Daily Briefing: WHAT’S WITH THE EU?

SHABBAT READING

Id and Superego: The Two Flood Stories and the Human Condition:  Rabbi David Bigman, The Torah.com, Nov. 4, 2016   — The flood story ends with the famous verse:
^{בראשית ח:כא}  וַיָּרַח יְ-הוָה אֶת רֵיחַ הַנִּיחֹחַ וַיֹּאמֶר יְ-הוָה אֶל לִבּוֹ לֹא אֹסִף לְקַלֵּל עוֹד אֶת הָאֲדָמָה בַּעֲבוּר הָאָדָם כִּי יֵצֶר לֵב הָאָדָם רַע מִנְּעֻרָיו.
^{Gen 8:21}
YHWH smelled the pleasing odor, and YHWH said to Himself: “Never again will I doom the earth because of man, since the devisings of man’s mind are evil from his youth. The meaning of this verse seems to be straightforward – people’s impulse is evil already from their youth, and for the rest of their life. This seems to be a decreed fate, such that nothing is accomplished by cursing the earth because of humanity.

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REMEMBERING                      

WATCH:  Bernard-Henri Lévy on Why Israel Stands Alone:  Jonathan S. Tobin, JNS, Oct. 10, 2024:  — “Think Twice” with Jonathan Tobin and guest Bernard-Henri Lévy, Ep. 152 — “No matter where they live, Jews know that their world changed forever on Oct. 7,” says JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin.

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October 7 and the Battle for the West:  Arthur Herman, Mosaic, Oct. 15, 2024
President of EJC to ‘Post’: A Jewish Future in Europe Is Threatened by the Takeover of ‘Orbanism’:  Eldad Beck, Jerusalem Post, Oct. 31, 2024
The Betrayal of Literature:  Melanie Phillips, Substack, Oct. 30, 2024
Though Designated a Terror Group, Hamas Funding Thrives in Europe:  David Isaac, JNS, Oct. 21, 2024

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For Further Reference:

Sally Rooney’s anti-Israel Intolerance:  Hugo Timms, Spiked, Oct. 31, 2024 — This week, more than a thousand authors and publishing professionals announced their intention to boycott Israeli cultural institutions deemed to be ‘complicit in the dispossession of the Palestinian people’. 
 
Nobel and Pulitzer Winners Denounce ‘Dangerous’ Israel Cultural Boycott:  Nadia Khomami, The Guardian, Oct. 30, 2024 — More than 1,000 figures from the literary and entertainment industry – including several Nobel laureates, Pulitzer prize, and Booker prize winners – have signed an open letter against “illiberal and dangerous” cultural boycotts.
 
Spain’s Israel Problem:  Daniel S. Mariaschin, JNS, Oct. 15, 2024 — It should come as no surprise that Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has joined the call for an arms embargo against Israel. Spain is now in the company of Canada, France and the United Kingdom in calling for or enacting either a full or partial arms embargo.
 
Europa Europa: “Never Again” has Become Conditional: Alex Benjamin and Yossi Lempkowicz, European Jewish Press, Oct. 30, 2024 — Last year’s Rosh Hashana (“Jewish New Year”, September 16-17, 2023), Jews across Europe gathered, unaware of the imminent evil lurking beyond the horizon, beyond all understanding in its cruelty and barbarism.
 
23 EU Member States Have So Far Adopted a Strategy to Combat Antisemitism:  Yossi Lempkowicz, European Jewish Press, Oct. 14, 2024 — Of the 23 member states, 14 have developed an alone-standing  strategy and 9 have included dedicated measures in broader strategies against racism, against extremism or to promote human rights