Cultural antisemitism only encourages pro-Israel sentiment: Phoebe Maltz Bovy on the foolishness of hassling Diaspora Jews ‘for Palestine’
My local café—the place I chat with fellow public-elementary-school parents after drop-off, where I buy coffee beans, and indeed where I have meetings with colleagues from The CJN—has taken a stand on the Israeli-Gaza war. It is, how to put it, all in for Palestine. There’s a sign in the window. There are flyers spread across the counter. Message received. I think?
I took note of this when I was there the last time, and had the following thoughts, all muddled together:
Does this mean I can’t go here anymore?
But I am ALSO upset about all the death in Gaza, even if I suspect I’d have a different let’s say geopolitical interpretation than my local coffee shop does.
Does the cafe even have a coherent position on Palestine?
Is their ‘Free Palestine’ aligned with the ‘Victory to Palestine’ neighbourhood signage (which I am not on board with) or more of an ‘everyone stop killing each other’ (which I very much am)?
How pathetic am I that here I am, wondering where I will now buy coffee beans (theirs are very good and extremely convenient), when people are starving in Gaza, when Hamas is still holding hostages, when [insert the usual reel of dead babies and wartime horrors that has been playing in my head but in other people’s actual lives since Oct. 7]?…
What does Judaism say about polyamory?
What is polyamory? It’s the modern, glamorous, feminist version of non-monogamy that’s branded as distinct from the old, patriarchal polygamy—often a man having multiple wives. Polyamory essentially refers to open relationships, in which couples are free to have sex with anyone they like, but remain fundamentally committed to each other.
Co-host Phoebe Maltz Bovy recently read and reviewed a new memoir by Jewish author Molly Roden Winter, More: A Memoir of Open Marriage. And it got her thinking. What does Judaism say about all this? What does the Talmud say about threesomes? She quizzes resident rabbi Avi Finegold about what Jewish law says about marriage, commitment and the essence of love.
Can polyamory save this marriage? Phoebe Maltz Bovy reviews the book ‘More’ by Molly Roden Winter
Avi Finegold once met Brian Mulroney at a Congregation Shaar Hashomayim event in Montreal. After his passing, The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner offered 18 things worth remembering about Brian Mulroney’s support for Canadian Jews and Israel.