Your Daily Spiel is The CJN‘s daily roundup of trending stories in the Jewish world
CANADA
The Israeli-Yemeni sisters in A-Wa, Israel’s first band to make it to the top of the charts with an Arabic-language song, are arriving in Toronto for a performance at the Mod Club, and The CJN caught up with one of them, Tair, about their unexpected rise to popularity.
Toronto-based Dr. Menachem Feuer, proponent of the Shlemiel theory, opens up about what exactly a shlemiel is, and why anyone should care. “The shlemiel is a relevant literary, philosophical, religious, and cultural figure which we can learn from,” Dr. Feuer says. “He can give us insight into our goodness and what is best in humanity.”
Following reports that Canada will reinstate its annual contributions to UNRWA, the UN’s Palestinian aid agency, the UN has retracted a statement confirming that Canada will do so, saying an early draft was sent by mistake and “doesn’t reflect” Ban Ki-moon and Justin Trudeau’s discussion.
UNITED STATES
In accepting Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nomination, Merrick Garland recalled his grandparents’ struggle against anti-Semitism, fleeing Russia and Eastern Europe for a “better life” in the U.S. “For me there can be no higher public service than serving as a member of the US Supreme Court,” he said.
Curious as to how attendees will react when Donald Trump takes the stage at the AIPAC conference in Washington DC Monday? The Forward has thirteen ideas for you, from “schedule his appearance before Hillary Clinton” so she can “eviscerate him,” to staying away from his speech all together. “Trump seems like a man who gets hives if he sees empty seats.” He really does though.
ISRAEL
An Israeli soldier is seriously injured after she was stabbed by two assailants at a bus stop outside the West Bank settlement of Ariel. Both attackers were shot and killed by security forces. In Jerusalem, a man was stabbed at a mall, and the assailant remains on the loose. Police are investigating whether the crime was nationally or criminally motivated.
Despite living under a constant threat of terror, a newly-released global happiness index ranks Israelis as being happier than Brits, Germans, the Irish, and even Americans. Coming in at No. 11 on the World Happiness Report, Israel scored below the usual happy-go-lucky Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Australian and Canadian peoples. Denmark took the No.1 spot, which belonged to Switzerland last year.
A team of Israeli and Palestinian women will comprise Israel’s squad for this weekend’s netball tournament in Eilat, which will feature players from around the world. “The team’s participation in the Netball tournament shows the importance of coexistence and the power of sport and the use of sport as an international language,” said the Peres Center for Peace, who assembled the team with players from both the West Bank and Israel.
An Israeli scientist has spoken out against a group of Israeli sociologists who announced they would boycott Ariel University because it is located on “occupied” land. “I would call upon those who advocate for academic and other boycotts, to perform a controlled study to assess whether they have delivered any benefit to those audiences they profess to care for. So far many thousands of Palestinian families have lost their livelihood and future hope thanks to these boycotts,” said Moshe Rogosnitzky.
WORLD
Israel’s deputy FM Tzipi Hotovely revealed yesterday that Israel and Indonesia are engaged in secret diplomatic relations. “Even though there are no formal ties, there are ongoing contacts between us and Indonesia on a range of issues,” she said.
A Twitter post from the Bayern Munich soccer club drew comparisons to the Holocaust yesterday, with social media users claiming the photo used Nazi imagery. The image shows train tracks running toward Munich’s Allianz Arena, and a crossed out sign reads the motto of fellow soccer club Juventus, “Fino alla fine” (which means “Until the end” in Italian). The image was meant to promote the match between the two clubs.
Israeli watchdog NGO Monitor condemned Western groups funding Palestinian organizations that openly support terrorism. “There is no justification for European democracies, the UN and private funders to give money to any individual, group or institution that backs terrorism,” Prof. Gerald Steinberg, the watchdog’s founder and president, said.
A children’s book signed by Anne Frank is going to a New York auction, valued between $20,000 and $30,000 (US). The copy of Grimm’s fairy tales is only the third document with Anne Frank’s writing on it to go on public sale and the first in nearly three decades.
TECH
Apps are all about convenience, and the latest from Israel solves a problem that most find inconvenient: saving your spot in line. Now, thanks to SKEEPER, you can reserve your spot via smartphone from any location, and keep your place in line even when you have to go use the bathroom or get a coffee or whatever.
CULTURE
In other auction-related news, Jerry Seinfeld sold seventeen of his cars recently for some $22 million (US). Apparently he sold them just “to see the look of excitement on the faces of the next owners who I know will be out of their minds with joy that they are going to get to experience them.”
After over a year of waiting, Drake finally announced that his Views from the Six project would see the light of day come April. The Canadian Jewish rapper also teased his own line of whiskey, Virginia Black Whiskey.
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