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Chef Eitan Bernath Learns About Jewish Cuisine, History From Mexico City in New Docuseries
Eitan Bernath in a scene from “Eitan Explores: Mexico City.” Photo: Eitan Productions
Jewish chef and cookbook author Eitan Bernath is hosting a new original digital series that follows him as he samples Jewish cuisine around Mexico City, cooks with natives, and learns about the culinary history of the city’s Jewish Mexican community.
Among his adventures in “Eitan Explores: Mexico City,” which premieres on Monday, Bernath prepares a traditional Shabbat stew called “Sobremesa,” tries Mexico street food, and visits sites and synagogues that are part of the city’s Jewish community. He also meets locals, eats with them, and learns more about the city’s Jewish roots. Each two-minute episode of the series will highlight the diverse Jewish life, culture, and food found in Mexico City, from the kitchens, restaurants, and homes in Mexico’s capital.
In the show’s premiere episode, Bernath meets Estrella Jafif, a native CDMX chef who has Lebanese and Cuban roots. Estrella takes Bernath on a Friday to her favorite local market where they taste local produce and Oaxacan cheeses and buy ingredients to cook a traditional meal for Shabbat. They also see Jewish kippah-wearing customers shop for themselves before Shabbat begins.
In one episode, Bernath tastes vegetarian Mexican street foods at a tented taco stand owned by a non-Jewish woman named Elsa who has been serving the local Jewish community since the 1960s. She tells Bernath about how Jewish locals requested meat-free options from her mom, the founder of the taco stand, so they can eat there. It has now become a neighborhood staple.
The seven-episode docuseries was produced by Eitan Productions and distributed in partnership with Tastemade. It will stream on Tastemade’s Instagram account, with an episode being released daily through May 19.
“I can’t wait for viewers to experience the people, food, and culture like I did in CDMX,” said Bernath, who is also the principal culinary contributor on “The Drew Barrymore Show” and the author of the cookbook Eitan Eats the World.
“Mexico City’s rich culture has defined and left a meaningful mark on its one-of-a-kind Jewish community,” he added. “I’m honored to introduce audiences around the world to these storied dishes, flavors, and people.”
Jewish presence in Mexico dates back to the 16th century, and there are over 40,000 Jews living in Mexico City.
The post Chef Eitan Bernath Learns About Jewish Cuisine, History From Mexico City in New Docuseries first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Kurdish-led SDF Say Five Members Killed During Attack by Islamic State in Syria
Islamic State slogans painted along the walls of the tunnel was used by Islamic State militants as an underground training camp in the hillside overlooking Mosul, Iraq, March 4, 2017. Photo: via Reuters Connect.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said on Sunday that five of its members had been killed during an attack by Islamic State militants on a checkpoint in eastern Syria’s Deir el-Zor on July 31.
The SDF was the main fighting force allied to the United States in Syria during fighting that defeated Islamic State in 2019 after the group declared a caliphate across swathes of Syria and Iraq.
The Islamic State has been trying to stage a comeback in the Middle East, the West and Asia. Deir el-Zor city was captured by Islamic State in 2014, but the Syrian army retook it in 2017.
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Armed Groups Attack Security Force Personnel in Syria’s Sweida, Killing One, State TV Reports
People ride a motorcycle past a burned-out military vehicle, following deadly clashes between Druze fighters, Sunni Bedouin tribes, and government forces, in Syria’s predominantly Druze city of Sweida, Syria, July 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Armed groups attacked personnel from Syria’s internal security forces in Sweida, killing one member and wounding others, and fired shells at several villages in the violence-hit southern province, state-run Ekhbariya TV reported on Sunday.
The report cited a security source as saying the armed groups had violated the ceasefire agreed in the predominantly Druze region, where factional bloodshed killed hundreds of people last month.
Violence in Sweida erupted on July 13 between tribal fighters and Druze factions. Government forces were sent to quell the fighting, but the bloodshed worsened, and Israel carried out strikes on Syrian troops in the name of the Druze.
The Druze are a minority offshoot of Islam with followers in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Sweida province is predominantly Druze but is also home to Sunni tribes, and the communities have had long-standing tensions over land and other resources.
A US-brokered truce ended the fighting, which had raged in Sweida city and surrounding towns for nearly a week. Syria said it would investigate the clashes, setting up a committee to investigate the attacks.
The Sweida bloodshed last month was a major test for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, after a wave of sectarian violence in March that killed hundreds of Alawite citizens in the coastal region.
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Netanyahu Urges Red Cross to Aid Gaza Hostages
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference, in Jerusalem, May 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he spoke with the International Red Cross’s regional head, Julien Lerisson, and requested his involvement in providing food and medical care to hostages held in Gaza.