To conclude with something lighter: Lior Zaltzman has discovered a scene from the 1967 Hollywood musical Thoroughly Modern Millie in which the protagonist, played by Julie Andrews, sings in Yiddish at a Jewish wedding. The song is a medley of traditional tunes, and Andrews’s pronunciation is reasonably good. André Previn, a Jew born in Berlin, arranged the film’s songs, and the famed composer Elmer Bernstein, the child of East European Jewish immigrants, wrote the score, so it’s possible either of them came up with the idea. In any case, the scene suggests a time when American Jews were fully part of New York City’s cultural mosaic, and such scenes didn’t raise too many Jewish or Gentile eyebrows.

Israel’s goals of freeing the hostages and defeating Hamas (the latter necessary to prevent further hostage taking) are to some extent contradictory, since Yahya Sinwar, the ruler of the Gaza Strip, will only turn over hostages in exchange for concessions. But Jacob Nagel remains convinced that Jerusalem should continue to pursue both goals:

Only consistent military pressure on Hamas can lead to the hostages’ release, either through negotiation or military operation. There’s little chance of reaching a deal with Hamas using current approaches, including the latest Egyptian proposal. Israeli concessions would only encourage further pressure from Hamas.

There is no incentive for Hamas to agree to a deal, especially since it believes it can achieve its full objectives without one. Unfortunately, many contribute to this belief, mainly from outside of Israel, but also from within.

Recent months saw Israel mistakenly refraining from entering Rafah for several reasons. Initially, the main [reason was to try] to negotiate a deal with Hamas. However, as it became clear that Hamas was uninterested, and its only goal was to return to its situation before October 7—where Hamas and its leadership control Gaza, Israeli forces are out, and there are no changes in the borders—the deal didn’t mature.