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“Magical Meet Cute” – new novel imbues age-old “golem” theme with romance…and mystery

Review by BERNIE BELLAN I’d never read what would be considered a romance novel before, so when I received an email from a publicist for Harper Collins inviting me to read what was described as a new “rom-com,” I admit I was somewhat hesitant to accept the offer.
But – the premise of the novel, as described in that email was somewhat enticing. Here’s what it said:
“Ettel Resnick is a proud Jewitch woman. After being dumped by her fiancé of seven years, she recreated herself, selling her successful legal practice in Manhattan to open Magic Mud Pottery in Woodstock, New York. But everything changes on the fateful night Ettel returns from yet another singles event at the synagogue—and finds her town papered with antisemitic flyers.

“Desperate for comfort, she turns to the only thing guaranteed to soothe her Jewitch soul. Pottery. Heading to her studio, she gets super drunk, and crafts a golem. Ettel pours her heart into that little clay creature. She gives it everything she’s ever wanted in a partner, etching words onto his body—some sensible, some esoteric—before getting totally naked and burying that golem doll in her backyard.

“But when her ideal man turns up the very next day—and checks every detail inscribed on her clay man’s belly, including loving to play Scrabble and reading her books—she’s left wondering if she’s falling in love with the real deal, or if she’s truly summoned a golem.

“This laugh out loud romantic comedy explores witchcraft from a Jewish angle, fighting back against the anti-Semitic way Jewish witches have been portrayed throughout history. It also features a woman dealing with anti-semitism in her town and turning to the ancient Jewish protector—the golem.”

There are several things wrong with what that publicist wrote, however: First, the main character’s name was not Ettel Resnick, it’s Faye Kaplan. (That mistake alone made me wonder where the publicist got her information. Obviously, she hadn’t read the book.)
But second – and perhaps this is more important, to describe “Magical Meet Cute” as a rom-com is a disservice to a book that is far more than a rom-com.
Yes, it contains some of the elements of a romance novel and it does have some good laughs, but as the book develops it takes on a far more serious tone – and turns into a rollicking good mystery.


After reading something about the author, Jean Meltzer, I discovered that she had just about completed writing the book, but then October 7 happened and it cast a giant shadow over what she had mostly written. As a result, she now says that there is a much more serious overtone to her book than what she had anticipated in writing it.
A good part of “Magical Meet Cute” has to do with antisemitism and how completely shocked so many Jews are when it comes to having to deal with overt displays of antisemitism. In the book, Faye fights back, but others in the Jewish community are less willing to confront the threat posed by a group known as “the Paperboys.”


As the press release noted, the action in the book takes place in the very real town of Woodstock, New York (although I have no idea whether the Woodstock described here bears much resemblance to the real town.)
As for the reference to “witchcraft,” I admit that threw me off somewhat. I have encountered the notion of Jewish witches previously, especially in Alice Hoffman’s brilliant “The Dovekeepers,” but as I read “Magical Meet Cute,” I became much more aware of the notion of “Jewitches” which, in this book, is treated in a positive manner.
But, add to that the introduction of the theme of the “golem” in this novel, and you get something quite a bit more complex than what many readers might expect to find in a typical “rom-com.”
Yes, Faye Kaplan does drunkenly fashion a golem out of clay early on in the novel – and then the very next day a character appears who certainly does seem to tick off all the right boxes as a real golem. But, that’s where this book takes a very interesting turn, as the author explores the notion of the golem in Jewish history.


The theme of antisemitism and how ordinary Jews – just leading their everyday lives, are taken so completely by surprise when they encounter direct – and often vicious antisemitism, is especially hard hitting in “Magical Meet Cute.” And, because the notion of the golem as a magical defender of Jews has been around for centuries (as the author explains), it serves as a very convenient – and enticing device around which to develop a modern-day novel, especially in a time of rampant antisemitism.
That’s also where the book veers from romance to thriller – and Jean Meltzer does a fabulous job of injecting tremendous suspense – and trepidation, into the latter part of what is actually quite a long novel (over 480 pages).


In fact, I could have done with less of the romance and more of the thriller. When Faye Kaplan does meet – and fall in love with the character, who we come to know as “Greg” – who may or not be a real golem, I suppose it would have ruined the story for the two of them to go to bed right off the hop. But Meltzer describes Faye as quite beautiful, while Greg is what I would think would be almost any woman’s fantasy of a perfect male.
Not only is he gorgeous, he’s absolutely devoted to Faye. I won’t let you know whether they consummate their relationship, but there is an entire subplot revolving around Faye’s abandonment issues which prevents her from trusting Greg that is really quite sad, although totally credible.


