In which I investigate the Mossad's alleged covert moon base
Plus: Behind the scenes at the Obama seder, upcoming Yale and Harvard events
I’ve got some stuff in the works on the outcome of the Israeli elections, and what liberal supporters of Israel should be doing in the months ahead. That’ll hopefully hit your inboxes before Passover, but for those who want to hear some of those reflections in person beforehand, I’ll be in DC tomorrow night on this panel, before heading to New Haven the next day to speak at Yale Law School. You can check out all the details at the bottom of this edition.
But that’s not really why you opened this email. So let’s talk about the intergalactic Zionist conspiracy. As you know, a private Israeli company called SpaceIL recently attempted to make the Jewish state the fourth country to successfully reach the moon. The actual landing was scheduled to take place on April 11, and was even noted on the Israel Aviation Authority’s official flight-tracker:
Alas, although the unmanned probe did land on the moon, it did not do so in one piece. A last minute failure to sufficiently decelerate led to a new Beresheet-shaped crater on the moon.
Or at least, that was the official story.
Given the alleged existence of a secret Nazi base on the dark side of the moon, it only makes sense that the Mossad would be investing in countermeasures. While I was unable to get a direct answer to my inquiries from Israel’s space command, you’ll note that they didn’t deny it.
But more seriously, if you want a behind-the-scenes look from launch to (crash) landing of Israel’s Beresheet spacecraft, my colleague Armin Rosen has you covered.
Required Reading
There have been many accounts of the annual Passover seder at the Obama White House, but this new one is by far the most vivid and detailed. That’s unsurprising given the author: Eric Lesser, the Obama campaign staffer—now Massachusetts state senator—who organized the original impromptu seder in 2008 that became a White House tradition. Among the highlights: “Our first year, a minor panic ensued when Susan Sher, Michelle Obama’s Chief of Staff and close friend from Chicago, called to say her macaroons were stuck at the Secret Service checkpoint (apparently the lack of yeast made them too dense for the x-ray machines).” No kidding.
On a more somber note, anyone concerned with American Zionism and Israel advocacy should read my colleague Armin Rosen’s investigative report into Morton Klein and his (mis)management of the Zionist Organization of America. The piece chronicles how Klein turned the group into a hard-right one-person soapbox, drawing increasingly large salaries while overseeing the precipitous decline of the organization's membership. Among other things, Klein is alleged to have cut off ZOA's $200 monthly stipend to the widow of its executive director, herself a survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto and Bergen-Belsen, even as Klein drew a $212,000 salary; bragged about "publicly scream[ing] at a ZOA director named Milton Sussman to the point that Sussman was rolling around on a sidewalk in the grips of an apparent panic attack"; deliberately exposed female employees to sexual harassment at the hands of a donor; and in one case, telling one prospective female applicant that "due to budgetary restraints … on some occasions, we may have to share a hotel room."
A Personal Recommendation
Some of you may be familiar with Cameo, the online service that allows you to pay celebrities and others for short video greetings that they make at your direction. The site is not just useful for getting famous people to unknowingly parrot anti-Semitic slogans, but also for more wholesome fare. One individual on the site is Josh Malina, the West Wing, Sports Night, and Scandal actor who also has the distinction of being one of the most Jewish people in Hollywood. Malina donates everything he makes from the service to Mazon, the Jewish anti-hunger charity, and recently, I decided to take him up on it and commission a video for a loved one. He did an absolutely phenomenal job, so much so that I wanted to personally recommend that you try it too. Have him congratulate someone on their graduation, threaten your nemesis, apologize to someone you wronged, or all three at the same time—and help those in need in the process! His page is here.
Upcoming Speaking Appearances
April 16 at 7pm | Congregation Adas Israel, Washington D.C.
Across The Divide: Examining the Future of US-Israel, Israel-Diaspora Relations
Details and registration here. Livestream link here.
April 17 at 6pm | Yale Law School, New Haven, CT
Recognizing and Countering Anti-Semitism in Progressive Spaces
Details here.
April 23 at 12:30pm | Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, IL
The Seven Myths About Anti-Semitism: Why Anti-Semitism is So Hard to Fight and What to Do About It
May 4-5 | Harvard Hillel, Cambridge, MA
Scholar-in-residence weekend
Forthcoming: Connecticut, Detroit, Los Angeles, Australia…
Questions? Comments? Classified leaks about the Mossad’s secret space force? I’d love to hear from you. Reply to this email, or drop me a line at yrosenberg@tabletmag.com. You can also find me on Twitter and Facebook. And be sure to tell your friends about this newsletter!