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Bibi Might Take Rouhani’s Call; Menurkey’s a Hit

Plus first Arab named ‘Righteous Among the Nations,’ and more in the news

by
Stephanie Butnick
October 04, 2013
U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu speak during a meeting in the Oval Office, September 30, 2013 in Washington, DC.(Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu speak during a meeting in the Oval Office, September 30, 2013 in Washington, DC.(Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CNN’s Piers Morgan that while he wouldn’t call Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, he’d consider taking a call from Rouhani. No word on Bibi’s take on a possible texting situation. [JTA]

• Meanwhile, though the U.S. and Israel share a goal on stopping Iran’s nuclear program, recent events show that their preferred strategies differ enormously. [NYT]

• The Menurkey, my personal favorite Hanukkiah designed by a 9-year-old, is profiled—along with creator Asher Weintraub—in the Wall Street Journal. [WSJ]

• The first Arab to be named a Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem is the late Mohamed Helmy, an Egyption doctor who hid a Jewish woman in a cabin he owned in Berlin. [NYT]

• One apparent theory for the etymology of the word ‘bigot?’ The Spanish term hombre de bigotes—“a man with a mustache”—used to describe religious Jewish men who didn’t shave. [Mental Floss]

• The new play Bad Jews is being called the best comedy of the season, so there’s that. [NYT]

Stephanie Butnick is chief strategy officer of Tablet Magazine, co-founder of Tablet Studios, and a host of the Unorthodox podcast.