As I made my way through “Magical Meet Cute,” I kept asking myself: Would someone who isn’t Jewish enjoy this book quite as much as someone who is? After all, there are so many references that, if you weren’t Jewish, you’d be wondering just what the heck they mean?
One that comes to mind off the top though – and it’s one I’ve never encountered previously, is Faye’s repeated use of the expression “Haman’s hat,” which she says whenever she’s quite surprised by something. I did a bit of reading on the subject but I simply couldn’t find an explanation why someone would say “Haman’s hat” as say, a substitute for something like “holy s_it.” (Maybe someone will enlighten me.)


Something else that intrigued me was Faye’s predilection for “hard kosher salami.” I realized early on it was her go-to comfort food, but aside from how unhealthy it is to eat, I couldn’t help but think of its phallic overtones. (By the way, Meltzer does enjoy using the term “shvantz” as a term of endearment in describing a certain part of Greg’s anatomy. I would have thought she might have resorted to the more commonly used “schmeckle.”)


When Meltzer introduces the group terrifying the Jews of Woodstock as “the Paperboys,” it’s obviously a not-too-thinly veiled reference to one of Donald Trump’s favourite white supremacist groups, “the Proudboys.” (I apologize if I’ve offended any Trump lovers. After all, there were “many good people on both sides,” as Trump suggested, during the white supremacist march through Charlottesville in 2017, weren’t there?)


“Magical Meet Cute” does have so much more to offer than simply a romance, but if I do have one qualm about the book it is that it so very long. It could have been cut down to no more than 300 pages but, having said that, I applaud the author for combining two quite different genres into quite the good read.
By the way, the book is slated for release August 27, but it’s available online right now from Amazon.

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Cuomo dominates Jewish vote in final Quinnipiac poll before election

Andrew Cuomo has consolidated all of Eric Adams’ Jewish support in the final days of the mayoral campaign, while Zohran Mamdani’s share of the Jewish vote has slipped, according to a new Quinnipiac poll, the last one before Tuesday’s election.

The survey of 170 likely Jewish voters — representing 18% of the overall sample of 911 voters in the general election for New York City Mayor — conducted October 23 through October 27, shows Cuomo with 60% of their support and Mamdani, a democratic socialist and strident critic of Israel, with 16%. Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee, has the support of 12%. The poll, conducted via landline and cellphone, has a reported margin of error of plus or minus 9.2%.

Among all voters, Cuomo is still trailing Mamdani 43% to 33%, according to the same poll.

In the September poll conducted before Adams dropped out of the race and endorsed Cuomo, the incumbent mayor had the support of 42% of Jewish voters, while Cuomo and Mamdani each drew about 20%.

Jews make up an estimated 10% of the general election electorate. Mamdani’s positions on Israel have roiled New York’s Jewish community — the largest outside of Israel — as he courted them for support. The Democratic nominee faced scrutiny for refusing to outright condemn the slogan “globalize the intifada,” hesitating to celebrate the Gaza ceasefire and release of the last living hostages, vowing to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York, and saying he doesn’t recognize Israel as a Jewish state. He is the first major-party nominee to pledge public support for the movement to boycott Israel.

The poll found that 75% of Jewish voters view Mamdani unfavorably, while just 15% hold a positive opinion of him. Half of Jewish voters also view Cuomo negatively, indicating that much of his support stems from opposition to Mamdani rather than personal enthusiasm. Only 39% of Jews view Cuomo favorably.

The post Cuomo dominates Jewish vote in final Quinnipiac poll before election appeared first on The Forward.

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Hamas Support Grows Among Palestinians as Poll Shows Backing for Armed Struggle, Doubts Over US Peace Plan

Hamas fighters on Feb. 22, 2025. Photo: Majdi Fathi via Reuters Connect

Support for Hamas appears to be rising among Palestinians, according to a new poll, with growing numbers expressing confidence in the terrorist group’s leadership and its ability to govern after the war with Israel, as ceasefire violations threaten to derail the US-backed peace plan.

On Tuesday, the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR), a West Bank-based independent research institute, released a new representative poll revealing that 60 percent of Palestinians (66 percent in the West Bank and 51 percent in Gaza) are “satisfied with Hamas’s “performance in the current war.”

