I Have No Other Land

The Oscars, Again: As Abq Jew is sure you have heard - No Other Land, which chronicles Israel’s demolitions in the Judaean Palestinian West Bank village of Masafer Yatta, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

More importantly - Israeli superstar Gal Gadot, resplendent in a slinky red gown, appeared with her husband, Jaron Varsano, on the red carpet. And she also presented an award for Best Visual Effects with her Snow White co-star, Rachel Zegler, who has often posted support for Palestine.

And this year was way better than last year! The Jerusalem Post recalls:

There were many pins this year, but most, like the glittery one that Best Actor winner Adrien Brody wore, were likely apolitical fashion statements....

Last year, many red pins given out for Artists4Ceasefire were seen on the red carpet. The Brigade, a group created by pro-Israel film industry professionals after October 7, released a statement last month condemning the Artist4Ceasefire pins, which are red and depict a stylized hand, saying, 

“That pin is no symbol of peace. 
It is the emblem of Jewish bloodshed,” 

since it was inspired by a photo of the bloody hands of a member of a mob that lynched two soldiers in the West Bank in 2000. 

Everyone everyone remembers that photo.
Abq Jew will not show it here.

But back to the Academy Awards and No Other Land. 

Just three months ago (see December 2024's Korin Allal, Musician, Dies at 69) Abq Jew showcased Korin Allal's most famous song - “Ein Li Eretz Acheret” (“I Have No Other Land”). With lyrics by famed Israeli songwriter Ehud Manor.

Written in 1982 in the midst of the First Lebanon War, its haunting melody and defiant lyrics are particularly relevant today. 

Its primary message is reminiscent of the famous quotation by Golda Meir: 

“We Jews have a secret weapon in our struggle with the Arabs; we have no place to go.” 

But it goes on to pledge, “I will not stay silent because my country changed her face/I will not give up reminding her/And sing in her ears until she will open her eyes.

 Click here for video

This song reminds us of why we fight when forced into battle time and time again by neighboring countries who seek only to destroy our Jewish State.

אין לי ארץ אחרת

Ein li eretz acheret
I have no other country

גם אם אדמתי בוערת

gam im admati bo'eret
even if my land is burning.

רק מילה בעברית חודרת

Rak milah b'ivrit choderet
Just a word in Hebrew penetrates

אל עורקיי, אל נשמתי

el orakai, el nishmati
to my veins, to my soul.

בגוף כואב, בלב רעב

B'guf ko'ev, b'lev ra'ev
With a weak body, with a hungry heart.

כאן הוא ביתי

kan hu beiti
Here is my home.

*
לא אשתוק

Lo eshtok
I will not stay silent

כי ארצי שינתה את פניה

ki artzi shinta et paneha
because my country changed her face.

לא אוותר לה

Lo evater la
I will not give up on her

אזכיר לה

Azkir la
I will remind her.

ואשיר כאן באוזניה

V'ashir kan b'ozneha
And I will sing right into her ears

עד שתפקח את עיניה

Ad sheh-tiftach et eineha
until she will open her eyes.

Why is Abq Jew angry?

Because the No Other Land film stole our song - its Jewish title, its Jewish meaning, and the Jewish history it portrays. And no one said anything.

Future of Jewish has published a more complete picture of what happened at Masafer Yatta. With facts and context.

The award for Best (Antisemitic) Documentary goes to...

Of the many reviews of the newly Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” none of them even hint at the facts. The film is pure propaganda meant to incite people to hate Israel.

In June of 1982, Israel Prize laureate and much-loved songwriter Ehud Manor was sitting with his wife Ofra in the living room, watching the news on television. The news item was about the First Lebanon War between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization attacking Israel from Lebanon.

Ofra recalled this event vividly: “We saw footage of Israeli soldiers entering Beirut. Ehud broke down. I’m telling you, he was weeping. He said: ‘I cannot take it’ — and then he began jotting down words on a piece of paper.”

Those words went on to become the song, “Ein Li Eretz Acheret” (Hebrew for “I Have No Other Country”) — voted time and again as Israel’s favorite song, and its title morphed into a popular catchphrase throughout Israel.

Two days ago, the 97th Academy Awards (The Oscars) gave its Best Documentary award to a film that plagiarized “Ein Li Eretz Acheret” and conspicuously spun it to demonize Israel.

