Like many of you, I’ve been trying to follow the UN’s International Court of Justice case brought by the South African government accusing Israel of genocide. I’ve been reading the articles and I watched some of the proceedings. Today, the court announced its complex and confusing decision, and I’ve spent the better part of this morning trying to understand it. Ultimately, I turned to RealityCheck Founder and CEO Daniel Pomerantz who, in my opinion, does an outstanding job of breaking down and simplifying difficult situations. (I’ve been a fan since his days with Honest Reporting.) Here is his analysis of the court’s decision.

Community members have been asking for more Israel-centric programming, especially in the area of “hasbara.” The root of hasbara means “to explain,” and Israel uses the term for its Zionist public-relations initiatives. We have several Israel programs lined up with a few more in the hopper. 

First and foremost, we have our Solidarity Mission to Israel leaving in just over two weeks. We need to close registration. So, if you’ve been putting off signing up, you really can’t put it off any longer. Please reach out to me this weekend (after Shabbat) if you have any thoughts about going. 

We have two upcoming virtual programs with our partners at Unpacked—“Unpacking Israeli History and Zionism” on January 29 and “Navigating Israel’s Complex Narratives” on January 30. Click here for more details. 

Joel Chasnoff, best known for his comedy, has adapted his presentation in the wake of October 7 to include personal situational experiences in Israel. He still entertains, but with purpose. He spoke last week to our snowbirds in Florida, and he’ll be speaking to our local community on February 29. Click here for more details. 

In the hopper: a program with the Deputy Consul General of Israel in New York, Yom HaZikaron/Yom Ha’Atzmaut, another year of Shinshinim, and welcoming groups from Eshkol for a little respite in our community.

Stay tuned. Much more to come.