The New Philosemitism and other current affairs
A lot of talk surrounding High Holidays
(Middle) East meets West (Toronto): Phoebe Maltz Bovy reflects on the new normal
A year ago, I had a vivid nightmare about apocalyptic war. As someone who normally dreams about things like discovering a cheese shop I hadn’t known existed, this startled me to say the least. I woke up and realized this was either some kind of unconscious communing with the Jewish people or that I had (I don’t think this was it, but cannot rule it out) glanced at my phone in the middle of the night, forgotten this, and fallen back asleep.
Nothing is the same since Oct. 7, 2023. Not globally, but globally is beyond my expertise, even if I have studied Hebrew and spent more time in Israel than some freshly-minted experts. This being The Canadian Jewish News, I am going local…
We discuss why The CJN Magazine featured watermelon earrings and a keffiyeh on its cover
The cover illustration of the fall issue of The Canadian Jewish News Magazine drew hundreds of responses from readers across the country.
The image depicted a fictional family gathered for Rosh Hashanah. This family included a matronly woman in an apron wearing a yellow ribbon in support of bringing the hostages home; a young girl with a dog tag necklace in support of the Israel Defense Forces; two bearded men in a heated discussion; someone looking at footage of an explosion posted to Instagram on their smartphone; one woman clutching her forehead in apparent disappointment or frustration; and, most controversially, a young woman sporting a keffiyeh and watermelon earrings—a symbol of Palestinian solidarity.
The magazine’s editor-in-chief, Hamutal Dotan, joined Rabbi Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy for a robust discussion of the logic behind the drawing. After that, they discuss Phoebe’s and Avi’s articles inside: one on what Judaism has to say about Zion as a historic homeland for Jewish people, and one on the new philosemitism that’s arisen since Oct. 7.
The New Philosemitism: Phoebe Maltz Bovy investigates the changing face of an age-old tradition
(Original artwork by Ezra Baderman for The Canadian Jewish News.)
Also from the same magazine issue: What do we mean by ‘Zion’? Avi Finegold explores multiple ideas of homeland