I've started recording my next audiobook -- but actually, my first novel -- which is called "Joubert Park." It is based on the story of my father's family in Johannesburg at a crucial point in South African and Jewish history.
The year was 1948. The Jewish community was reeling from the Holocaust, and fearful of the rise of the National Party, which had been pro-Nazi in the Second World War (and which would later go on to implement apartheid).
At the same time, the State of Israel was about to be declared, and Jews around the world were transfixed by that imminent rebirth. So there were hopes that accompanied the fears. The family drama played out against that background.
As I go through these ebooks -- most of which were written during the pandemic, the most productive writing time of my life -- I find mistakes and I correct them. But I also find I really like much of what I have written...
This week's show will be slightly different from the norm: we'll focus on clips and topics, rather than guests -- and that, hopefully, will mean more input from the callers (unless you are all watching football on opening weekend).
Topics:
- The state of the economy
- The fight against crime
- The midterm election fight
- The struggle for peace between Russia and Ukraine
- The airstrike on the Venezuelan drug cartel
- The attempt to sink Kennedy
- The war in Gaza
- The case against Harvard
- The Trump presidency
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET / 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
This week's Torah portion includes several laws about conduct in civic and personal life, the common theme of which is boundaries -- setting bounds to what one may do at home, at work, and even in the battlefield.
One noteworthy passage concerns Amalek, the evil nation that attacked the Children of Israel as they made their Exodus from slavery to freedom. Deuteronomy 25:17-19 commands Jews to obliterate Amalek's memory.
The South African government accused Israel of genocide on the basis of a story about Amalek in the Book of Samuel, in which King Saul was commanded to wipe out the entire evil Amalekite nation.
Because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quoted this week's portion -- "Remember what Amalek did to you" (25:17), the South African government claimed he was commanding soldiers to commit genocide.
It was an absurd and malevolent misreading of the Bible and of Jewish tradition. The commandment, as observed by Jews today, is to remember the evil of Amalek and fight ...
