SHARE:  
The Bulletin

10.24.2024

One Year and 18 Days

Bring Them Home

1.I Apologize


Yom Kippur was the designated time for this, but I realized something this week and I won’t wait until next year to apologize for it. I apologize to the many hostages who were released (and their families) for losing sight of what you are going through. Perhaps it was the constant reminder and the sight of the ones who remain captive, or maybe the joy of your release a few months ago played a part in this, but I have forgotten you. Many of us have. I am sorry about that. It was the first thing I thought about when I learned that Shirel Golan took her own life this week on her 22nd birthday.


"She survived the October 7 terror attack. A year later she took her life. Shirel Golan's family blames the state for not helping," CNN reports. "Her brother said Shirel’s parents, four siblings and other relatives had worried about her health and tried to keep an eye on her as much as they could. She was rarely left on her own But as the family gathered to celebrate her birthday on Sunday, Shirel wandered off without anyone noticing. By the time her boyfriend found her at the bottom of the family garden, she was gone. 


In the Forward, Meredith Jacobs, CEO of Jewish Women International, also addressed the tragedy. "The brutal atrocities committed on Oct. 7, especially against the thousands of young people attending the Nova festival, were beyond imagination. I do not know how anyone experiences these horrors and moves on. Adding to the trauma of witnessing their friends hunted down, tortured, raped and murdered by terrorists, these survivors are also facing a world that refuses to believe their accounts." 

Interview-Feature-1 image

2.Waiting


The year of waiting dangerously continues as we mark what was once Simchat Torah (I suspect even those with very limited Hebrew know the Simchat part is be happy, rejoice, celebrate), but if you are like me today’s holiday has none of that. Perhaps Lack Thereof Torah is more appropriate.


It was a year ago (on the Jewish calendar) that Hamas launched the attack and it seems like we have been waiting for one thing or another all year. Go into Gaza or not? When? Attack Hezbollah? When? Or where? Capture or kill Sinwar or Nasralla and most of all when and how do we bring back the hostages? This week (particularly after an attempt to hit Netanyahu’s personal residence and the American leaks of such plans) it is when does Israel hit Iran (directly) and where? The only status quo I can see is the lack of one.


Perhaps in the Moment Magazine interview "on the End of the Sinwar Era" you may find a unique point of view that we have not shared so far. Ghaith al-Omari is a senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and former executive director of the American Task Force on Palestine.

 

He begins: "It’s often said that individuals don’t matter, that these movements continue. And that may be right at some level, but sometimes individuals make a huge difference. Yahya Sinwar was one of these unique individuals. He had what no other Hamas leader had, which is credibility with both the political and the military wings of Hamas … His death creates a major vacuum in Hamas, particularly after the killing of other major Hamas leaders, and an opportunity for a cease-fire.”

 

Personally I am not holding my breath. Accomplishments on the battlefield and on intelligence aside, the current Netanyahu-led government is less interested in the hostages and the homes of tens of thousands of displaced Israelis than they are with his legal battles, love of the throne and the damaged glass in his private residence (where he rarely stays).

10-21-2024-Trump-Harris-2048x1138 image

3.Twelve Days


I continue to wonder how the coming election can be a close one. Even stranger to me is that in states I made a point of visiting in the past few weeks, like Ohio, Florida and battleground Pennsylvania, undecided Jewish voters could help swing the election. "Jewish Americans have been a core part of the Democratic coalition for generations. But Israel’s retaliatory war against Hamas in Gaza and the turmoil it set off, including protests and a spike in antisemitic incidents, make Republicans believe they can make inroads with Jewish voters And in an election that will likely be decided on the margins, the votes of Jewish Pennsylvanians could be key to determining who wins the commonwealth’s 19 electoral votes – and with it, the presidency."


JTA did the research: "How Donald Trump and Kamala Harris differ (and agree) when it comes to Middle East policy."

GaliSegalBenBenyaminBetter-2400x1350 image

4.Some Joy


"Gali Segal and Ben Binyamin, two young people engaged to be married, were among those dancing at the Nova festival when Hamas attacked. A terrorist lobbed a grenade inside the shelter where they were hiding, killing or injuring everyone inside. Gali and Ben miraculously survived, yet they each also lost their right legs. After months of rehabilitation, this past July they walked down their wedding aisle on prosthetic limbs. 


