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This week in power: DNC, Berlin, Yiddish curses, Fill the Void

[additional-authors]
September 6, 2012

A roundup of the most talked about political and global stories in the Jewish world this week:

Jerusalem mention
The Democratic National Convention started off without reference to the struggles in Israel, which upset some party constituents. In particular, they ” target=”_blank”>said Daniel Seidemann at The Daily Beast. But for some the issue doesn't even resonate. “I’ll take another four years of Mr. Obama’s steadfast support over Mr. Romney’s sweet nothings,” ” target=”_blank”>targeted. However, some are fighting back through public displays of solidarity. “We are not going to accept that people will be attacked on our streets because they can be visibly recognized as being Jewish,” organizers of a flash mob protest of yarmulke-wearers on Saturday ” target=”_blank”>according to reports. Some have called the resolution an attack on free speech. “We're certainly looking forward to seeing a resolution early next session that will reassure college students of their First Amendment rights, especially those with dissenting opinions on critical topics such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” ” target=”_blank”>further.

Yiddish + election season
A new site has delighted people across the political divide. It's called YiddishCursesForRepublicanJews.com and it's filled up with thousands of curses that has driven hundreds of thousands to the site over its first week. “The intention has been to effect some kind of political discourse within families, hopefully for the better,” ” target=”_blank”>she wrote in Tablet.

Tel Aviv movie
The ultra-Orthodox Jewish community of Tel Aviv hits the big screen in the new movie, “Fill the Void,” at the Venice festival. It “offers a rare glimpse into the Orthodox way of life, its rigid customs and traditions, but also deals with the wider themes of relationships and family pressures,” ” target=”_blank”>said Jay Weissberg at Variety. Not everyone was so high on it. “The comedy is often charming, and far more successful than the more somber, slightly inelegantly-written melodrama, but it’s the way the two butt together that really sinks the picture – the laughs come at the expense of the stakes of the drama, and the more serious moments makes it tougher to laugh at the comedy,” ” target=”_blank”>critics say, to give the film a shot.

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