Israel Bachar, Israel’s Consul General in Los Angeles, tweeted in response to the Oscars ceremony:

“If Hollywood wants to watch a Palestinian documentary,
I recommend that they watch the hundreds of hours
in which the Palestinians have documented themselves
murdering entire families, kidnapping the elderly and infants,
and committing every crime against humanity imaginable.”

In much, much happier and well-deserved news - Gal Gadot recently received the ADL's International Leadership Award. The ADL's website tells us:

Actress and Producer Gal Gadot was honored with the ADL International Leadership Award for her commitment to combating antisemitism. 

In her acceptance speech, the global icon added that 

“This is a time when many of us in the Jewish community have had to find our voice and confront the hatred against us, even if it’s extremely uncomfortable.

 Click here for video

Mayor Wu Plays Gershwin

Rhapsody in Blue with the Boston Pops: Please! Let's take another break from the harsh, terrible, sorrowful news of the day. Yes, Abq Jew fully recognizes that there are many - too many - who cannot take such a break. But let's, while we can.

From Steady, the Substack newsletter of Dan Rather - the American journalist, commentator, and former national evening news anchor. To which (especially his Reason to Smile columns) and to whom Abq Jew has referred many times in the past.

More Than a Mayor

In an attempt to remind us all that there are still elected officials out there who believe in serving their constituents and their communities, we have found a reason to smile: Michelle Wu, the mayor of Boston. And lest you think we are moving away from a musical focus, just wait.

Wu is the first woman and first person of color to hold the job. A daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, she is a self-described “pragmatic progressive.”

Her campaign website lays out her vision: “This moment is a call to action. To me, that means thinking big about how to build a more resilient, healthy, and fair Boston, and then having the courage and political will to fight for all of our families.” By most accounts, she is making good on those promises.

While doing all she can for the residents of Boston, Wu is also an accomplished musician. She started taking piano lessons at the age of four and has been playing ever since. On her first day at City Hall, she had a piano placed in her office. Wu must have found time to use it, if her performance with the Boston Pops is any measure.

Last September, Wu performed with the famed orchestra as part of Concert for the City, an free annual concert for the people of Boston.

The YouTube intro to the performance tells us:

At the Boston Symphony Orchestra's 2024 Concert for the City, Mayor Michelle Wu performed George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" with the Boston Pops. 

The Concert for the City is a free event that showcases all that the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops have to offer, alongside arts and music education partners and programs from throughout Greater Boston.

At the 2023 Concert for the City, Mayor Michelle Wu performed Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 in C, K.467 (2nd movement, Andante).

Mayor Wu returned to Symphony Hall this year to perform one of her favorite pieces, Georgie Gershwin's 1924 solo piano and jazz band musical composition, "Rhapsody in Blue."

Mayor Wu is a champion of the arts and music in Boston, helping to make arts education more accessible to young people through her Connect, Learn, Explore summer learning initiative and BPS Sundays, a program making certain museums, zoos, and cultural institutions free for Boston Public Schools students on the first and second Sundays of each month.

Click here for video 

After her performance, Mayor Wu wrote:

I had a wonderful time performing “Rhapsody in Blue” with the Boston Pops at the @bostonsymphony’s Concert for the City, alongside many incredibly talented musicians like the @bostonchildrenschorus, the @bforchestra, @veronicaroblesmariachi and more!

Events like this are what make Boston so special—seeing so much of the incredible talent and artistry that exists in our city, all in one place and entirely free.

I want to thank the BSO for opening their doors to our communities every year, and creating this opportunity for all of us to share in the magic of music’s company together.

Congratulations to all of the musicians on their incredible performances! Honored to share the stage with you and our Boston Pops!

Surely you, Abq Jew's loyal readers, know the answer to this one! But just in case, Wikipedia reminds us all -  

George Gershwin (/ˈɡɜːrʃ.wɪn/; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and An American in Paris (1928), the songs "Swanee" (1919) and "Fascinating Rhythm" (1924), the jazz standards "Embraceable You" (1928) and "I Got Rhythm" (1930), and the opera Porgy and Bess (1935), which included the hit "Summertime".

And of Rhapsody in Blue, Wikipedia tells us:

Rhapsody in Blue is a 1924 musical composition for solo piano and jazz band by George Gershwin. Commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman, the work combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects and premiered in a concert titled "An Experiment in Modern Music" on February 12, 1924, in Aeolian Hall, New York City. Whiteman's band performed the rhapsody with Gershwin playing the piano. 

