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‘You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah’ is about Jews. So why is the nicest character Christian?
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(The Jewish Chronicle via JTA) — There are so many things to love about the new Netflix film “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah” that it seems almost churlish to single out the one big thing that I think it got wrong. So first — spoilers ahoy — let me say what I think it got right.
Yes to showing Jewish tweens living their lives, doing their thing and grappling with the social and spiritual demands of a year when everyone around them is doing that too. Yes to every member of the Sandler family — dad Adam, daughters Sadie and Sunny and wife Jackie — giving great performances, and that goes for Idina Menzel as well. Yes to the way that the kids struggle for individuality in a world where every party has the same DJ and much the same set of guests. A qualified yes to the kooky, deeply irritating, but ultimately wise Rabbi Rebecca, played by Sarah Sherman.
There’s a great cast of older Jewish character actors and young stars in the making. And it’s nice to see an emphasis on the synagogue and “mitzvah project” side of things, not just the party.
Well done too for showing tweens as flawed humans, capable of great cruelty and stupidity but who are also willing to grow and learn, and use the big rite of passage as a vehicle for that growth. There are plot holes, to be sure (the tensions from Lydia’s bat mitzvah would have rumbled on for generations, not resolved in a tidy moment of catharsis), but you roll with it. I had tears in my eyes at the (implausible) ending.
I also liked the multicultural nature of the Jewish world on show. There are Latino Jews. There are Korean Jews. We might as well be in Israel: Everyone in the movie appears to be Jewish.
Everyone except Mateo.
Mateo is one of only two young boy characters in the film given anything like a personality (the others have catchphrases but nothing resembling two dimensions). He’s a friend of Andy Goldfarb, the soccer player on a mission to kiss the girls and make them cry. Mateo is short and has a foreign accent, and none of the Jewish kids except Andy pay him any attention.
But we gradually come to realize that Mateo — uniquely — is really nice and good, the moral center of the film. And even though he’s a churchgoing Christian, he turns up at Hebrew school, to teach the younger children their Shabbat prayers. This was not true of the Mateo-inspiration character in the book by Fiona Rosenbloom on which the movie is based, and it confused me, because what kind of synagogue lets a Christian kid volunteer there? Have they never heard of evangelicals? Mateo’s answer: “I go to chuch every Sunday. Might as well fill in the other six days with some other, you know, holiness, too.”
Because Mateo’s a Christian, he’s not having a bar mitzvah. And so he doesn’t have the same journey to go on as the other kids. But he doesn’t need to: From the start, he seems to be infinitely more virtuous than all of them. With Mateo the sole representative of Christianity in the film, one could read into it the message that Christians are somehow better than Jews. That they embrace mitzvot naturally, without a big song and dance, led by DJ Shmuley. That Christianity is somehow a more evolved, better religion.
The film’s closing scene makes clear what hints along the way have suggested — that Stacy will give up on brutish Andy and realize just how charming Mateo is. The implication is that Stacy — seen at the end dancing with Mateo, even though he’s a foot shorter than her — will one day become more like Mateo.
Now I have nothing against Christians — some of my best friends, et cetera, et cetera — and I’m all for interfaith friendships. And I’m not fretting about intermarriage here, in part because that’s not where seventh-grade flings typically end up.
But did anyone, when they were writing the screenplay, think through the implications of creating a pint-sized Christian saint and plonking him into a Jewish narrative? I can’t look at the story arc and the slow dancing without feeling the weight of thousands of years of Jewish persecution stemming from the idea that Christians have it figured out and Jews need to catch up to their enlightenment. Even the most benign explanation, that the filmmakers wanted to include someone from the dominant culture to make the movie relatable to the widest audience, is a reminder that we cannot escape Christian hegemony even when we tell our own stories.
It didn’t have to be this way. If you want to show a multifaith universe, where are the Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist kids? But better yet, Mateo could have been Jewish like the rest of the cast. With that mop of curly hair, short stature and love of Hebrew school, he easily could have been the nicest Jewish boy in town.
A version of this piece originally appeared in The Jewish Chronicle, a London-based newspaper. It is reprinted here with permission.
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The post ‘You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah’ is about Jews. So why is the nicest character Christian? appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Anti-Israel Activists Flood Streets of US Cities to Disrupt Fourth of July Celebrations
Illustrative: Anti-Israel demonstrators clash with New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers during a protest on April 18, 2024. Photo: Reuters Connect
Anti-Israel groups organized fiery and raucous demonstrations in both New York and Philadelphia to disrupt Fourth of July celebrations marking US Independence Day on Thursday, drawing attention to the ongoing war in Gaza while showing their antipathy toward the United States.
Organizations including the Philly Palestine Coalition, Coalition for Justice in Palestine, and Within Our Lifetime called on their supporters to reject America’s annual celebration of national independence and patriotism in favor of showing support for Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that slaughtered over 1,200 people throughout southern Israel on Oct. 7.
