Page 39 - Jewish News_November-2020

COMMENTARY November 2020 39A

The miracle of Israel’s diplomatic breakthroughs BRIEFS to bring the story of Cleopatra, Queen many slammed the choice of a white, have happened if the world had opened
Israeli actress to portray the role in-
of Egypt, to the big screen in a way
its doors to Jews trying to escape the
she’s never been seen before. To tell
rian who wrote her PhD thesis on the
others noted that Cleopatra was in fact
her story for the first time through stead of an Arab or Egyptian one, while Holocaust,” said Paula Draper, a histo-
bargo, once a powerful factor, is dead. continued from page 37A
Countries that used to believe doing GAL GADOT TO STAR AS women’s eyes, both behind and in front of Greek Macedonian descent. Canadian internment camps for Ger-
business with Israel meant no Arab of the camera,” Gadot tweeted. Gadot was recently reported to be man, Austrian and Italian Jews during
markets, know this is no longer the CLEOPATRA IN NEW FILM Cleopatra VII Philopator (69-30 one of the highest-paid actresses in the war.
case. Indeed, many Arab countries, ADAPTATION BCE) was the last pharaoh of the Ptol- Hollywood this year, coming in third “They were kept interned because
openly or just below the surface, are Gal Gadot is set to star as Cleopatra in emaic Kingdom of Egypt. Her rule and place in Forbes’ annual review with the Canadian government knew they
doing booming business with Israel, so a new film adaptation on the Queen of love affairs with the Roman Julius Cae- an income of $31.5 million. She made were Jews and didn’t want them in the
why should others, in Asia for exam-the Nile directed by Patty Jenkins, who sar and Mark Anthony were depicted the bulk of her income from the Net- country.” Still, she said, most of the
ple, deal themselves out of the game? collaborated with the Israeli actress on in the 1963 film bearing her name and flix film “Red Notice” in a year tradi- former internees are not bitter because,
Fifth, the fear of primary, second-the blockbuster Wonder Woman and starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard tional cinema was gravely affected by after all, they survived the Holocaust.
ary and even tertiary boycotts was es-its upcoming sequel Wonder Woman Burton, making her a popular culture the Coronavirus crisis. Wonder Woman (Julie Masis, Times of Israel)
pecially felt among energy importers, 1984. icon. 1984, which was meant to premiere in ISRAELI ARABS SEE
who relied heavily on Arab export- “As you might have heard, I teamed Gadot’s casting created somewhat December 2019, is now to be released OPPORTUNITY IN
ers. The global energy glut, reflected up with @PattyJenks and @LKalogridis of a storm on social media, where on December 25. (Naama Barak, Is-
both in supply and pricing, has total- rael21c) ACCORDS WITH BAHRAIN
ly changed the calculus. No country David Harris...continued from page 38A THE ARAB WORLD AND UAE
needs to fear a supply disruption today filled with official visitors from many sentatives to leadership posts, or gain IS HAVING A JEWISH The hearts of Israel’s Arabs are with
because of commerce with Israel. nations. support for key national priorities, they the Palestinian people, but on the other
And sixth, Israel is seen by many And my informal barometer of Is- need the majority of member states on REVOLUTION hand, they want to break out of Israel’s
as a global powerhouse, with espe- A critical consequence of the Abraham borders and reach the Gulf states where
cially strong ties to the United States, rael’s global standing – the arrivals and their side. And at the UN, that majority Accords is the normalization of Jews they can fulfill the Middle East’s ver-
continues to reflexively position itself
departures boards at Ben Gurion Air-
as well as India, Germany, the United port – reveals dramatic changes from a against Israel, even as, outside the pub- and Judaism in an Arab and Muslim sion of the American Dream.
Kingdom, Central and Eastern Europe, time not so long ago when the bulk of lic glare, many seek closer ties with society. That is a big deal. Since the agreement with the UAE
Central Asia, Japan, Brazil, Egypt and flights were to and from North America Jerusalem. During my time in Cairo in the late was announced, Israeli Arabs mostly
many other nations, not to mention 1990s and early 2000s, I was struck by talked about the possible economic,
There remains much to be done
world Jewry. and Western Europe. No longer. in the bilateral realm, not to mention the antisemitism that was part of the academic and tourism benefits it might
So why the claims of Israel’s isola-
As a consequence, in the minds of tion? Presumably because the laggard the multilateral arena, but the positive cultural discourse. When I was a stu- bring.
some, having strong bilateral ties with in Israel’s diplomatic advances has changes have been remarkable. dent in Damascus, Syria, 26 summers Thanks to their language, educa-
Israel could potentially yield added been lopsided UN votes and discrim- They reveal an Israel increasing- ago, agents of the regime regaled me tion and religion, Israeli Arabs stand to
benefits elsewhere. In my experience, one evening with a long and exhaus- be the main beneficiaries of the agree-
this factor reveals itself, whether di- inatory structures. By and large, that ly engaged with every corner of the tive string of antisemitic canards be- ments. They can not only do business
world, and every corner of the world
hasn’t improved nearly as rapidly as
rectly or subtly, rather often. the bilateral sphere has. True and trou- increasingly engaged with Israel. cause they felt it was important that in the Gulf, but also travel and study
The bottom line is that today, Isra- bling. they teach me what I did not learn in there. (Shakib Ali, Ynet News)
el has relations with all but a handful But it will be the last place to reflect The AJC West Coast Florida the U.S. GULF ARABS CRITICIZE
of countries, and the number continues office, located in Sarasota, With the signing of the Abraham
to climb. In any given week, at least the new environment because many Accords, the Emiratis have flipped the PALESTINIANS
countries see little upside to changing
pre-Coronavirus, Israeli hotels were their multilateral postures. If they want can be reached at narrative. Their outreach to Israel has Several Gulf Arabs have launched un-
precedented attacks on the Palestinian
continued on next page to get on committees, elect their repre- 941.365.4955. generated an interest in Jews and Juda- leadership, accusing them of “traffick-
ism that is refreshing. (Steven A. Cook,
Foreign Policy) ing” in the Palestinian cause; depriv-
Looking for IN WWII, CANADA KEPT ing their people of international aid;
Looking for
financial corruption; and acting against
JEWISH “ENEMY ALIENS”
another way IN BARBED WIRE CAMPS the interests of their own people. The
another way
Palestinian people are accused of be-
Sherbrooke, Quebec, two hours east of
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to advertise
to advertise
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that made many sacrifices on their be-
Montreal, was the site of a camp where
your business?
legacy With guaranteed category exclusivity,* German and Austrian Jews were held half, gave them hundreds of millions
your business?
as prisoners during World War II. In
of dollars and jobs. Popular hashtags
1940, biochemist Reinhart Pariser was
trending on social media declare that
a student in his 20s at the University of
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Cambridge in England when one day

