least get better at hiding it!
It is kind of incredible how quickly the high of having published or accomplished something wears off. It’s almost as though that won’t ever bring a person true fulfillment.
It’s not really my place to feel one way or another about another country’s democratic elections, but that Fico would win Slovakia’s elections given everything he’s said—forget everything he’s alleged to have done—is a bit depressing.
AND SOME STUFF ABOUT JEWS
From a Haaretz editorial: “The Jewish National Fund is continuing to bolster its role as a key player in the settlement enterprise and its accompanying looting and dispossession of the Palestinians in the West Bank, in preparation for a future annexation.”
This is a nice, if disturbing, piece on the Jews who fled Manipur amidst ethnic violence and are now building sukkahs all the same.
I thought this, on why the woman who may become Mexico’s first Jewish president was wearing a cross, was interesting.
Sadly, I am not in New York, but if I were, I would try to eat at least some of these “25 Jewish dishes to eat in NYC right now.”
I am also not in London, but if I were, I would use this guide to Jewish food in London.
That’s it for now! Hope to see you back here soon.
-ET