On the big game's big ad
This is about that antisemitism spot
We’re back!
Housekeeping notes: Next Monday, paid subscribers will get this month’s ET Watch Home, a monthly essay by me on a Czech New Wave movie. This month’s, if you’d like to watch ahead of time, is The Firemen’s Ball by Milos Forman. It’s streaming on Criterion and Eastern European Movies dot Com.
With that! Onto news, views, and Jews.
THE NEWS
For Vulture, I wrote about some of the best Czech movies from the Czech New Wave and beyond. I hope you have as much fun watching some of these movies as I did making this list.
This week on the Election Tricycle, we talked about Biden’s age—and Modi’s age, and Rishi Sunak’s age, too. This is our first issue with a section for premium subscribers, which paid subscribers to this newsletter will get later today when I figure out how to send it out.
Dalibor Rohac has a good overview on the latest in Slovakia.
From Article-14: “The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has canceled more than 100 Overseas Citizen of India cards over nine years, according to right-to-information responses we received from the home ministry, and blacklisted—meaning banned from entering the country—an unknown number of Indian-origin people. Indian embassies and consulates are increasingly tasked with monitoring and stopping those who criticize or even tweet against Modi, government policies and Hindutva.”
MY VIEWS ON…
…the “Stand Up to Jewish Hate” Super Bowl ad!
I know a few days have gone by but I am still thinking about the Super Bowl ad and so you are still going to read about it.
To start with what I liked about it: I think the message that different forms of hatred, including antisemitism, are connected and need to be fought in concert was appropriate. That is, in fact, how these hatreds exist and grow in America, and I thought that part of the ad was at least reflective of reality.
To move very quickly onto what I did not like:
Who came up with this slogan? It sounds like the hatred is coming from Jews.
Who is this ad for? What antisemite was watching this and thinking, “Well, now I’m convinced”? Or was it meant to make those who are afraid feel better? If that’s the case—does this ad actually do this?
In the fight against antisemitism, was this the best use of the money spent to buy the ad?
What does it mean to stand up to Jewish hate? What are you asking people to do? And whose idea of Jewish hate? Given that the campaign was launched by Robert Kraft, who donated $1 million to former US President Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2017, he and, say, I probably have different ideas about what this means, or what constitutes antisemitism, or the conversations we should be having about antisemitism. I mean that with respect to Israel and Israel’s war, but also on antisemitism here in the United States.
To take one example: I don’t think the fight against it or debate around it starts with a blue square.
AND SOME STUFF ABOUT JEWS
From an editorial in Haaretz: “Since the October 7 attack, the government has done everything it can to advance the development of Jewish neighborhoods in the heart of Palestinian East Jerusalem. To do that, it has taken measures never seen since the city was reunited in 1967.”
Also from Haaretz, this time from the incomparable Amira Hass: “Most of the Gaza Strip residents, some 1.4 million people, are concentrated in Rafah. Tens of thousands are still fleeing into the city from Khan Yunis, where the fighting continues. The thought that Israel will invade Rafah and that fighting will take place between and near civilians terrifies the city's residents and the internally displaced persons. The terror they feel is augmented by the conclusion that nobody can prevent Israel from carrying out its intention – not even the ICJ ruling that orders Israel to take all measures to avoid acts of genocide.”
A new poll by the American Jewish Committee found that younger American Jews experience antisemitism more but consider it less of a problem, and also are less likely to hold positive views of Israel and to consider criticism of Israel to be antisemitic.
I thought this report on the fallout from YIVO’s decision to hold an event on Hamas was well done.
-ET
"Television" by dailyinvention is licensed under CC BY 2.0.