Despite Hamas’s escalating crackdown and violence on Gazans, the poll found that support for the Islamist group, which has ruled the enclave for nearly two decades, has actually grown over the course of the two-year conflict — with 19 percent of respondents saying their support increased significantly and another 17 percent saying it rose slightly.

By comparison, 18 percent of Palestinians said its support for Hamas was big and has not changed, while 16 percent responded it did not support the group before and its opposition has not changed. Meanwhile, 12 percent said its support for Hamas decreased a little, and 10 percent said its support for Hamas has decreased a lot.

“The conclusion from these numbers is that the past two years have led to greater support for Hamas rather than the opposite and that this conclusion is true in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, but more so in the former,” the poll stated.

While such polling is among the best available data to gauge Palestinian public opinion, analysts have warned to view them with a dose of skepticism. In August, the Israeli military uncovered documents indicating that Hamas had been manipulating polling data from Gaza to inflate support for the Oct. 7 attacks and mask the group’s true level of backing.

Shortly after the US-backed ceasefire to halt fighting in Gaza took effect earlier this month, Hamas moved to reassert control over the war-torn enclave and consolidate its weakened position by targeting Palestinians who it labeled as “lawbreakers and collaborators with Israel.”

In recent weeks, Hamas’s brutal crackdown has escalated dramatically, sparking widespread clashes and violence as the group moves to seize weapons and eliminate any opposition.

Social media videos widely circulated online show Hamas members brutally beating Palestinians and carrying out public executions of alleged collaborators and rival militia members.

According to PCPSR’s recent poll, if legislative elections were held today, 44 percent of participating voters would back Hamas, while 30 percent would support Fatah, the Palestinian Authority (PA)’s ruling party.

In a presidential race between Khaled Meshaal, head of Hamas’s political wing, and PA President Mahmoud Abbas, 63 percent of respondents who would actually vote indicated they would support the Hamas candidate, while 27 percent would choose the PA leader.

The poll also revealed a sharp decline in Abbas’s support among Gazans, with 80 percent calling for his resignation and over half accusing him of corruption.

As for the war in Gaza, 62 percent of Palestinians do not believe that US President Donald Trump’s peace plan will succeed in ending the conflict once and for all.

A majority of Palestinians — 70 percent — are also skeptical that Trump’s plan will lead to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the next five years.

The poll further revealed that more than half of Gazans (53 percent) oppose the concept of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

While 49 percent of Palestinians oppose the US-backed ceasefire deal, PCPSR’s survey found that most support Hamas’s response and its role in the ongoing negotiations.

Following phase one of the deal, Hamas is supposed to disarm and have no future leadership role in Gaza, according to Trump’s 20-point peace plan. However, disarmament and other unresolved issues will be subject to negotiations.

As part of the plan, an international task force involving regional powers is expected to oversee the ceasefire and train local security forces.

According to PCPSR’s poll, nearly 70 percent of Palestinians (almost 80 percent in the West Bank and 55 percent in Gaza) oppose Hamas’s disarmament, saying it would not help achieve peace, while 68 percent are against the deployment of an armed Arab force from regional countries within the enclave.

A majority of 53 percent also opposed the proposal to create a Palestinian committee of professionals, independent of the PA and Hamas, to manage Gaza’s internal affairs.

When asked about the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered the current war, 53 percent of Palestinians said Hamas’s decision to carry out the assault was correct.

More than 80 percent of respondents also said Hamas has not committed the atrocities depicted in videos shown by international media, including the killing of children and the rape of women in their homes.

PCPSR’s poll found that nearly half of Palestinians (49 percent in the West Bank and 30 percent in Gaza) view “armed struggle” as the most effective way to end what they call “the Israeli occupation” and achieve an independent Palestinian state. The rest chose either negotiations or “popular peaceful resistance.”

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ADL removes ‘Protect Civil Rights’ from website as it narrows its mission amid right-wing attacks

(JTA) — The Anti-Defamation League has removed entirely from the “What We Do” page of its website a section called “Protect Civil Rights.”

The removal eliminated a passage that read, “Our founders established ADL with the clear understanding that the fight against any one form of prejudice or hate cannot succeed without countering hate of all forms.”

The change to the website, which has not been previously reported, was made amid other website edits following a flurry of right-wing criticism and an unprecedented attack on the organization earlier this month by FBI Director Kash Patel.

