1.Of Olympic Proportions

Deni Avdija made history when he became the first Israeli to play in the NBA All-Star Game.

The Green Monster (not the baseball one) Aerin Frankel set some crazy shut-out records for Team USA at the Winter Olympics, allowing zero pucks. Canada's goalie Kayle Osborne (also Jewish) faces Aerin (as I write this Bulletin). Gold for one, silver for the other.

The Hughes Brothers (see what I did there with the Blues Brothers) may be the most athletic Jews since the Maccabees (credit @bhco27) with the Canucks' Quinn scoring for Team USA in the semis (brothers Luke and Jack - both Devils - hope to make the 2030 team).

Shul Runnings, the Israel bobsled team, did not finish last (we never DFL) but won the gold medal for most antisemitic commentary by a television station (Swiss).

And on that happy note, 140 suitcases at LAX were tagged with Free Palestine stickers en route to El Al's non-stop to Tel Aviv. The loyal fans who travelled to see Deni at the All-Star Game will have to wait for their bags that did not make the flight. Yes, the security breach at LAX (I took off on a United flight around the same time) is a concern even if the El Al team caught and held the bags before they were loaded onto the plane.

Disclaimer: This service is brought to you despite the fact that I don't ever watch the Winter or Summer Olympics or the NBA All-Star Game.

2.Board of Jokers

"The Board of Peace convened by President Donald Trump to administer Gaza’s reconstruction is meeting for the first time in Washington, D.C., today.

As was clear from the the first moment, this delusional idea of a peace plan and force has taken forever to get started. By the time they have any impact (if they ever do) there will be a lot of water flowing from the river to the sea (you pick the river and sea of your choice).

"Signs are mounting that Trump could launch a long-threatened war on Iran imminently, which would throw the Middle East back into turmoil. U.S. warships are amassing in the region, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled a planned trip to the United States this week and Trump met Wednesday with his top Iran advisors.

"Trump surprised Israel by opening direct negotiations with Iran last year to limit its nuclear program. The ongoing talks, including this week, have reportedly left a wide gap in the two sides’ positions."

Read more in JTA's "Trump's Board of Peace convenes on Gaza as prospect of U.S. war with Iran surges"

3.Hitler Scale

Some people are so horrible they can't be measured on a regular scale. For people like Tucker Carlson, there is the "Hitler Scale." It's the maximum security section of human scum.

"Tucker Carlson’s visit to Israel lasted only a few hours — not long enough to experience the country, but sufficient to stage a performance." (He can now not lie, which is his most common tactic, when he says. "I have been there.")

"Carlson claimed he had experienced 'bizarre' treatment at Ben Gurion Airport, a description that Israeli and U.S. officials dismissed. What actually happened: He underwent routine security questioning on his way to interview United States Ambassador Mike Huckabee.

"In Israel, Carlson’s outrage was widely received with a mixture of indifference and eye-rolling. But Israelis with their ears to the ground understood that his attempt to stir the pot means they have a problem brewing in American public opinion — and a more immediate problem with public relations.

"Because Carlson’s airport drama was never about Israeli airport procedures. It was about American politics, an arena in which Carlson has built a lucrative post-Fox career selling a particular worldview: one suspicious of alliances, contemptuous toward interventionism, and invested in the conspiratorial belief that shadowy forces distort American sovereignty."

Read more of columnist Dan Perry's thoughts in The Forward: "The dark message behind Tucker Carlson's attempt to drum up drama in Israel."

4.She's Still Here . . . Damn It!

If you asked me (back in the early '90s) who was the funniest, I'd have mentioned her in the Top 5. Those were the "Without You I'm Nothing" days. The title caption is a riff on the name of Sandra Bernhard's 1998 comedy show I'm Still Here... Damn It! In it, she predictably offended many with her outrageous humor. Now 70, she'll settle for a script.

"Last season of HBO Max’s The White Lotus featured Jewish actor Jason Isaacs (who wore a yellow ribbon on the red carpet as a sign of solidarity with Israeli hostages) as troubled businessman Timothy Ratliff, whose mixer and robe fumbles were one of the highlights of the extremely titillating season of TV.

"It looks like the next season of the show about vacationers at the swanky White Lotus resorts will have another exciting Jewish star — Sandra Bernhard. The comedian and actress will star in the upcoming fourth season, which will take place on the French Riviera and filmed at the Château de La Messardière in Saint-Tropez on the Côte d’Azur, a five-star resort with its own private beach on the Mediterranean. Bernhard’s casting was announced this week on Deadline.

"Bernhard is known for her comedy specials and albums, and for her many, many, many TV and movie roles, including Nancy in Roseanne, Nurse Judy Kubrak in Pose, the foreboding Nurse Cecily in Severance and most recently, Jewish Lower East Sider and Fran Drescher’s yenta neighbor Judy in Marty Supreme."

Below is a recent interview, if you want to catch up on all things Bernhard. Or read more in "Jewish Comedy Legend Sandra Bernhard to Star in Season 4 of The White Lotus."

5.Jerusalem Carbs, Boston Style

The family came to Boston when the kids were teens after owning bakeries in Jerusalem. Now, they serve a mix of Israeli specialties with more mainstream classics.

"I think [my parents] liked that there’s a lot of Jewish and Israeli presence in the area. You have Newton and Brookline, and Boston in general is very Jewish-centric. And obviously, the education system was very important to them. Boston just seemed like a good fit. Plus the history; it’s quaint, not necessarily a big-time city like New York," said Jason Barsheshet. 

"We have a lot of Israeli traditional dishes—burekas, Jerusalem bagels, things we grew up with. We even did kugel at one point just to try it, and people loved it. But we’re not trying to be only an Israeli bakery. Our menu is really what our family likes to eat. We have French pastries; traditional croissants, elephant ears, basque cheesecake, chocolate ganache cake. We’re not trying to corner ourselves into anything.

For savory food, we have avocado toast, smoked salmon and two of our most popular sandwiches: the crispy schnitzel sandwich and the dry fruit chicken thigh sandwich, which is based on something my dad used to make at home." 

Read more in JewishBoston's "From Jerusalem to Cambridge: The Family Behind Asaro Bakery & Cafe"

6.The 9th of Adar (AKA March 2nd)

It's Purim (winning spelling bee word of 1983) time soon. While this primer is unnecessary for most, sometimes it's fun to take a review course. Here's Moment Magazine's "Holiday Traditions, History & Celebrations: 5 Things to Know About Purim" for your reading pleasure.

Also, JewishBoston shares all things Purim including "Feast on This: Creative and Delicious Recipes for Purim." Find some recipes for the holiday below.

For Your Calendar

Sunday, March 15, 1:30 PM

The second installment of the Speakers Series comes to our community when we host Aviva Klompas at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Please save the date.

Klompas is a co-founder and CEO of Boundless. She has made a name for herself as an outspoken advocate for the Jewish people and as a leading Israel educator. Before launching Boundless, she served as the director of speechwriting for Israel's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York City and as a senior policy advisor in the Ontario government supporting efforts to resettle Syrian refugees in Canada.

A prolific writer, Aviva has written articles that have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Foreign Policy, The Jerusalem Post, and other international publications. She is also the author of two books. Her first, Speaking for Israel, reflects on her time as a speechwriter for Israel and offers an honest and entertaining insight into Israeli diplomacy. Her second book, Stand-Up Nation: Israeli Resilience in the Wake of Disaster, released in 2024, details Israel’s remarkable and longstanding work in international development. More can be found in this Hadassah Magazine profile, “Aviva Klompas Is Reimagining Israel Education.” 

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