Shalom Or Else? Salaam Or Else?

Monday, May 17, 2021 

Saturday's puzzle, 42 Across = Locks you pick?

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A.O. Scott, New York Times film critic, looks at American attitudes and values as presented in seven movies.   https://nyti.ms/3ya63Hu   The article is a rich source of discussion topics that need not end friendships, unlike Israel, gender, Trump.

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I have mixed feelings about the highly relaxed CDC Covid-19 guidelines for social distancing and mask wearing, that is to the degree that I actually understand them.  Here in New York, we are further subject to the sometimes contradictory regulations emerging from the dueling egos of the governor and the mayor.  Inside/outside, few/many, had it/didn't have it, adult/child, vaccinated/unvaccinated -- there are a host of variables to consider before taking the next step.

Even though I have passed into relatively safe territory, I continue to wear a mask out of the house, in recognition of the gravity of the situation.  After all, there are increasingly frequent examples of "breakthrough cases," post-vaccination infection, and more dangerous variants keep popping up.  On walkabouts the last few days, I have observed a very high degree of compliance with mask wearing in the neighborhood.  This behavior is consistent with the attitudes of American epidemiologists.  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/15/upshot/epidemiologists-covid-return-normal.html?campaign_id=29&emc=edit_up_20210517&instance_id=30990&nl=the-upshot&regi_id=599756&segment_id=58282&te=1&us

Of course, I don't need to read the newspaper, I just have to roll over to find out the latest and greatest news in epidemiology.

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R.I.P. Samantha Berkman, 31.

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A book review this weekend of a story collection by a Japanese writer lists 6 translators of the work.  We know that identity politics is now playing a role in the choice of translators, language-to-language.  

Given the multiplicity of translators in this instance, I think something else is at play, possibly separate translators for nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, participles and conjunctions.

Tuesday, May 18, 2021

The leaders of June's Gay Pride celebratory events here must be frustrated civil engineers, since they seem intent on burning bridges. "N.Y.C. Pride Will Take Steps to Keep Police Out of Parade and Events"   https://nyti.ms/3uQFyVC

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In a criminal case of sexual assault,  should the name of the accuser be kept secret?   Can the accused mount a proper defense if the accuser is anonymous?  Will the accuser be twice victimized by public identification?  https://nyti.ms/3eOw7R4

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I have a question about a completely different subject.  Why are so many non-Orthodox rabbis of recent vintage women?  Is the job so bad that it is being relegated to women?

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Jitterbug Jon ventured forth from Brooklyn to meet me for lunch at The Best Sichuan, 47 West 39th Street, the first time that we have seen each other in 15 months, which is probably the average length of separation for so many of us.  He said that he removed his mask when he got out of the subway.  I kept mine on until we sat down at one of the five tables in the outdoor shack.  

We did not give The Best Sichuan the opportunity to live up to its name.  While it offered many unusual dishes (Chongqing Style Pork Blood Curd or Frogs - Dry Pepper Style anyone?), we ordered very conservatively in this early return to Heaven on Earth.  We shared fried dumplings ($8.95 for 6), orange-flavored chicken ($17.95) and aromatic roast duck ($24.95).  On the whole, it sounded better than it tasted.  Our timidity resulted in The Best Sichuan better regarded as The Average Cantonese.

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It seems that you can't wait for the right moment to sum up the Arab/Israeli conflict, or even the latest manifestation of it.  Here are a couple of my transitory thoughts, however.

1) The Israeli regime continues to gratuitously provoke its Arab citizens and neighboring Palestinians.  I agree with some Israelis that this is rooted in electoral politics as Prime Minister Netanyahu recognizes that jail might be his next stop after leaving office.  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/20/opinion/Israel-palestine-netanyahu-gaza.html

 

In a television appearance, he said "We’ll do whatever it takes to restore order and quiet.”  This evokes the famous quote from Vietnam 50 years ago, “It became necessary to destroy the town to save it.”

2) A dispute over property rights in Jerusalem, although representative of the (lack of) status of Arabs, has been escalated into warfare by the disproportionate response of Hamas.  Before the Israeli air force began its lethal bombing missions, hundreds, now thousands, of rockets were shot into Israel from Gaza.  Hamas responded to human rights violations with war crimes.  Unfortunately, some of Israel's critics view the situation through the wrong end of the telescope, looking only on the ugly destruction in Gaza.  I don't excuse it, but I am not naive about its origin. 

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"A community for all" it ain't.  When Wausau, Wisconsin wanted to be nice, it couldn't.  https://nyti.ms/3eUqiBj

Thursday, May 20, 2021

The headline this morning read: "The Pandemic Was Bad for Our Teeth."  That was hardly news to me, since I visited my periodontist yesterday afternoon for the first time since December 2019 and learned that, having sent his kids to college and grad school and buying them a cozy beach house, there was still more that I could do on their behalf unless I want to live out my days on peanut butter sandwiches.

Friday, May 21, 2021

Possibly the worst answer to the current strife between Palestinians and Israelis would be a single state, one person/one vote.  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/19/opinion/israel-palestine.html?searchResultPosition=1  

 

A Palestinian statistician estimated that, by the end of 2022, "the number of Palestinians and Jews (living between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River) will be equal at about 7.1 million each."  https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/number-of-jews-and-palestinians-will-be-equal-at-end-of-2022-653884   

 

Currently, Jews make up 80% of the population within Israel's borders.  Yet, with this demographic profile, Israel has failed to elect a government after four elections in less than two years.  Imagine the chaos resulting from a less ethnically homogeneous electorate, that is if you can even consider the Hasidic-to-hipster Jewish continuum homogeneous at all.

 

By the way, if the idea of blending two disparate populations into a viable entity appeals to you, get in touch with the Catalans, Basques, Czechs, Slovaks, Serbs, Croatians, Kosovans, Québécois, Uyghurs, Hugenots, Kurds, Hutus and Tutsis among other restless folk.  Oh, don't forget our friends in Northern Ireland.

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Answer = TOUPEE