On Oct. 1, just hours before Jews on the East Coast would start fasting on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year, President Donald Trump’s handpicked top cop said the law enforcement agency was cutting ties with the ADL. The Jewish group was “functioning like a terrorist organization” because of how it tracks and reports extremism on the right, Patel told Fox News.

Patel’s announcement came days after Elon Musk mischaracterized a section of the ADL website to accuse the group of anti-Christian hatred. His post on X triggered a pile-on of condemnation. The ADL removed the section from its website as part of a purge of more than 1,000 other entries making up its Glossary of Extremism and Hate.

An ADL spokesperson told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the passage committing the ADL to the protection of civil rights was removed as part of an “ongoing review” of its website and its contents.

“This month, ADL has conducted deferred maintenance on the website, which had grown in recent years to more than 25,000 pieces of content — some even dating back to more than 30 years ago and clearly no longer relevant or reflective of ADL’s work today,” the spokesperson said.

A recent article by ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt makes clear how the ADL’s focus has changed: He outlined a withdrawal from the group’s commitment to the protection of all vulnerable minorities in favor of a mission centered more exclusively on anti-Jewish hatred.

The ADL is not commenting on its relationship with the FBI or Patel’s attack beyond the statement praising the agency it issued in the immediate aftermath.

“ADL has deep respect for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and law enforcement officers at all levels across the country who work tirelessly every single day to protect all Americans regardless of their ancestry, religion, ethnicity, faith, political affiliation or any other point of difference,” the statement said.

It’s still not yet clear what impact Patel’s announcement will have — in part because the ADL didn’t receive an official notice that might have offered details.

“ADL has not yet received any formal communication from the Administration, and we are working to learn more,” Greenblatt said in a note to Jewish groups that arrived in inboxes just hours after Fox News published its exclusive interview with Patel and minutes before Yom Kippur started.

A longstanding partnership that provided FBI agents training on topics such as hate crimes, violent extremism and antisemitism through a workshop at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is thought to be terminated.

Meanwhile, however, the ADL’s extremism trackers continue to exchange tips with the FBI, JTA has learned.

The ADL’s initial reaction may have been shaped by the shock of Patel’s decision, but the group’s ongoing silence on the issue appears to be part of a strategy.

The group never sought to rally a communal outcry from Jewish organizations. In fact, it did the opposite, pleading behind the scenes for them to shut up, an extraordinary move for an organization — and a community — that has in the post World War II era prided itself in speaking out against injustice.

“We’re really following ADL’s lead here,” said a senior official of a major Jewish group that has refrained from commenting on the FBI letter, and who asked for anonymity to speak candidly. “They’re determining how to navigate it in the way that makes sense for them.”

The muted reaction by Jewish legacy organizations can be read, their critics say, as acquiescence to an administration accused of leveraging government power to silence and destroy civil society critics.

Another factor is a community profoundly roiled by the hostility to Israel and Jewish attachment to the country that has emerged among the left and Democrats, the community of American thought where most Jews have thrived for more than a century.

But not everyone is willing to go along with the approach.

Amy Spitalnick, the CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, said Patel’s attack was evidence that it was futile to hope that the trumpeting of common ground with the Trump administration, as the ADL and others have done on Israel policy, would lead to comity.

“This is a reminder that they’re coming for everyone that doesn’t 100% align with their agenda and their approach,” Spitalnick said. “This is about a far more systemic abuse and weaponization of the federal government to advance a political agenda. And that should frighten all of us.”

Appeals by Spitalnick and others for a united Jewish front against the Trump administration’s assault on civil liberties have not just fallen on deaf ears among legacy Jewish groups, they have encountered active resistance. The Jewish Federations of North America, the goliath umbrella body for 150 or so local federations, in April urged constituent groups not to sign onto a JCPA-led statement decrying the Trump crackdown on speech under the pretext of stemming antisemitism.

Six months later, Jewish officials are wondering whether traditional Jewish advocacy on issues such as civil rights will survive the onslaught.

Officials are closely reading a Sept. 25 National Security Presidential Memorandum, purportedly spurred by the killing of Charlie Kirk, that sets up a task force that includes nonprofits among the entities it will investigate for “support” of “political violence, terrorism, or conspiracy against rights; or the violent deprivation of any citizen’s rights.” It also identifies “common threads” of such movements as including “anti-Christianity” bias or “hostility toward those who hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality.”

These catchall phrases are so broad that they may place numerous NGOs in the government’s crosshairs, said Halie Soifer, the CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America.

