Briefs

A NEW JEWISH STREAMING SERVICE, AIMS TO MAKE JEWS PROUD

A Jewish group based in London has launched Europe’s first Jewish streaming service, with the goal of “connecting all sorts of Jews to their culture and history.”

JEWZY.tv, which is currently available only in the United States—or to a computer connecting via a US-based server—on Friday, Dec. 4, announced its launch as “chicken soup for the eyes,” The Jewish Chronicle reported.

The new service follows the launch of two other Jewish streaming services: ChaiFlicks and Izzy. Its editorial focus is on “hidden gems,” Jeremy Wootliff, Jewzy’s founder, told the Chronicle. “We go out and find the wonderful movies and TV programs that have been forgotten over time,” or may not have enjoyed the exposure they deserved when made, he said.

An annual subscription costs $59.99 and offers 100 titles a month, including Dark Horse starring Mia Farrow; The Double with Jesse Eisenberg and Defiant Requiem, a feature documentary about the Theresienstadt concentration camps. Many of the titles are about Israel or made there.

Jewzy’s agenda goes beyond providing entertainment to subscribers. Its goals also include promoting positive images of Jews and Israel and countering anti-Semitism and bigotry. But its lineup is nonpartisan, Wootliff told the Chronicle.

“We want to bring Israel and the diaspora together and under one roof.” (JTA)

22% OF HATE CRIMES IN EUROPE IN 2019 WERE AGAINST JEWS

Anti-Semitic incidents accounted for 22% of hate crimes recorded last year in the pan-European region, though Jews comprise less than 1% of the population there.

The data on hate crimes comes from a report about 5,954 incidents recorded in Europe, Russia and Central Asia by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, or ODHIR, of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE, ODHIR said in its annual report published last month. The report is based on data transmitted by governments and watchdog groups.

Of the total incidents, 1,311 were anti-Semitic, according to the the report titled 2019 Hate Crime Data.

Anti-Semitism was the category with the second-largest number of incidents after the 2,371 incidents in the more general Racism and Xenophobia category.

Those targeted for their gender or sexual orientation (1,277 cases) made up the third-highest group, followed by Christians (573) and Muslims (507).

In one anti-Semitic incident recorded in the report, a woman had her hair and hat pulled violently from behind while speaking Hebrew on the bus in Berlin, Germany. In another, an Iraqi Muslim man wearing a kippah and carrying several concealed knives was intercepted by guards attempting to enter an Antwerp synagogue in June. The man had used anti-Semitic insults at Jews before the incident.

The report said its figures are not definitive and may in fact be lower than the number of hate crimes committed or recorded in Europe. (JTA)

AIPAC DOES NOT OPPOSE F-35 SALES TO THE UAE

The preeminent Israel lobby AIPAC does not oppose the sale of F-35 stealth fighters to the United Arab Emirates—a sign that the Trump administration has sold the Israeli government and its U.S. supporters on a deal that not so long ago they vigorously opposed.

“We do not oppose the proposed arms sale to the UAE, given the peace agreement reached between Israel and the UAE as well as the agreement reached between the U.S. and Israel to ensure Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge will not be adversely impacted by the sale,” Marshall Wittmann, spokesman for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, wrote in an email.

Wittmann’s email arrived the same day that one of the most hawkish pro-Israel groups, the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, endorsed the sale, and days after Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Ron Dermer, appeared on MSNBC with his UAE counterpart and did the same.

The Trump administration, and particularly President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and top adviser, Jared Kushner, have been pushing hard for the sale. President-elect Joe Biden has not said whether he would reverse the deal if it is not in place by Jan. 20, when he assumes office, and congressional Democrats have initiated legislation to thwart the deal.

News of the sale leaked following the August announcement of Israel and the Emirates normalizing ties, spurring Israeli leaders such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express opposition. AIPAC backed at least one of the Democratic congressional bids that sought to limit the scope of arms sales to the UAE.

Trump administration officials have sought to persuade Israel and other skeptics that the jets are needed to present a united front against Iran, and that Israel will be able to preserve its qualitative military edge in the region.

Israel for decades has opposed advanced arms sales to even friendly Arab states because of the region’s instability and the fear that hostile actors could obtain control of the weapons.

Democrats oppose the sale in part because of the UAE’s role in the civil war devastating Yemen. (JTA)

NEW IRANIAN LAW RAMPS UP URANIUM ENRICHMENT AND BANS INSPECTORS—IF BIDEN DOESN’T REENTER NUCLEAR DEAL

Iran’s parliament passed a law earlier this month aimed at pressuring President-elect Joe Biden to reenter the Iran nuclear deal almost as soon as he assumes office.

The bill gives the United States until early February to lift sanctions imposed by President Donald Trump after abandoning the 2015 agreement more than two years ago. Otherwise, Iran will ban entry to international nuclear inspectors and increase uranium enrichment to a level closer to weapons-ready.

Biden has said he is ready to reenter the deal, and then negotiate improvements, but early February comes barely two weeks into his term.

The law, passed by the majority hardliner parliament, was spurred in part by the assassination of Iran’s top nuclear scientist. Iran has blamed Israel for the killing. Israel has not commented.

Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s president, opposed the law but to little avail, The New York Times reported. Rouhani, a relative moderate, is eager to have the U.S. return to the deal brokered during the Obama administration, when Biden was vice president. (JTA)

JARED BERNSTEIN IS ‘VERKLEMPT’ TO JOIN BIDEN’S COUNCIL

Economist Jared Bernstein found a Yiddish way to celebrate his appointment to President-elect Joe Biden’s council of economic advisers.

“Thanks for all the support, econ twitter! I’m verklempt! As a CEA member, I’m soooo excited to get to work with my awesome new colleagues in fast pursuit of full employment and a recovery that reaches everyone,” he tweeted, using a Yiddish word that means overcome with joy and emotion.

Bernstein, who is Jewish, was Biden’s chief economic adviser during the Obama administration. He joins a Biden economics team that is being noted for its diversity.

Bernstein has been referred to as a “progressive” economist for his focus on income inequality and opposition to international free trade agreements. (JTA)

ORTHODOX RAPPER NISSIM BLACK’S NEW SINGLE, THE HAVA SONG, REMAKES HAVA NAGILA

The latest single by Nissim Black, a pathbreaking Orthodox hip-hop artist, reimagines what may be the most widely known Jewish song.

The Hava Song, released on Black’s 34th birthday Wednesday, Dec. 9, is a modern and bass-forward reimagining of the traditional Hava Nagila. It features Black rapping about gratitude, his place in Jewish society and even allusions to the coming Messianic age.

“Big house coming down / from the sky to the crowd / we’re gonna sing it out loud / Black, Jewish and proud,” he sings.

Black’s previous releases, including the popular single Mothaland Bounce, have racked up tens of millions of views on Youtube and are popular with Orthodox audiences.

Black has been producing music since his teens but has been exclusively creating Jewish music with religious themes since his conversion to Judaism in 2012. He moved to Israel in 2016, where he currently lives with his wife and six children. (JTA)