“As Jews throughout history prayed for their government, they did so with full understanding that their government was never going to get things quite right. While they had confidence that one day a redeemer would come to Zion, this was not that day. This was another stop along the way to redemption. So we pray that the imperfect leaders we have, in Washington and in Jerusalem, succeed in efforts to make us more secure, and that the King of Kings will ‘put into their hearts… compassion to do good.'”

“Directed by Guy Nattiv and Zar Amir (a rare collaboration between an Israeli and an Iranian filmmaker), ‘Tatami’ draws inspiration from the real-life experiences of Iranian athletes who were punished or forced to seek asylum abroad after refusing to wear a hijab during their international sporting events. We see Leila defiantly release her black mane of hair on several occasions — as in flashbacks to her life in Tehran in which she’s in bed with her husband or partying at an underground club.

But it’s not Leila’s hijab that’s the problem: Midway through the tournament, Leila’s coach, Maryam (Amir, an Iranian exile herself), gets a call from the Iranian authorities demanding that Leila fake an injury and drop out immediately to avoid competing against an Israeli athlete. (Iran doesn’t recognize Israel, and forbids its athletes from competition with Israeli athletes.)”

“Israel’s national science teams have concluded the international Olympiad season with an unprecedented haul of 26 medals, including 8 gold, 13 silver, and 5 bronze, along with one honorable mention…. The Education Ministry and the Maimonides Fund’s Future Scientists Center, which lead the training of these national teams, proudly announced the final tally as the last three teams of the season returned.”