“Well, it’s Groundhog Day… again.” If you haven’t seen the eponymous movie, drop whatever you’re doing and see it now—it’s probably airing at this very moment on AMC, TBS, TNT, or USA. This 1993 classic centers on a cynical weatherman (Bill Murray) seemingly condemned to repeat the same day over and over. He engages in hedonistic pursuits before realizing the goal is redemption. In short, it’s about second chances.
Speaking of second chances, two new books address the challenges President Trump faces when it comes to forging a lasting peace in the Middle East: One Jewish State: The Last, Best Hope to Resolve the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict by David Friedman and The Battle for the Jewish State: How Israel—And America—Can Win by Victoria Coates. Jonathan Schanzer is back with a double review.
“David Friedman, the president’s former attorney who then became America’s ambassador to Israel, encourages Israelis to ‘begin a national conversation regarding the future of Judea and Samaria’—the disputed territory also known as ‘the West Bank’ inhabited by both Jews and Arabs who lay claim to it. In his book, One Jewish State, Friedman describes this sought-after real estate as ‘Israel’s biblical heartland,’ which must be preserved by Jews and Christians, alike. He asserts that ‘Palestinians would be receptive to life under Israeli sovereignty if accompanied by the opportunity for better health, education, and prosperity and the assurance of human dignity.’
“Friedman throws shade upon the ‘peace process’ that has consistently failed to serve American interests for more than three decades. He notes that consecutive presidents, Democrat and Republican alike, have failed to achieve the two-state solution, primarily because of Palestinian rejectionism. Friedman believes that the Palestinians are simply not willing to make the compromises necessary for such a diplomatic outcome. And it is for this reason that he proposes a completely different paradigm—one that will be viewed by traditional Palestinian nationalists with disdain.”
“Friedman’s book suggests a wholesale change in the diplomatic paradigm that would certainly provoke controversy. By contrast, Victoria Coates proposes a series of more modest steps that would merely mark a return to sensible previous Trump policies. The final chapter of The Battle for the Jewish State enumerates these policies, most of which were conceived when Coates was deputy national security adviser for the Middle East and North Africa on the Trump National Security Council.
“After a concise review of the disastrous Israel policies that have invariably failed past presidents, Coates suggests that the next administration should ‘reimpose the funding freeze on the Palestinians, if for no other reason than the fact that the murderers of October 7 are being rewarded under the Palestinian “pay for slay” law in violation of the Taylor Force Act.’ Coates wisely calls for a ban on any taxpayer dollars to UNRWA—the U.N. Relief and Works Agency that has effectively served as a partner and enabler of Hamas terrorism in Gaza.”
There is no shortage of partners and enablers in André Scheinmann’s memoir, I Am André: German Jew, French Resistance Fighter, British Spy by Diana Mara Henry. Abby W. Schachter gives us a review.
“Scheinmann has a remarkable tale to share, and among other attributes, he correctly identifies another similarity for victims of the Nazis and Hamas, as in this passage about his time in the Natzweiler concentration camp:
While the prisoner’s body was deteriorating under the regime they were made to follow, the SS and the Gestapo were doing their utmost to destroy the prisoner’s soul. … In order to survive, prisoners had to be proud of their past, convinced that what had brought them there was well worth it. They had to believe that victory was theirs.
“This belief that you had a history worth preserving, that made you part of something greater than yourself, is one of the key aspects of André’s survival. He was born in Germany to a Jewish family who were strongly anti-Hitler and spoke out publicly against him as early as 1924. By 1933, the Scheinmanns left Germany for France, where André was educated and drafted into the French Army, believing that his adopted country would rise to the occasion against the German foe.
“It was not to be. He was separated from his parents and ended up both working for the Vichy collaborators and the German occupying forces, while secretly organizing and leading a large network of informants and spies. And all while his real identity as a German Jew remained hidden.”
It turns out motherhood can bring out one’s real identity and in ways that give one… paws. Madeline Fry Schultz explains in her debut review of Nightbitch starring Amy Adams.
“After taking over bath time with Baby … the Husband demands items from the other room (toast for Baby, a sippy cup, a warm towel) every half-minute, causing his beleaguered wife to spring up from the couch like the inflatable air dancer at a car dealership. Before leaving on another work trip, he unhelpfully suggests to his wife, ‘Happiness is a choice.’
“The Mother [Amy Adams] is clearly unhappy, which is why the film starts getting weird. She grows hair on her back, then a tail, then extra nipples, as she gradually transforms into a dog, a sort of werewolf who only at night transforms to escape her home, her tedious responsibilities, and her toddler. It’s left up to us to decide whether she is really turning into a dog or whether it’s all in her mind; the fact that she eventually kills the family cat leaves no other options but the occult or psychosis (or perhaps both).”
“But what really plagues Mother isn’t her isolation, which we see is partially self-imposed as she initially turns up her nose at the mothers at the library, scoffing, ‘I think becoming friends with another woman simply because we’re both mothers is pathetic.’
“No, the idea of scraping out some sense of autonomy by digging up holes in the yard would certainly never have appeared to Mother had it not been for her feckless husband. It’s not like we’ve never seen a bumbling dad on screen before. But the good news is that for many of today’s moms, he doesn’t exist.”
“Today’s dads are spending three times as much time with their kids and more than twice as much time on housework compared with their grandfathers. These fathers also embrace their roles wholeheartedly: ‘Dads are just as likely as moms to say that parenting is extremely important to their identity,’ Pew Research Center reports.”
I, for one, can say with certainty that parenting is extremely important to me. Or at least that’s what my wife tells me to say.
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