“When the White House erroneously accuses the ADL of ‘anti-Christian’ bias and ‘functioning like a terrorist organization,’ it creates fear of who is next, and honestly, that fear is justified,” Soifer said.  “It’s clear the Trump administration is aiming to expand  the definition of terrorism, to weaponize it against Americans with whom they disagree.”

Close to 4,000 nonprofits, including dozens of liberal Jewish groups, signed an open letter last month expressing alarm at the presidential directive.

“This attack on nonprofits is not happening in a vacuum, but as a part of a wholesale offensive against organizations and individuals that advocate for ideas or serve communities that the president finds objectionable, and that seek to enforce the rule of law against the federal government,” said the letter.

Jonathan Jacoby, the president of the Nexus project, which seeks to combat antisemitism while mitigating its weaponization, said Trump had the Jewish community in his sights.

“The Trump administration’s actions are not just challenging liberals or progressives or Democrats, they’re challenging Jews to respond. They’re challenging every Jewish organization,” he said. “It’s a clear example of why every Jewish organization, or every organization that represents Jewish interests, should be calling this out loud and clear.”

One of the ironies of Patel’s attack is that it has brought out groups that have clashed with the ADL over whether the group has blurred the differences between antisemitism and legitimate criticism of Israel to the group’s defense, while the ADL and its allies remain silent.

“While we have had our differences with the ADL over the years, the organization has played a central role in combating antisemitism and extremism in the United States for more than a century,” J Street, the liberal Jewish Middle East policy group said in a statement. “Ending the FBI’s long-term partnership with the ADL, while smearing the organization in this manner, will only embolden extremists and make American Jews less safe.”

The organizations that have lobbied hardest for further protections of synagogues and other institutions have been silent on the FBI-ADL breach; the JFNA, the Orthodox Union and the Secure Community Network declined or did not respond to requests for comment.

Leaders of the Reform and Conservative movements released statements for this story emphasizing the necessity of the ADL’s work with law enforcement — but without criticizing or even mentioning Patel’s attack.

“For decades, the ADL has worked with our movement’s network of congregations and also with law enforcement at every level, whose commitment we deeply respect,” said Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal, the CEO of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. “These partnerships protect our communities and must continue, and we are expressing our support for the ADL’s collaboration with law enforcement through the most appropriate and effective channels.”

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism said his movement was “aligned with the ADL’s commitment to fighting antisemitism and advancing Jewish communal safety … We hope the FBI will continue to join in that effort as it has over many decades to the benefit of the nation overall.”

The ADL has endeavored since Jan. 20 to accommodate Trump 2.0, praising some of its actions targeting universities where pro-Palestinian activism has at times created a hostile environment for Jewish students. Greenblatt, in comments first reported by the Forward, in June praised the Trump administration’s crackdown on universities in an address to a conference of Republican state attorneys general.

“I don’t agree with everything the Trump administration is doing, I don’t want to shut down these schools altogether,” he said. “But you know what? God bless [Education] Secretary [Linda] McMahon.”

Such statements have spurred claims that Greenblatt is steering the organization right, perhaps at the behest of donors the ADL shares with Trump or to avoid clashing with an administration that has sought to punish its critics. A New York Magazine deep dive in August into Greenblatt’s apparent shifts laid out what it said was evidence of a rightward drift.

Greenblatt in a subsequent interview with The New York Times said the group remained steadfastly nonpartisan. “We’ve worked with presidential administrations over generations, right and left,” Greenblatt said. “We don’t agree with them on everything, but where we can find common ground, we try. And where we have a point of disagreement, we make that known.”

Attempting to assign to Greenblatt a place on the left-to-right continuum may not make sense. His trajectory is more outside to inside, expansive to insular. He is emblematic of the many American Jews who until Oct. 7, 2023, felt comfortably ensconced in the precincts of liberalism, and who have since felt politically homeless.

Multiple sources pointed to Greenblatt’s Oct. 16 op-ed in eJewish Philanthropy as representative of this sentiment.

“It is a sad truth that so many of our self-described allies simply disappeared or deeply disappointed us when we needed them,” he wrote. “In this environment, we have no choice but to concentrate our energies like a laser beam on our core purpose, the reason why the ADL actually was founded so many generations ago — to protect the Jewish People.”

The post ADL removes ‘Protect Civil Rights’ from website as it narrows its mission amid right-wing attacks appeared first on The Forward.

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