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INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT. SINCE 1897. Give a tax-deductible donation In today’s briefing: Watching Team Israel's first Olympic pitch at 6 a.m., debuting our new podcast, wondering why rabbis are banning 3D goggles and much more...
OUR LEAD STORY 💉 PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES Guess which faith group wins ‘Most Likely to Be Vaccinated’
Of all religious groups in America, Jews have the highest percentage of members willing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, at 85%, according to a new study from the Public Religion Research Institute.
Why it matters: Public-health experts are worried about the vaccine hesitancy among Americans that is allowing the Delta variant to spread across the country. The survey shows faith leaders can encourage those on the fence to get the shot.
What’s next: The overwhelming majority of Jews have been open to the vaccine since March, the last time PRRI sent out a poll. But that means Members of the Tribe didn’t see as much growth in vaccine acceptance that other religious groups, like Hispanic Catholics, did over the past months. With a firm 15% of Jews remaining resistant to the vaccine, some say it’s time to roll out mandates.
Key quote: “If we take vaccination as a mitzvah, which I do, then we should be clear about that,” said Rabbi Micah Peltz, who will require anyone attending High Holiday services at Temple Beth Sholom in South Jersey to prove they’ve been vaccinated. Read the story >
Some other key findings from the poll: 71% of Jews support vaccination requirements for certain activities. less than half of Jews surveyed support religious exemptions to vaccine requirements. Majorities or pluralities of every other major religious group in America report at least moderate concerns about the vaccines for Jews, it was 28%. 38% of vaccine-hesitant Americans who attend religious services at least a few times a year say faith-based approaches would make them more likely to get vaccinated.
ALSO IN OUR PAGES 📺 Is Netflix’s ‘My Unorthodox Life’ bad for the Jews? “You can’t ignore the fact that it reflects poorly on Orthodox Jews,” actor and comedian Elon Gold told our Los Angeles-based contributor Esther Kustanowitz. “But there are so many overreactions. For example, ‘Netflix is antisemitic?’ Really?” He noted that the platform also carries the Israeli dramas “Fauda” and “Shtisel” and Holocaust documentaries, among other critically-acclaimed Jewish-themed shows. Read the story >
5 OTHER THINGS AMERICAN JEWS ARE TALKING ABOUT 🍦 THE REAL LIFE BEN AND JERRY. (PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES) 1. The actual Ben and the actual Jerry have penned an essay in The New York Times about the recent uproar over the decision of the company they founded to stop selling ice cream in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. “That we support the company’s decision is not a contradiction nor is it antisemitic,” wrote Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. “In fact, we believe this act can and should be seen as advancing the concepts of justice and human rights, core tenets of Judaism.” …. The most surprising thing was not the headline but the byline: one-half of the dynamic duo signed his name “Bennett.” (NYT, Forward)
2. Three Israeli filmmakers who were imprisoned in Nigeria for nearly three weeks landed home Thursday morning. They were arrested and detained on July 9 while in the country filming “We Were Never Lost,” a documentary exploring Jewish communities in African countries. (Times of Israel)
3. Solomon's, an iconic kosher butcher in Melbourne, is closing after 50 years in business though it will sell pre-packaged items in a nearby grocery store. “Don’t be shy to ask us to butterfly your schnitzels, pack them in lots of four or marinate your selected items in our homemade barbecue sauce,” said the general manager Ariel Jacobson. “We will continue to offer you that personal and customized touch you have received in-store.” (Australian Jewish News)
4. Season 2 of Amazon’s Nazi hunting show starring Al Pacino is now in production. Not everyone is happy. In an interview with the Forward, Stephen D. Smith, executive director of the USC Shoah Foundation said: “As Jew hatred surges and conspiracy theories spread, Amazon’s decision to renew its deceptive, ahistorical frivolity is a slap in the face to survivors.” (Deadline, Forward)
5. A group of ultra-Orthodox rabbis are warning that 3D viewing goggles are bad for the Jews. “The extent of the disaster these devices could bring to the holy people has been made clear,” the rabbis wrote, adding that it could lead users to grow even more addicted to movies and video games. (Israel Hayom)
PLAY BALL ⚾️ PHOTO: JACOB KORNBLUH The first pitch in Team Israel’s Olympic baseball debut was thrown at 6 a.m. ET, and about 17 diehards gathered at the Jewish National Fund House on the Upper East Side of Manhattan to cheer the players on from afar. We caught up with pitcher Jon Moscot before he took to the mound against South Korea. “I’m gonna give everything I got one last time to go out there and leave it all on the field and win this thing for our team,” said Moscot, who is coping with a career beset by injuries.
In the photo above: Gary (in the blue cap) and Adrienne Katz (waving the flags), the parents of American-Israeli pitcher Alex Katz. That picture was taken by our intrepid and caffeinated reporter Jacob Kornbluh, who is at the shindig. “It’s really exciting to be up so early in the morning watching Israel play an American sport,” Kornbluh just texted me. “Though, as a proud Brit, this is the first time I am attending a baseball watch party, let alone watching a baseball game.”
Elsewhere with Israeli athletes on Thursday: Swimming: Aviv Barzelay advanced to the 200m backstroke semi-final while the 4 x 100m mixed medley relay team are through to the final. Sailing: Yoav Cohen, Katy Spychakov and Shay Kakon were all eliminated from medal contention. The pair of Noya Baram and Shahar Tibi are 6th after four of 10 races. Judo: Inbar Lanir and Peter Paltchik were both eliminated.
Check out all of our Olympics coverage >
LISTEN TO THE DEBUT EPISODE OF OUR NEW PODCAST 🎧 Today’s advice-seeker is 50-something, single, and depressed about not yet having – and possibly never having? – children. And: he’s a man. “Mr. Not Dad” thinks the family train, and even the partnership bus, has passed him by. But in the inaugural episode of “A Bintel Brief: The Jewish advice podcast,” co-hosts Ginna Green and Lynn Harris remind him there are all sorts of ways these days to build a family – and to make peace with dreams dashed or deferred. Listen now >
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