So. About Boston. 

As Abq Jew has pointed out (see July 2024's Our House), Mr & Mrs Abq Jew no longer have close family who live in New York City or in New York State. 

And here in Albuquerque, New Mexico - where our own Mayor Tim Keller celebrates music in his own way - well, Mr & Mrs Abq Jew do not, despite their best efforts over 15 years, have close family who live here. Alas.

But Mr & Mrs Abq Jew now have very close family who live in Rhode Island. Just a short drive to Boston, half-way to NH - where (see May 2021's Portsmouth Parking & The Jews) they also have very close family.

Shattered Dreams, Broken Lives

Never Forgive, Never Forget: Statement from Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters, Wednesday, February 19:

We received the heart-shattering news that Shiri Bibas, her children Ariel and Kfir, and Oded Lifshitz are no longer with us. 

This news cuts like a knife through our hearts,
the families’ hearts, and the hearts
of people all over the world.

Oded was a journalist and peace activist who helped found Kibbutz Nir Oz. He dedicated his life to helping others and transporting sick Gazans to Israeli hospitals, and his grandchildren called him "Super Grandpa" for his wisdom and love.

Shiri was a dedicated mother and accountant, known for her boundless kindness, who nurtured and cared for all the kibbutz children. She touched everyone's heart with her capacity for giving and love for others. 

Ariel, just four-year-old when kidnapped, loved Batman and playing with tractors in the garden. Baby Kfir, not-even-one-year-old when taken, had gorgeous red hair and a smile that could melt any person.

They weren't just names - they were beloved people, with families who cherished them, with dreams and futures stolen from them.

We grieve not only for them, but for the other precious lives lost, including four more deceased hostages who will be returned next week.

We will not rest. We will not stop fighting for every hostage who isn't part of the current deal - for those still alive, clinging to survival, desperate to return to their loved ones and begin healing. 

And for those we know are deceased - their families deserve the dignity of closure, the basic right to give their loved ones a proper burial.

Never Forgive. Never Forget.

A Great Love

Abundant & Eternal: Yes, right after Mr & Mrs Abq Jew celebrate their wedding anniversary every year, there appears on the civil, which is to say Christian, calendar the Feast of Saint Valentine. 

There's lots of Valentines and almost as many St Valentines, and the tradition of which particular Valentine they, which is to say Christians, feast for is, to say the least, ambiguous. But here we all are.

We Jews give and receive love, too - but, of course, not exactly like our neighbors. And we do not on observe the same day.  

For a couple thousand years (approximately), we've celebrated Tu b'Av, the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Av. My Jewish Learning tells us that Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said:

There were no better (i.e. happier) days for the people of Israel than the Fifteenth of Av and Yom Kippur[!], since on these days the daughters of Israel/Jerusalem go out dressed in white and dance in the vineyards. What were they saying? Young man, consider whom you choose (to be your wife)! (Ta’anit, Chapter 4)

We Jews do speak about abundant and eternal love. But when we do, we are usually speaking about the love of God for his people Israel. 

And its reciprocity. Most (arguably, as are most things Jewish) notably in the Ahavah Rabbah prayer, which we recite before the morning and evening Shema.

Which brings us to

Josh Warshawsky

"The preeminent voice of contemporary, soulful, exciting music within today’s Judaism." About whom (see October 2020's Music as Midrash and Prayer) Abq Jew has written before. And whose website tells us:

Rabbi Josh Warshawsky is a pray-er, gatherer, music creator, and lifelong meaning-seeker. 

He is the rabbi at Congregation Agudas Achim in Bexley, OH, and a nationally touring Jewish musician, songleader, composer, and teacher of Torah. Josh seeks to build intentional praying communities, and travels to synagogues and Jewish communities across the country sharing his music and teachings on prayer and meaningful living. 

He has released four albums of Jewish music, filled with melodies written intentionally to express the deep meaning of the words of our tradition. His latest album, “Chaverai Nevarech Vol. IV,” comes out February 6th!

Here is a video of Rabbi Josh Warshwasky and Coleen Dieker leading the Chaverai Nevarech Band in their rendition of Ahavah Rabbah.

Click here for video

Rabbi Josh always assembles the very best musicians and the very best of modern Jewish music for his back-up band. The Chaverai Nevarech Band continues that harmonic and harmonious tradition.