Protesters responded by flooding streets and parks in Philadelphia and New York City, waving Palestinian flags and carrying signs denigrating both Israel and the United States.
In Philadelphia, roughly 400 protesters marched into Rittenhouse Square, bellowing chants such as “long live the intifada!” and “empire will fall!” The demonstrators proudly waved flags representing the Palestinians, Hamas, and the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah while tossing American flags on the ground and lighting them on fire.
“This July 4th, join us as we stand with the resistance and support Palestine, not AmeriKKKA! We don’t celebrate the legacy of genocide, colonialism, and slavery that July 4th symbolizes, but struggle for true LIBERATION for all ” the Philly Palestine Coalition wrote on Instagram earlier this week.
In New York, hundreds of pro-Hamas agitators gathered in Washington Square Park on Independence Day to participate in the “Flood Manhattan for July 4th” demonstration, chanting slogans such as “there is only one solution, intifada revolution!” and “US imperialists, number one terrorists!” The activists then marched through the park, screaming chants and carrying banners that read “resistance until return” and “globalize the intifada” each of which represent calls to enact violence against Jews. In one video circulated on social media, radicals placed the American flag on the ground and incinerated it.
“This country emphasizes freedom and independence, but the truth is it’s only independence for whites,” Besan Ahmad, a Philadelphia-based organizer, told WHYY News. “And the independence of those whites came from black, brown, and indigenous people.”
The July 4 protests represented a broader pattern of leftist agitators disrupting traditions and celebrations to draw attention to the anti-Israel cause. Last month, pro-Palestinian activists obstructed and hijacked Pride Month parades in major cities across the United States. Activists have also disrupted concerts, festivals, and parties to show their solidarity with the Hamas terrorist group.
Beyond Israel, the demonstrations also revealed a shared animus toward the US. Protesters have repeatedly chanted “death to America” and unfavorably compared US police and the Israel Defense Forces to the Ku Klux Klan. The activists, who typically brand themselves as “anti-colonial” or “anti-imperialist,” have often praised countries such as Russia or Iran, the latter of which backs Hamas and Hezbollah and has routinely called for the destruction of both Israel and the United States.
The post Anti-Israel Activists Flood Streets of US Cities to Disrupt Fourth of July Celebrations first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Man Arrested, Charged With Hate Crime for Vandalizing Kosher Bagel Shop in Miami
A flag owned by Holy Bagels & Pizzeria that was vandalized on June 16, 2024. Photo: Miami PD.
The Miami Police Department on Tuesday arrested the man allegedly responsible for the antisemitic vandalism of a Jewish-owned kosher bagel shop in downtown Miami last month.
Kenneth Guerrera, 28, was charged with criminal mischief with prejudice, a hate crime charge, for vandalizing Holy Bagels & Pizzeria on June 16.
The kosher bagel and pizza shop was vandalized along with a flag outside the store’s entrance. The vandal spray painted “Free Palestine” and “Stop Genocide” on the front door and windows of the restaurant. The suspect also tore down from outside the store an Israeli-American flag that said “Stand With Israel” and spray painted “Free Palestine” on it. A number of volunteers helped clean off the graffiti after the vandalism, including Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and US District Court Judge Roy Altman.
Miami’s Local 10 news reported that a police officer in the Miami area identified Guerrera after seeing a police wanted flyer as well as surveillance video from the incident. Police said that after his arrest, Guerrera agreed to speak with detectives without an attorney, but his full confession was not shared with the public.
“The apprehension is a reminder that we will not tolerate such despicable acts of hate and will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that our community remains a safe and inclusive place for all,” said Chief of Police Manuel Morales after Guerrera’s arrest.
The post Man Arrested, Charged With Hate Crime for Vandalizing Kosher Bagel Shop in Miami first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Palestinian Authority Pays for the Murder of Jews
PA President Mahmoud Abbas gestures during a meeting in Ramallah, in the West Bank August 18, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman/Pool
An Israeli Arab stabbed two Israelis yesterday in the city of Karmiel, murdering one and seriously wounding another.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) rewards the families of Palestinian terrorists who are killed while perpetrating their crimes with a 6,000-shekel one-time reward, and 1,400 shekels monthly for life.
Since the terrorist who committed the attack yesterday was an Israeli Arab, the PA will provide his family with that amount plus 21% — for a total of 1,700 shekels a month for life.
Palestinian Media Watch exposed the Palestinians’ “Pay-for-Slay” program in 2011, and the world has condemned it ever since.
Despite this, PA leader Mahmoud Abbas has said dozens of times (and PA television has broadcast this) that even if the PA has one penny left, it will continue to pay prisoners and Martyrs.
Ephraim D. Tepler is a contributor to Palestinian Media Watch (PMW). Itamar Marcus is PMW’s Founder and Director. A version of this article originally appeared at PMW.
The post Palestinian Authority Pays for the Murder of Jews first appeared on Algemeiner.com.