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German Nazis – both labeled by the
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YOU’RE HELPING TO GROW JEWISH LIVES Federation Eblast interactive banner four per Eblast and only one per British as “enemy aliens.” Some boats holidays.
business profession.
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A Palestinian official told the Jeru-
ads are delivered to 8,000 active
subscribers each Tuesday and Friday In Canada, Reinhart looked out of the salem Post: “Once, it was a taboo for
JFEDSRQ.org/Eblast_Advertising
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Whatever you cherish most about our Federation…
W h a t e v e r y o u c he r i s h m os t a b o ut o u r F e d e r a t i o n … than a penny per recipient! read, “No dogs or Jews allowed.” the Palestinian cause. Now the Arab
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of of ALL Federation events in ran for the fence. The guards shot him. Al-Arabiya was a “firm message to the
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$100 per month. spent years locked up. and rapid steps toward normalization
$100 per month.
Many prisoners went on to become with Israel. This interview constitutes
extremely successful. Walter Kohn and a dramatic and dangerous develop-
To discuss creating your Jewish legacy, contact: Max Perutz received Nobel prizes in ment in the traditional Saudi position
Ilene Fox chemistry. Walter Homburger became toward the Palestinian issue, and it is a
Interested? Contact Adam Kaplan at

941.343.2111 | ifox@jfedrsq.org | JFEDSRQ.org/Legacy Interested? Contact Adam Kaplan at the director of the Toronto Symphony strong indication of significant upcom-
akaplan@jfedsrq.org or 941.552.6307
akaplan@jfed srq.org or 9 4 1.55 2. 6 307 Orchestra. “This small group of refu- ing Saudi political steps toward nor-
malization with Israel.” (Khaled Abu
gees and the enormous contributions
they made is an example of what could Toameh, Jerusalem Post)