עם ישראל חי

Monday, November 19, 2018

The weekend's real estate section had a couple of interesting items.  First, a description of a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment nearby claimed that "renovation made the home habitable for three small children and two large dogs."  Note that there is no mention of adults, who presumably moved out without leaving a forwarding address.
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Then, there was one of my lists, this time comparing home ownership by Americans vs. Invaders.  For instance, in Miami, 26% of Invaders own their homes compared to 34% of Americans.  In Los Angeles, the numbers are 18% and 30%, New York 14% and 37%. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/15/realestate/immigrants-and-homeownership.html

I don't know if I could have predicted those numbers, but the low end of the table is completely nutty.  Ten cities, from Indianapolis to Pittsburgh, have nearly identical statistics.  Invaders have a rate of home ownership from 2% to 4% in cities where Americans own their homes at a rate of 57% to 68%.  Why do Invaders so consistently avoid buying homes in cities that seem so congenial to home ownership by Americans?  Maybe only the Latin American drug lords, Russian kleptocrats and run-of-the-mill Eurotrash can handle the inflated real estate prices of Miami, Los Angeles and New York, but the real estate markets in Buffalo (current median home value, $148,900), New Orleans ($193,100) or Louisville ($168,000) seem very approachable.
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A feature article carries the challenging headline:"Are Jared and Ivanka Good for the Jews?"  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/17/style/ivanka-trump-jared-kushner.html

Don't all shout out at once.
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Wikipedia says that "Crime in Israel is low on a par with Norway and Germany."  According to a ranking of crime rates in cities all around the world (high ranking = high crime), Jerusalem is 159th (an eyelash separating it from New York), Haifa 191st and Tel Aviv 221st.  For comparison, 18 US cities appear in the top (worst) 100. 
https://www.numbeo.com/crime/rankings.jsp

American and Israeli supporters of the Netanyahu regime, who substantially overlap with Trump supporters in both countries, rarely cite these figures.  Rather, they posit Israel facing existential threats from hostile neighbors, notably Iran.  Of course, international inspections certify that Iran has no nuclear weapons while unofficial sources claim that Israel has 50-100 nuclear weapons.  See https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/Nuclearweaponswhohaswhat  or
https://web.archive.org/web/20150429192508/http://www.wisconsinproject.org/countries/israel/nuke.html

Under those circumstances, would you sleep easier in Teheran or Tel Aviv?  I don't mean to ignore the damage done or threatened by Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as the random Arab/Israeli violence that manages to capture more attention than many similar events in other parts of the world.  

However, besides lacking a factual basis, I object to resorting to the supposed existential threat to Israel for aesthetic reasons.  The 1948 War of Independence went a long way towards weakening the image of the cowering Jew, shying into the corner at the approach of evil forces.  The Six Day War should have buried it entirely.  Walking the streets of Israel, away from the ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods, you see countless uniformed men and women apparently ready, willing and able to fight for their country.  In fact, it is the contrast between those known as the Haredi (those who tremble before the word of God), who "reached one million in 2017, representing 12 percent of the population," according to The Jerusalem Post, and much of the rest of the population that poses the greater threat to Israel. 

The concessions that David Ben-Gurion made to Orthodox rabbis at the creation of the Israeli state, giving them control of marriage and related family matters in order to divert them from more political matters, or so he thought, have turned into a chokehold on significant portions of public policy.  Jews from abroad must prove impeccable ancestry to be recognized as Jews; Jews may only be married by Orthodox rabbis; non-Jewish children may be adopted by Jews only if the children are subject to a strictly Orthodox conversion; most public transport, including El Al Airlines, is shut down on the Sabbath; women are not allowed to pray at most of the Western Wall.  Haredi men, to a large extent, don't work and are exempt from military service.  

American Jews, mostly far removed from Orthodoxy in their practice or non-practice of Judaism, and secular Israeli Jews have little patience for this type of discriminatory conduct and often resent the support (sometimes tacit, sometimes explicit) that the Netanyahu regime offers to it.  More and more, Jews in Israel and the US ask whether Israel can remain Jewish and democratic.  That's the explosion to fear.   

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While there are countless joints throughout the city offering pizza slices, expect to be disappointed more often than not.  In fact, my long-standing favorite pizzeria, John's of Bleecker Street (278 Bleecker Street), has "No slices" boldly emblazoned on its awning. Pete Wells, The New York Times restaurant critic, offers some hope, recommending his choices for the best local pizza slices. 
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/15/nyregion/best-pizza-slices-nyc.html 

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

My brother is older, but I am considerably taller and wider.  I think that we only resemble each other when we open our mouths, issuing snarky comments usually from the same perspective.  Last night, however, he generously allowed me to replace him at a private dinner and a concert by the Boston Symphony Orchestra for patrons of Carnegie Hall.  It was splendid, as you might imagine.  At dinner, there was assigned seating.  I was seated, that is my brother was supposed to be seated, next to Carnegie Hall's director of development.  Did they think that this pairing would produce a new staircase, maybe a rehearsal studio, a plush velvet curtain?  I told her that I, that is my brother, would get back to her.

The wonderfully-performed program, unfamiliar to me, consisted of Mahler's Symphony No. 5 and HK Gruber's Aerial, a contemporary trumpet concerto.  Pony up some money and come along next year. 
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There was no concert afterwards, but the Boyz Club enjoyed a hearty meal together at Wo Hop, 17 Mott Street, the High Temple of Chinatown Cuisine.  We had beef chow fun, duck chow fun, spareribs, chicken fried rice, shrimps in lobster sauce over shrimp fried rice, honey crispy chicken and beef with scallions.  It cost the seven of us $17 each (including a generous tip, as always).  It won't overshadow Thanksgiving, but this meal deserves its own holiday. 

Wednesday, November 21, 2018
"Washington Redskins running back Adrian Peterson, who served a one-year suspension in the NFL after he was charged with child abuse, admitted he still sometimes uses a belt to hit his son."  ESPN.com.  Meanwhile, Colin Kaepernick, former starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, who took a knee during the national anthem to protest racial injustice remains unsigned since the end of the 2016 season.  In the NFL, he threw 72 touchdown passes and had 30 interceptions during the regular season. 

On the other hand, this week the forgiving Washington Redskins signed Mark Sanchez as a backup quarterback.  He is the former quarterback for the New York Jets, who also has not played since 2016.  His NFL regular season record was 86 touchdowns and 86 interceptions, not the sort of  balance that you seek in a quarterback.  Mark, however, is a standup guy, at least during the national anthem.

Thursday, November 22, 2018
America's Favorite Epidemiologist laid out America's Favorite Holiday Meal in superb fashion today, and I have 18 other witnesses.  

Friday, November 23, 2018

There is good news this week.  Shakespeare & Co. opened a bookstore and café at 2020 Broadway, within sight of Palazzo di Gotthelf, counter to the near total disappearance of retail bookstores in Manhattan, in New York, in the United States.  As I promised on May 21, 2018, when I first saw the sign of this impending venture, I went in this afternoon and purchased a café au lait for $3, as I intend to continue to do, for the sake of the literary world.