Members of the Tribe are celebrating today following the 72nd Emmy Awards nominations, which recognized returning favorites “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “The Kominsky Method,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Schitt’s Creek” with multiple nods and honored the limited series “Unorthodox” with eight nominations, including Shira Haas’ lead performance.
“Maisel’s” 20 nominations include repeat honors for previous winners Rachel Brosnahan, Alex Borstein, Tony Shalhoub, director Amy Sherman-Palladino, and Luke Kirby, plus nods in the costumes, cinematography, casting, production design, hairstyling, and makeup categories.
The cast of Schitt’s Creek.
Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin scored repeat nominations for “The Kominsky Method,” which will compete for Outstanding Comedy Series opposite “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” and “Schitt’s Creek.” Among the latter’s 20 nominations include nods for Eugene Levy and Daniel Levy.
Now four-time Emmy nominee Tracee Ellis Ross, received a nod for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy for her role in “Black-ish.”
In addition to Haas’ first-ever nomination and an Outstanding Limited Series nomination, “Unorthodox” received recognition in eight categories, writing, directing, costumes, casting and music among them.
Shira Haas in “Unorthodox”; Photo courtesy of Netflix
Bette Midler got a nod for her hilarious guest actress turn in “The Politician,” and both D’Arcy Carden and Maya Rudolph will represent “The Good Place” for their supporting and guest actress roles. Julia Garner received a supporting actress nomination for “Ozark,” and perennial “Simpsons” winner Hank Azaria was honored again for his voiceover work on the series.
Jerry Seinfeld got a double nomination, for his “23 Hours to Kill” stand-up special and his series “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.” “The World According to Jeff Goldblum” will compete against the latter in the hosted nonfiction series category. “Tiffany Haddish: Black Mitzvah” was nominated for Outstanding Variety Special, and “Amy Schumer Learns to Cook” was recognized in the reality series category.
(JTA) — Sen. David Perdue, a Georgia Republican, removed a campaign ad from Facebook that showed an image of his Jewish challenger, Jon Ossoff, with his nose apparently elongated.
Photos of Ossoff and New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, a fellow Democrat and also Jewish, appear under the heading in all capitals “Democrats are trying to buy Georgia! Help David Perdue Fight Back.”
The ad follows a string of incidents shining a light on the anti-Semitic canard of Jews using money to control politics.
A spokeswoman for Perdue said in a statement Monday that the ad was an “unintentional error” by an unnamed vendor outside of the campaign and the image has been removed from Facebook. The ad ran for five days before it was deleted.
“Anybody who implies that this was anything other than an inadvertent error is intentionally misrepresenting Senator Perdue’s strong and consistent record of standing firmly against anti-Semitism and all forms of hate,” the spokeswoman said.
“Sitting U.S. Senator David Perdue’s digital attack ad distorted my face to enlarge and extend my nose. I’m Jewish. This is the oldest, most obvious, least original anti-Semitic trope in history. Senator, literally no one believes your excuses,” Ossoff said.
The Forward first reported that the image appeared manipulated, noting that it was taken from a 2017 Reuters photo. Graphic design experts told the Forward that the nose in the image was manipulated while the rest of the face remained the same. The Perdue campaign said the distortion occurred when the photo was resized and filtered.
Ossoff, who once interned for the late Rep. John Lewis, was endorsed by the late civil rights leader.
He lost a close 2017 race for the U.S. House of Representatives in suburban Atlanta.
Sitting U.S. Senator David Perdue's digital attack ad distorted my face to enlarge and extend my nose.
I'm Jewish.
This is the oldest, most obvious, least original anti-Semitic trope in history.
“‘Fauda’ doesn’t have happy endings. We’re trying to be realistic.”
So said Avi Issacharoff, co-creator of the hit Netflix series, in a July 22 online conversation with Daniel Gold, The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles’ vice president of community engagement. Issacharoff was interviewed as part of Federation’s “Escape to Israel” program, a six-week series of live Zoom events focused on the Jewish state, which runs through Aug. 12.