"Simchat Torah is the annual celebration of the limitless joy found within Jewish life, law, and heritage. But our joy this year is shrouded by the dark massacre and many losses we faced this past year. How can we possibly dance with joy when our hearts are still heavy with mourning? In that walk to the chuppah, I find an answer," writes Rabbi Areyah Kaltmann for the Forward.


Read the full piece, "This remarkable story will help us dance on Simchat Torah."

NBA-Header-1-1536x853 image

5.J in the NBA


Personally, I'm most excited about Ben Saraf as a prospect in the next NBA draft. The 18-year-old has (for my super casual eyes) an excitement factor that I hope he brings to New York and my once beloved Knickerbockers. There is of course a hope for another strong season from Deni Avdija, the 9th overall pick five years ago now playing in Portland, Domantas Sabonis who is converting (we mentioned that in a Bulletin over a year ago) and Amari Bailey. More details are in this JTA article.

GettyImages-1138441528-1024x684 image

6.People in the Neighborhood


There is a neighborhood in Jerusalem named "Schoonat Habucharim" because there was a time when mostly Bukharan Jews lived there. My father lived there when he was a child even though his parents were not. They did because it was affordable when his parents settled in Jerusalem after World War 1.


Who are the Bukharan Jews? "At the far edges of the Jewish world, Bukharan Jews (also sometimes referred to as Bukharian or Bokharan Jews) have made their homes in Central Asia’s vibrant cities — now located in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan — for well over a millennia. One of the world’s oldest diaspora groups, they came to resemble the Muslim Tajiks and Uzbeks amongst whom they lived, all the while maintaining connections to the wider Jewish world.


"Bukharan Jews left Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in very large numbers when the borders reopened in 1989 and the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. As of 2020, only 100–200 Bukharan Jews still remain in Uzbekistan and fewer in Tajikistan. Others have resettled primarily in the United States and Israel, with others in Canada, Austria and Germany."


Below is a video of Lillian Cordell, author of Miriam's Table, teaching her daughter how to make Dushpara Bukharian Jewish Dumplings. Meet the cookbook author in this interview. And The Nosher offers "8 Essential Jewish Bukharian Dishes" for you to make at home. I've shared three below.

samsa image

Samsa (baked savory pastry)

Bukharian-Plov-main image

Osh Sovo (slow-cooked meaty rice dish)

Bachsh-1-ed-FP image

Bachsh (one-pot chicken and herbed rice)

For Your Calendar

Thursday, October 31, at 11 a.m.

Room H209, Bristol Fall River Campus

My Holocaust Legacy: A Blessing, Not a Burden

Description: Dr. Alex Kor presents “My Holocaust Legacy: A Blessing, Not a Burden,” based on his book of the same name. This is the story of Dr. Kor’s parents, Eva and Mickey Kor, their survival of Auschwitz, and their lives moving forward, including their influence on their son.

Thursday, November 7, at Noon

UMass Dartmouth Library, Main Hall

Inseparable: The Hess Twins’ Holocaust Journey Through Bergen-Belsen to America

Description: Faris Cassell presents “Inseparable: The Hess Twins’ Holocaust Journey Through Bergen-Belsen to America.” This award-winning book tells the survival story of the last living twin Holocaust survivors, in collaboration with the UMass Dartmouth History Department and Hillel.

Parking in Lots 13 and 14.


For more information about the Bristol Community College Holocaust and Genocide Center’s fall programming, please visit www.bristolcc.edu/holocaustcenter, or email ron.weisberger@bristolcc.edu.  

Visit our website

Shabbat Shalom and Am Israel Chai,


Amir


The Bulletin is a weekly email from Amir Cohen, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Bedford. I welcome your feedback at amir@jewishnewbedford.org. 

Jewish Federation of 
Greater New Bedford

508.997.7471
467 Hawthorn Street, Dartmouth, MA, 02747
Join our Mailing List