In the 20th century, dozens of South African Jews and Jewish communities compiled cookbooks, usually containing family recipes, and had them privately printed. Nomi Kaltmann describes the New Zealand-based scholar Gavin Beinart-Smollan’s research into these artifacts:

South Africa’s Jewish community reached its zenith during the 1970s. Stemming from the migration of Lithuanian Jews [or Litvaks], who brought with them a rich cultural heritage, the community once boasted around 100,000 members. However, as the landscape shifted, many Jews opted to leave the country. Today, there are roughly 50,000 Jews in the country.

“The recipes in the community cookbooks are all kosher. Even the recipes in The Happy Hostess, created by the sisterhood of the Pretoria Jewish Reform Congregation, mostly abided by the rules of kashrut—apart from a couple recipes for crayfish! In this way they were very different from a lot of postwar American Jewish cookbooks, which featured dozens of non-kosher dishes,” said Beinart-Smollen. “Some of the books also adapted iconic South African recipes like bobotie”—a South African dish traditionally made by non-Jews with spiced minced meat, often lamb or beef, mixed with various ingredients such as bread soaked in milk, chutney, and a blend of spices—“to make them suitable for the kosher kitchen.”

“What makes South African Jewish food distinctive is that it is different to my encounters with Jewish food in the United States and elsewhere,” said [the historian Adam] Mendelsohn. “It reflects the transplantation of certain Litvak recipes to South Africa. There are certain things which aren’t here. Polish Jewish cooking isn’t here. No knishes.”

On Tuesday, representatives of Hamas met with their counterparts from Fatah—the faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) once led by Yasir Arafat that now governs parts of the West Bank—in Beijing to discuss possible reconciliation. While it is unlikely that these talks will yield any more progress than the many previous rounds, they constitute a significant step in China’s increasing attempts to involve itself in the Middle East on the side of Israel’s enemies.

By contrast, writes Tuvia Gering, Taiwan has been quick and consistent in its condemnations of Hamas and Iran and its expressions of sympathy with Israel:

Support from Taipei goes beyond words. Taiwan’s appointee in Tel Aviv and de-facto ambassador, Abby Lee, has been busy aiding hostage families, adopting the most affected kibbutzim in southern Israel, and volunteering with farmers. Taiwan recently pledged more than half a million dollars to Israel for critical initiatives, including medical and communications supplies for local municipalities. This follows earlier aid from Taiwan to an organization helping Israeli soldiers and families immediately after the October 7 attack.

The reasons why are not hard to fathom:

In many ways, Taiwan sees a reflection of itself in Israel—two vibrant democracies facing threats from hostile neighbors. Both nations wield substantial economic and technological prowess, and both heavily depend on U.S. military exports and diplomacy. Taipei also sees Israel as a “role model” for what Taiwan should aspire to be, citing its unwavering determination and capabilities to defend itself.

On a deeper level, Taiwanese leaders seem to view Israel’s war with Hamas and Iran as an extension of a greater struggle between democracy and autocracy.

Gering urges Israel to reciprocate these expressions of friendship and to take into account that “China has been going above and beyond to demonize the Jewish state in international forums.” Above all, he writes, Jerusalem should “take a firmer stance against China’s support for Hamas and Iran-backed terrorism, exposing the hypocrisy and repression that underpin its vision for a new global order.”