Issacharoff, who also serves as the Middle East analyst for The Times of Israel, said he was surprised “Fauda,” which has now screened three seasons, found an audience in America. “It’s totally crazy,” he said. “People in L.A. are watching my show. Even as a scriptwriter, I couldn’t write [this response].”
Co-creator Lior Raz also plays the lead role of flawed Israeli agent Doron Kavillio, who pursues Hamas terrorists in the West Bank, and “Fauda” has won legions of fans thanks to its gritty production, which opts for realism not just in its storylines but in its casting.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles’ Dan Gold interviews “Fauda” co-creator Avi Issacharoff as part of the Federation’s “Escape to Israel” program. Courtesy of the Federation
If the show’s success today seems like a given, Issacharoff said he had a hard time selling the show initially. “Who would want to watch a show about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?” he said. “It is the most boring issue on Earth. It is the unsexiest issue ever — for Israelis and for Palestinians. But sometimes, miracles happen.”
“Who would want to watch a show about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? It is the most boring issue on Earth. It is the unsexiest issue ever — for Israelis and for Palestinians. But sometimes, miracles happen.” — Avi Issacharoff
Part of that miracle may have something to do with the fact that Issacharoff and Raz have known each other since they were in high school in Jerusalem. Issacharoff said he’d always been intimidated by Raz, who was in 12th grade when Issacharoff was in 10th grade, but they eventually ended up in the military reserves together, eliminating the perception of an age gap.
One evening in 2010, they were at a party together. Raz expressed his desire to make a movie about his military service and Issacharoff shared his wish to write a book about it. “I was a journalist. I didn’t have in mind to write a TV show,” Issacharoff said. Two weeks later, the two met in Tel Aviv and began brainstorming ideas, which is how “Fauda” (“chaos” in Arabic), was born.
Along with discussing his show, Issacharoff shared his opinions on prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace. He said Israelis have to work toward a two-state solution even if the possibility of one today is unlikely. “I truly think we as Israelis should aspire for a two-state solution more than anyone else in the world,” he said.
Asked by Gold what people could read to better understand the challenges facing Israel, Issacharoff recommended his own newspaper before highlighting the responsibilities of journalists today.
“Journalists have a sacred role,” he said. “They have mission and we have to keep that in mind. They want to bring you the story and they want to bring you the facts.”
As to the future of “Fauda,” Issacharoff confirmed there would be a fourth season but noted, “It’s very difficult to shoot now because of the coronavirus.”
Israeli tour guide Yishai Sabag (left) gives a virtual tour of a moshav near the Gaza Strip as part of the Federation’s “Escape to Israel” program. Courtesy of the Federation
Virtual Escape to Israel with L.A. Federation
As part of The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles’ “Escape to Israel” series, Avi Issacharoff’s portrayal of Hamas in “Fauda” was amplified in the program by Israeli tour guide Yishai Sabag leading a virtual tour of the southern Israeli moshav Nativ Ha’asarah, which has repeatedly come under Hamas rocket attacks from Gaza.
Sabag highlighted the challenges facing residents with their homes located just 2 miles from Gaza. In the event of a rocket attack, residents have 15 seconds to seek shelter after the siren goes off, Sabag said.
He also led viewers on a virtual tour of Path to Peace, a mosaic decorating the separation wall between Israel and Gaza.
Gold told the Journal the “Escape to Israel” series reflects how Federation has pivoted during the pandemic. During a typical summer, the organization leads missions to Israel for donors as well as non-Jewish high school educators as part of its Holy Land Democracy Project. But with travel now curtailed, Federation decided to bring what it believes to be the most alluring aspects of Israel into people’s homes.
“This is for all audiences, interest groups and age groups,” Gold said. “Like the Birthright Israel guide, our goal is to give the most broad overview of Israel.”
The free program has featured webinars with experts in politics and history; live guided tours of Israel’s landmarks from the Western Wall to the Shuk (market); from Mount Herzl to Yad Vashem; and conversations with Federation partners in Israel, including Unistream, which aims to bridge Israel’s socioeconomic divide, and Israel Trauma Coalition, which has responded to mass casualty incidents around the world from Haiti to Sri Lanka.
