The Bar Mitzvah Candy Is Dead

"NAZA" sold out Lincoln Center in minutes. The Guardian-produced documentary by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor alleges Israeli forces knowingly killed large numbers of Gaza civilians. At Saturday's New York Film Festival premiere, about a dozen Israeli-Americans rallied for the filmmakers and dozens against. "Compassion for Palestinian civilians does not require [us] to erase Oct. 7," said Noa Peri-Jensch of the Israeli-American Council. ¹

The CBC pulled a Jewish reporter off the air over a Yom Kippur video. Neil Herland posted footage of protesters shouting "baby killer" outside his Toronto synagogue on Yom Kippur, then faced a disciplinary hearing, the Toronto Sun reported. Herland said he got an Austrian passport this year "in case Canada becomes unsafe for me as a Jew." ²

Munich wants the Olympics back. Germany's Olympic committee picked Munich Saturday to bid for the 2036, 2040 or 2044 Games, Germany's first since Palestinian terrorists killed 11 Israeli athletes there in 1972. We would rather it not be 2036, a century after the Nazis' Games. ³

The bar mitzvah candy is dead. Jelly Belly discontinued Sunkist Fruit Gems as of May, David A.M. Wilensky writes. Those are the coin-shaped kosher gummies that American congregations throw at a kid who just finished reading Torah. A Ferrara representative (Ferrara owns Jelly Belly) told eJewishPhilanthropy it came down to "lack of consumer demands across the country." Wilensky's informal Facebook survey (130-plus comments) found it close to universal in American synagogues; J. food columnist Alix Wall called Fruit Gems "the only one I see." Rabbi Chai Levy ordered 50 pounds when she heard. Nassau Candy has announced a copycat. Fruit Gems worked because they were kosher, individually wrapped so they didn't stick to the floor, and soft enough not to leave welts on a 13-year-old's forehead. ⁴

Sukkot began at sundown Friday, and today is 16 Tishrei, the second day outside Israel. Chol HaMoed runs Monday through Thursday, and Hoshana Raba, the seventh day, is Friday. The week's shopping list is the four species: palm, myrtle, willow and etrog. ⁵⁶

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