Israel News Today

Ninety-year-old Allen Schick is a fan of Trader Joe’s Brooklyn Babka. An observant Jew, he buys the kosher treat at the store near his home in Silver Spring, Maryland, when it’s in stock. It’s a faint reminder of the babkas that his mother Renee used to hand-braid in her Borough Park bakery. The retired University of Maryland political science professor had never read the $5.99 babka’s online description until I emailed it to him: “Trader Joe’s Chocolate Brooklyn Babka is made for us by a small, kosher bakery in — where else? — Brooklyn, New York, that literally grew out of their grandmother’s kitchen.” The marketing copy refers to his very own mother’s kitchen. But it’s no longer made in a small, kosher bakery and has only a sentimental connection to his family. Allen Schick, 90, can still remember the taste of his mother Renee Schick’s homemade babka. Photo by Rina Castelnuovo Allen wasn’t aware that the babkas are now made by Brooklyn Brands, a subsidiary of Taguchi & Co...

Since the fall of the Assad regime, the search for detainees in Syria’s notorious prisons has brought both heartbreak and revelations, as families mourn the missing and uncover brutal executions from ynet - News https://ift.tt/UcfNw25

Liberal regime with legitimacy, space for opposition, mostly homogeneous society and strong Western ties: Despite concerns for kingdom's future, it’s far more stable than Assad’s Syria; 'It’s hard to act against Jordan,' expert says; here’s why a rebellion is unlikely from ynet - News https://ift.tt/m9iCDvN

I’m always surprised when friends say they can’t be bothered to make homemade latkes for Hanukkah. Takeout latkes or latkes from the frozen foods section or a mix never taste as good as latkes made from scratch. There’s nothing like a golden potato pancake served hot and crispy right out of the frying pan. Besides, what’s so complicated? You shred 2½ pounds of potatoes (Idaho russet potatoes are ideal) and a yellow onion or two; combine with three eggs, a teaspoon or more of salt, pepper and ¼ cup of matzo meal or flour, then form the patties and fry. But the prep and frying are time-consuming, and there are many pitfalls on the path to latke perfection. I should know: I learned the hard way — by screwing up. My mistakes also led me to discover four secrets to making great latkes. Here they are. Pro tip No. 1: Don’t peel or shred those potatoes until you are ready to cook them. Once when the first night of Hanukkah fell on a weeknight, I did my latke prep in advance. I figured that...

Andrea Nizoli and Pietro Balzano talk with Ynet about their efforts to cooperate with Israeli universities and hostilities against Jewish and Israeli students by pro-Palestinians on campus from ynet - News https://ift.tt/y9JQ8re

There is an unmistakable sense emerging in Israel that a deal to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas may be imminent. That’s because the two players who have been delaying a deal – Hamas and Benjamin Netanyahu – face a changed landscape. In the case of Hamas, this is a litany of failure; its cataclysmic decision to attack Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 has clearly backfired, to the point that a reset is needed. With the Israeli prime minister, Israel’s considerable successes since the summer offer a chance to turn around the narrative that says Oct. 7 happened on his watch, and therefore he must go. Moreover, his patron, President-elect Donald Trump, wants the war to end, and that will be tough for Netanyahu to ignore. Let’s look at Hamas first. Yes, it can be said that Hamas are nihilists who want catastrophe and thrive off it, and that’s undoubtedly true. But even a twisted calculus needs to win over people, and Hamas is right now convincing far too few. It is true that Israel was...