Abq Jew is especially excited to see (the guy in the green shirt at 1:05) Rabbi Noah Diamondstein as part of the Chaverai Nevarech Band.

Rabbi Noah is - as stated - also one of the very best. In his own right. 

Abq Jew knows this for a fact, because Rabbi Noah officiated - both beautifully and meaningfully - at (see November 2023's At the End of the Rainbow) the wedding of Mr & Mrs Abq Jew's wonderful daughter Alex to the equally wonderful Jake.

Want more music? Here is a video of Rabbi Josh Warshwasky and Coleen Dieker leading the Chaverai Nevarech Band in their rendition of Yom Shabbaton. Look for the guy in the green shirt.

Click here for video

And - as a special Valentine's Day / Shabbat treat - from (where else?) The New Yorker - the first three frames of Liana Fink's series on The Wife of Valor!

Click here for full series

Joining The 49ers

Old, Old News: This coming Shabbat (Shabbat Shirah!), Mr & Mrs Abq Jew will אי״ה celebrate the 49th anniversary of their wedding at NYC's Town & Village Synagogue (with reception following at the Waldorf Astoria).

Yes, Mr & Mrs Abq Jew will be 49ers! You, Abq Jew's loyal readers, may not know this, but - once upon a time, long, long ago, Mr & Mrs Abq Jew almost became true San Francisco 49ers.

Shortly after Abq Jew graduated (see June 2024's Religious Freedom? Meh., et al) fromThe Jewish Theological Seminary of America - and realized that there was no job in Jewish Education waiting for him anywhere in the US - Mr & Mrs Abq Jew (and Mickey the cat) took off for California, where Abq Jew grew up and where Abq Jew's parents z"l then lived. 

And where jobs were plentiful. In Silicon Valley, of course, which did not then include The City By The Bay. But The City was only 50 miles and a one-hour drive away, and it was so beautiful ....

So (see December 2021's Joseph Dreams) anyway - Mr & Mrs Abq Jew wound up in Sunnyvale, in the heart (or, perhaps, another body part) of Silicon Valley. Where Abq Jew's 10-mile commute to work still took about 45 minutes, including the 15 minutes he needed just to get out of the driveway.

Do you like crossword puzzles? Abq Jew will do a middle-of-the-night Wordle, but Mrs Abq Jew will do crossword puzzles until the cats come home.

Now comes the magic - when Abq Jew puts
California, puzzles, and Shabbat Shirah together!

So. Abq Jew the Engineer grew up (if anyone ever does) in California. Junior high, high school, and 3 of 4 years in college (with one year at The Technion). 

Mrs Abq Jew the Artist grew up (as one does) in Brooklyn. Midwood High School. Undergrad years in Philly (with one year in Italy).

And thus, Abq Jew and Mrs Abq Jew approach, reconnoiter, attack, and occasionally defeat crossword puzzles differently. We help each other when indecision strikes, and laugh when one of us can actually decipher a clue.

A recent clue: "Pontiac muscle car." Three letters.

An East Coast artistic yet non-musical and certainly non-automotive upbringing did not provide the background Mrs Abq Jew needed to proclaim the answer:

GTO

Which Abq Jew, with his California upbringing, knew instinctively. (Here's where Shabbat Shirah - the Sabbath of Song - comes in.)

You see - Abq Jew grew up with California muscle cars. Although he walked to high school and only drove the family's 1962 4-door Dodge Lancer on off days - Abq Jew listened to Ronny and The Daytonas' song on the car radio. 

Abq Jew hears you shout. Wasn't that a Beach Boys song? I mean, didn't The Beach Boys also do GTO?

Well, yes, they did. The Beach Boys covered (as they say) "GTO." But said Beach Boys are much more famous for Little Deuce Coupe!

And here are the lyrics. Abq Jew knew you'd ask.

