Can the ‘Jerusalem’ Cookbook Bring About Peace?

From the looks of it, yes 

By Adam Chandler for Tablet Magazine

Back in October, Carol Ungar profiled Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, two men who grew up in different halves of Jerusalem, met in London, and eventually co-authored Jerusalem: A Cookbook, a book that has become something of a holy text for kohanim of the kitchen. Ungar described their chance encounter thusly:

The 1990s found Tamimi in London, cooking at Baker and Spice, a gourmet food shop run by Tel Avivi Yael Mejiya. One day, Ottolenghi came by the store looking for a job. In a 2009 Gourmet magazine interview, Ottolenghi recalled that their initial conversation took place in English and was about the horrors of English food—especially mince pie. “We couldn’t get over it,” said Ottolenghi. Realizing that they were both Israeli, they soon switched to Hebrew. Since Tamimi has no Arabic accent in Hebrew, Ottolenghi initially mistook him for a Jewish Israeli. To this day, the two still use both languages to communicate.

Let this be a lesson: The makings of any Arab-Israeli love story should immediately begin with mutual disdain for the British. Here this applies to the culinary realm, but could also apply to the historical one.

In the months following the book’s publication, a cardamom-scented fog of love descended upon the masses, making Jerusalem not only the “it” cookbook, but something of a roadmap for peace.

You think I’m overreaching? This morning I finally stumbled cautiously into a New York Times forum about the cookbook, which is still on the Times homepage after two days.

Now apparently there is no such thing as sparse, measured praise for Jerusalem: A Cookbook; its fans are actually fanatics. But as I read through the comments thread, I was bowled over by the effusiveness of the love:

“I just can’t help picking up an extra copy of this to give away any time I’m in a bookstore.”

Say what, MB from Vermont?

Continue reading.
 

Israeli Public Bus Transformed Into Luxury Home

BY Aya Ephrati for  NOCAMELS.com

Two women living in Even Yehuda have come up with a creative solution to the Israeli housing crisis: they transformed an out-of-use public bus into a luxury living space.

Tali Shaul, a psychotherapist and Hagit Morevski, an ecological pond water treatment specialist, in an interview with Xnet.co.il, explained that they became friends when their sons befriended each other. For a long time the pair looked for a creative project and joint business idea – and they found their inspiration in the pages of a women’s magazine.

“I read an article about alternative housing solutions, such as containers and tents,” explained Shaul, “and suggested Hagit and I turn an old bus into a living space.”

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GINNIFER GOODWIN RE-DISCOVERS HER FAITH

Actress Ginnifer Goodwin re-discovers her faith: makes speech at synagogue





JewishWorldReview.com | GINNIFER GOODWIN, 35, has compiled quite a list of credits in the last decade: she has been the co-star of two hit TV series ("Big Love" and the still-airing "Once Upon a Time") and she has co-starred in several hit films, including "Walk the Line" and "He's Just Not that Into You". Next November, she will co-star as Jackie Kennedy in a National Geographic original film about the last years of JFK and Jackie.

Born and raised in Memphis, TN, Goodwin was active in BBYO and took her bat mitzvah seriously enough that she delayed it until her 15th birthday, when she felt she had really studied enough for the ceremony.

On May 17thth, she stood before the congregation of her hometown synagogue, with her family in the audience, and sadly noted that she had long fallen away from Judaism. She said, "For 10 years, there was nothing. No ritual. No tradition. No community. I was this new alone thing, a nomad in the world. I was homeless." However, as the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports, "In recent months, Goodwin has been reclaiming old patches of ritual, tradition and community, and receiving new ones. She wants to live in a Jewish home with a mezuzah in every doorway. She wants to raise her 'completely hypothetical future children' to be Jewish. She hosted a Hanukkah party. She's made brisket and matzo ball soup. She realized that a lot of her friends are Jewish. 'We've been shul shopping' [in Los Angeles]..'I am a Jew,' she said, beaming on the bimah. 'It took me 10 years to come back around to that self-definition. I was a Jew by birth, and now I'm a Jew by choice.'"

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Shakespeare Expert Puzzled By Shylock Crossword Flap

Talking about ‘Merchant of Venice’ and the ADL with Barry Edelstein

By Adam Chandler for Tablet Magazine

On Friday, the Tribune Media Services published a crossword puzzle with the clue “Shylock, e.g.” in several of its newspapers. The corresponding three-letter answer: J-E-W. Jew. Within hours, Abe Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League had written a letter in protest calling the clue “insensitive,” demanding an apology, and frustrating crossword enthusiasts who hadn’t yet done their puzzles.

Perhaps the puzzle authors were unaware of the use of Shakespeare’s Shylock character throughout the years as a vehicle for anti-Semitism. Selecting Shylock to elicit the answer ‘Jew’ demonstrates cultural ignorance and an extreme lack of sensitivity. Even if done inadvertently, such a linkage perpetuates classic anti-Semitic stereotypes of Jews as evil and money-hungry.”

For its part, the Tribune Media Services quickly apologized, ran an apology in a number of its papers, and swore to never use the clue ever again. The ADL commended them for their “swift action” and the dance was complete.

But was this clue actually offensive? After all, is Shylock–one of the more polarizing characters in all of literature–not a Jew? To help gain some clarity, I sought out Barry Edelstein, the Artistic Director of the Old Globe in San Diego, who took a break from preparing for the Old Globe’s major production of The Merchant of Venice to speak with me.

The Old Globe is Edelstein’s third major production of the Shakespeare play, including a previous production that starred Al Pacino as Shylock. “The only person who has Shylock on his mind more than me right now,” Edelstein confessed, “is Antonio.” Edelstein’s been too busy to hear about the crossword controversy, but when I told him about it, he was a little bit confused:

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Digitizing the Ghetto

For one year, between the time they were rounded up and their final transport to concentration camps, all the Jews in the city of Vilna lived in a ghetto—a tiny, squalid neighborhood blocked off from the rest of the city. But contrary to what we tend to think about ghetto life, the area was bustling, as residents learned how to live in terrible conditions, support themselves and each other, and create some culture and hope as they did so.

Seventy-two years after the ghetto's liquidation, Menachem Kaiser and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research are creating reVilna, a virtual map of the area. Complete with photos, stories, markers of shops and synagogues, and a timeline showing the history of its population and depopulation, the map attempts to recreate that tragic time—and that fascinating culture—in a virtual world.

The map is online now, though its functionality is still limited. reVilna recently ended a Kickstarter fundraising campaign to complete the project. 

- Matthue Roth