To view an upcoming “Escape to Israel” program or to watch a recording of a past session, click here.
Jerusalem: assaulted by Assyrians, Babylonians, Romans.
They didn’t destroy a building;
they shattered a covenantal promise:
that the world might reflect the Divine,
that humanity will live united
that peace and justice can someday kiss.
So long ago, the Holy Temple burned
and the values it envisioned
were trampled under Roman sandals
under the ensign of an Imperial eagle.
Roman might snuffing out Israel’s prophecy of lions and lambs.
What’s changed?
Today, Black churches burn.
ISIS murders men, women, children, Muslims and nonbelievers.
Glaciers melt, monsoons swirl, our earth seems to spew us out.
And we, we cling to our guns and proceed to murder one another,
“accidentally” regularly killing our loved ones and refusing to examine our ways,
like dogs returning to their vomit.
We imprison an entire generation of youth
where we teach them to be truly hard, to abandon hope.
Who destroyed the Temple of old?
Imperial Assyria. Ruthless Rome.
Who is destroying the Temple today?
Well, really,
Who isn’t?
Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson is the Abner & Roslyn Goldstine Dean’s Chair and professor of philosophy at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies.
A car belonging to a recent Ohio State University (OSU) graduate was vandalized on July 22 with swastikas and other anti-Semitic graffiti.
Cleveland Jewish News (CJN) reported the car, a 2016 Mazda CX5, had the swastikas scratched on the outside of the vehicle, as were the words “I love Nazi” and “Nazi b—h.’
A Jewish student had her car vandalized this morning at @OhioState … #swastikas and “nazi bi*ch” were keyed into her car.
The car belonged to Christie Cannon, who recently graduated from OSU, according to CJN. It’s not clear when the vandalism happened, but neighbors say they heard car alarms go off around 4 a.m. on July 22.
Police are investigating the matter.
On July 1, swastikas were found on an OSU mural dedicated to George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Cleveland and OSU’s Hillel issued a joint statement at the time stating, “This is the fourth time in six weeks that the Ohio University ‘free speech zone’ has been defaced with racist, anti-Semitic graffiti. We are appalled and saddened that this continues to happen. It would be despicable on its own to have swastikas and an SS symbol spray painted in the area, but the fact that these hateful symbols were drawn over images of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery is sickening. This is a time for us to unite in a fight for justice and equality and we will not let hate and division stop us.”
(JTA) — The influential British rapper Wiley, suspended from Twitter after posting a series of anti-Semitic messages there, moved his social media rants about Jews to Facebook, where he threatened to come to a largely Jewish populated neighborhood of London and singled out Jewish public figures who have been critical of him.
Facebook promptly suspended his account on Tuesday, saying his posts violate its policies, according to the BBC.
“Golders green yes see you soon I will come on my own,” Wiley wrote, referencing the largely Jewish-populated London neighborhood.
“Who called the police? Are you from Golders Green? I am coming to sit down with you in Golders Green …” he added, according to Britain’s Jewish News, which captured screen shots of the comments.
On Friday, Wiley had tweeted comments such as “I don’t care about Hitler, I care about black people.”
In response to Jewish comedian David Baddiel, who said in a radio interview that “there has not been anyone with such an enormous platform” who has come at the Jewish community “so blatantly before,” Wiley said “Cos everyone was scared that’s why.”
Several of the posts were deleted hours later, the Jewish News reported. The posts are scattered throughout others that attack slavery and discrimination against Blacks.
The new messages come after the rapper, whose name is Richard Kylea Cowie, posted a series of anti-Semitic messages on Twitter on Friday, leading his Jewish manager to quit. Twitter deleted several of the tweets, saying they violated the platform’s rules, and suspended Wiley.
Wiley responded on Facebook that as “soon as I get back on Twitter it’s gonna be peak.”
The Board of Deputies of British Jews president, Marie van der Zyl, called on Facebook to remove Wiley from the platform in a statement on Tuesday.