Troops scanning areas near the Litani and Saluki rivers as implementation of the cease-fire deal progresses at a slow pace; U.S.-led international monitoring commission also begins work although it is still in early stages  from ynet - News https://ift.tt/RIZKeC0

Commentary: Assad’s regime collapse marks a rare moment, but Syria’s new leadership may eventually demand the return of the Golan Heights; in his final hours in power, Assad raged, attempted bribery and accused his generals of corruption before fleeing from ynet - News https://ift.tt/EURe2PB

Former state prosecutor Moshe Lador urges voluntary pilots to refuse service if Israel 'becomes a dictatorship' as government reintroduces some parts of plan to reform judiciary, sparking condemnation from across political spectrum from ynet - News https://ift.tt/Oc7do8G

Adam Boehler to meet with Katz and discuss potential hostage deal; Netanyahu calls Hamas videos 'cruel psychological warfare' from ynet - News https://ift.tt/1SA5j4u

Absolute Bagels was the subject of the first haiku I wrote on some forgotten holiday more than a decade ago: Everything’s closed But there’s a line out the door At the bagel store There is no science to choosing the world’s best bagel, but for the hordes of neighborhood regulars, Columbia students and TikToking tourists, there was none better than Absolute. Black Seed? Please. St. Viateur? Not even close. Tompkins Square? Dunno — never tried. The bagels at Bo’s may be more pristinely formed and come with a greater variety of unconventional toppings, but they still don’t approach Absolute’s sublimity. When you’re trying to find a decent bagel at 4 in the morning, I’d go with New York Bagel & Bialy just outside Chicago because in over 60 years, they’ve never done the one thing that Absolute Bagels did yesterday  — close. Apparently for good. News has been spreading fast that Samak Thongkrieng, who founded Absolute Bagels in the ’90s, has shuttered the store that routinely ...

A young woman is gingerly applying lipstick for her upcoming date, unaware of the horrible fate awaiting her. This may sound like the description of a new Netflix drama but it’s actually a scene in a poem inspired by the parshah (Torah portion) Vayishlach , in which Jacob’s daughter Dina is abducted and violated by a Canaanite prince. The poem, “Dina bas Yankev Goes on a Rendez-vous,” was written by the great Yiddish songwriter Itsik Manger . The poem about Dina’s abduction appears in a new blog that matches each week’s parshah with works from Yiddish literature with the same theme. The blog, Dos gezang fun der sedre (The song of the parshah), was created by Sheva Zucker ,  a renowned Yiddish instructor and author of Yiddish textbooks. It’s a veritable treasure for anyone wanting to expand their knowledge of Yiddish literature, and also become more familiar with the stories of the Torah. Although the parshah says that Jacob’s only daughter is abducted and raped by the Canaanite...

( JTA ) — Driving the northernmost spur of Israel’s Road 886, it’s hard not be astonished by just how close Israelis and their Hezbollah foes lived to one another before the war that began 14 months ago. In the panhandle known as the Finger of the Galilee, Road 886 runs south-to-north along the Ramim Ridge, a 3,000-foot-high range in the Naftali Mountains dotted with small Israeli towns and kibbutzim that overlook Israel’s lush Hula Valley to the east and a smattering of Lebanese villages to the west. The road terminates at Misgav Am, a storied Israeli kibbutz right on the border fence that’s closer to the Lebanese village of Udaysah than to any town in Israel. When I drove the length of this road several days after the announcement of Israel’s ceasefire with Hezbollah — and shortly before Israeli troops entered nearby Syria after the fall of the government there — signs of war were everywhere. At one clearing in the woods, spent artillery canisters and detritus left behind by sold...

( JTA ) — In “September 5,” the new movie depicting the abduction and murder of 11 Israeli athletes and coaches at the 1972 Munich Olympics, there are many echoes of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, 51 years, and one month later. Both are historical tragedies involving the murder of Israelis by Palestinian terrorists; both involved the taking of hostages, some of whom were American citizens; and both are remembered with the invocation of a specific date. But “September 5” — which opens in limited release this week and is already drawing awards chatter — was not in any way conceived in response to Oct. 7. The movie had been filmed, and was already in the post-production process, at the time of the 2023 attack. “I think it will certainly have an effect on how audiences will see the film, but I also think that our film is clearly about a specific moment in history, and or let’s say, even more specifically, a moment in media history, and about that turning point,” Tim Fehlbaum, the film’...