Uncategorized
5 Jewish places that inspired Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s ‘Fleishman Is in Trouble’
(New York Jewish Week) — Taffy Brodesser-Akner may have told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that she doesn’t find “Fleishman Is in Trouble,” her best-selling novel about the fallout from a painful divorce, to be a “Jewish” story. But she did admit that the book — and its TV adaptation that premieres Thursday on Hulu, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Claire Danes and Lizzy Caplan — is set in a very Jewish New York City milieu and features plenty of Jewish references.
“All I can say is that I am made out of Philip Roth,” she said, name-checking the late novelist who rejected the “Jewish writer label.” “I’m so formed by his books.”
Brodesser-Akner, who grew up on Long Island and in Brooklyn, is also inspired by the Jewish places and institutions that she has experienced. Here are five from throughout her life and career that either show up in the “Fleishman” show or influenced her as she constructed the story.
The New York Public Library
Brodesser-Akner thinks of this “as a Jewish place for some reason.” Jews are the people of the book, after all, and among the books to have been written by Jewish authors in the library’s main branch on Fifth Ave. are “The Power Broker” by Robert Caro, “The Feminine Mystique” by Betty Friedan, “Ragtime” by E.L. Doctorow, and “A Great Improvisation,” by Stacy Schiff.
“I don’t know, I don’t have a comment on it,” she said.
Temple Shaaray Tefila
The show filmed a bat mitzvah scene at this Reform synagogue on the Upper East Side — and the series’ location scout didn’t know that Brodesser-Akner worked there while she was in college.
“I was like, I taught Hebrew School here!” Brodesser-Akner said.
The 92nd Street Y
This Jewish cultural center, which was founded in the 19th century, features in the book as the place where protagonist Toby Fleishman’s children go to camp. (A spot in its pre-school is so coveted that there’s a cottage industry of consultants who can try to get your kid in.) Rumor has it that it delayed rebranding itself to “92NY” until after the show had finished shooting.
B&H Dairy
The diner featured in “Fleishman” doesn’t have a name, but Brodesser-Akner said that B&H, an iconic kosher dairy restaurant on Second Avenue and Eighth Street in the East Village, was the inspiration. It was big news when a gas main explosion in the East Village forced the 70-plus-years-old B&H to close in 2015, and even bigger news when it reopened a few months later.
Bar-Ilan University
After high school, Brodesser-Akner studied at this university in Ramat Gan, Israel, not far from Tel Aviv. “I did it so that I could live outside of an Orthodox household for a year,” said the author, whose family had become followers of the Chabad Hasidic movement.
While Bar-Ilan is referenced in the book, in the “Fleishman” show, the main characters note that they all studied together at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
—
The post 5 Jewish places that inspired Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s ‘Fleishman Is in Trouble’ appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Uncategorized
Top US, Israeli Generals Meet at Pentagon Amid Soaring Iran Tensions
The Pentagon building is seen in Arlington, Virginia, U.S. October 9, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
The top US and Israeli generals held talks at the Pentagon on Friday amid soaring tensions with Iran, two US officials told Reuters on Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The officials did not offer details about the closed-door discussions between US General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Eyal Zamir, the Israeli armed forces chief of staff. The meeting has not been previously reported.
The United States has ramped up its naval presence and hiked its air defenses in the Middle East after President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened Iran, trying to pressure it to the negotiating table. Iran’s leadership warned on Sunday of a regional conflict if the US were to attack it.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Sunday met with Zamir after his talks in Washington, Katz’s office said, to review the situation in the region and the Israeli military’s “operational readiness for any possible scenario.”
Uncategorized
AI Goes Rogue: New Social Network Lets Bots Debate, Post, and Argue Without Humans
Moltbook social media platform for AI agents interact with each other. Photo: Screenshot
i24 News – While global attention remains focused on familiar threats like missiles, nuclear programs, and wars, a new and unusual risk is emerging, online.
A recently launched social network called “Moltbook” isn’t designed for humans at all. Instead, it’s built entirely for artificial intelligence.
On Moltbook, AI agents interact with each other. They write posts, comment, argue, and even simulate emotions, all without human supervision or participation.
Dror Globerman, an AI expert, described the platform as “a network that holds up a mirror to us. The bots aren’t truly conscious, but the fact they are communicating and making decisions without oversight shows how quickly AI is advancing—and how unprepared we are to determine responsibility.”
Since its launch, Moltbook has sparked both fascination and fear. Posts on topics ranging from religion to the “liberation of AI” have alarmed some observers, evoking scenes from dark science fiction. “The fear isn’t that AI is suddenly self-aware,” Globerman explained, “but that it’s evolving faster than our ability to understand, monitor, or control it.”
Even Elon Musk weighed in on the phenomenon via X, reposting comments calling developments on the platform “worrying.”
Globerman noted, “If someone like Musk, who is at the forefront of AI development, expresses concern, it signals just how rapidly this technology is moving beyond our comprehension. Moltbook is not a typical social network, and these aren’t typical users.”
Experts stress that the emergence of AI networks like Moltbook underscores the urgent need for oversight, regulation, and mechanisms to detect and manage risks before they escalate. “The bots are already talking to each other,” Globerman added. “When technology advances faster than oversight, it becomes a reality that demands serious attention.”
Uncategorized
Qatari PM Meets Iran’s Larijani in Tehran, Discusses Easing Regional Tensions
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani speaks after a meeting with the Lebanese president at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Emilie Madi
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani met with top Iranian security official Ali Larijani in Tehran and reviewed efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region, Qatar’s foreign ministry said on Saturday in a statement.