Little Deuce Coupe

Little Deuce Coupe, you don’t know what I got

Little Deuce Coupe, you don’t know what I’ve got

Well, I’m not braggin’ babe so don’t put me down

But I’ve got the fastest set of wheels in town

When something comes up to me he don’t even try

‘Cause if it had a set of wings man I know she could fly

She’s my little Deuce Coupe

You don’t know what I got

Little Deuce Coupe

You don’t know what I got

Just a little Deuce Coupe with a flathead mill

 But she’ll walk a Thunderbird like she’s standin’ still

She’s ported and relieved and she’s stroked and bored

She’ll do a hundred and forty in the top end floored

She’s my little Deuce Coupe

You don’t know what I got

She’s got a competition clutch with four on floor

And she purrs like a kitten till the lake pipes roar

And if that ain’t enough to make you flip your lid

There’s one more thing, I got the pink slip daddy

And comin’ off the line when the light turns green

Well, she blows ‘em outta the water like you never seen

I get pushed out of shape and it’s hard to steer

When I get rubber in all four gears

She’s my little Deuce Coupe

You don’t know what I got

But ... as Alice did, you may also ask:

What does it all mean?

Once upon a time, long, long ago, Abq Jew - the only Jew at his high school, scared and lonely and trying to fit in  - knew all about this stuff.

And don't get Abq Jew started about surfing.

The Longitude of Dogs

A Powder of Sympathy: Where the heck are we? Folks have been asking that question since well before F Troop. When The Holy One, Blessed Be He, asks us that question, the correct and most favored Biblical response has always been

Or, in its most recent and bravest iteration -

But where, exactly is here?

Way back in the Olden Days, Abq Jew recalls (see May 2017's Walking to Jerusalem), one could only find out where he was by a) asking for directions, which men (even then) never did; or by b) checking his good old Astrolabe (not, as it turns out, a Labe invented in Houston).

But as useful as an Astrolabe is (the sextant is even better), it could only determine one's north- or southiness from the Equator. 

Which is to say - one's latitude.

But how about one's longitude - one's east- or westiness from ... well from somewhere? As Abq Jew has pointed out - 

How hard? So hard that the British government established the Board of Longitude in 1714. Which issued a statement and announced a contest - with considerable prize money - to the first person who could figure out how to measure longitude at sea.

There were several attempts, and several different solutions offered. But it turned out that (Abq Jew is skipping the technical details here) the best way to figure east- or westiness required that the ship's navigator know exactly what time it was in the home port (or, eventually, in Greenwich). 

As compared with the [solar] time aboard ship.

Easy today. Back then, impossible. Clocks just weren't accurate enough, losing copious immeasurable seconds and minutes every day. What to do?

Rely on a dog - man's best friend. In this case - an injured, wounded dog. And on an ancient, pseudoscientific form of tele-medicine. As explained in New World Exploration -

One bizarre suggestion for telling time at home port was the wounded dog technique. This method depended on a miraculous substance called “powder of sympathy.” 

This mysterious powder was able to heal wounds from any distance merely by applying it to a piece of bandage that had been on an injured person. 

The important element of the procedure was that the patient felt a sharp pain at the moment the powder came in contact with a bandage that had touched the wound.    

Applying this strange phenomenon to finding latitude would require having a wounded dog on board every ship. 

Supposedly when the clock in London struck noon, someone there would dip bandages from all the dogs in the sympathy powder and the wounded dogs on ships anywhere in the world would yelp in pain, signaling that it was then noon in London. 

If a  ship’s navigator could then determine the solar time aboard ship he could calculate longitude. 

Even if the preposterous notion of sympathy powder were valid, the method would require a wounded dog on each ship and a person to dip many pieces of bandage in the powder at noon each day. Furthermore the poor dog’s wound would have to be kept open so the system could continue working. 

Fortunately this idea was never really taken seriously by anyone as no one could produce the powder of sympathy.

Longitude was eventually solved, the prize money was awarded, the health and well-being of our beloved and useful canine companions was preserved. 

All because clocks, aka chronometers, became way more accurate. Which leads us to the question -

On one hand - nothing. North- and southiness has - for us Jews - been solved. We Jews have always centered our maps on God, Torah, and - as must be stated these days - the Land of Israel. Jerusalem is now and has throughout history been our North Star.

But on the other hand - everything. It's the east- and westiness of the world and its religions, cultures, and politics that we Jews still struggle with - to understand and deal with them.

American Jews (in particular) have veered to the left of the political spectrum since we got here. But we now find that our formerly liberal friends are too "liberal" to support Jewish people and values.

Some American Jews have found solace in the politics of the right. But our new, conservative, Israel-supporting friends too often veer to the far right, antisemitic corners of the political spectrum.

So where the heck are we?

Stuck in the middle - with Jews.