The Rogovoy Report 11.11.24

From around the corner to around the globe...

Nov 10, 2024

The Strange History Behind the Anti-Semitic Dutch Soccer Attacks

(The Atlantic) - Among the bizarrest phenomena in the world of sports is Ajax, the most accomplished club in the storied history of Dutch soccer. Its fans — blond-haired men with beer guts, boys with blue eyes — sing “Hava Nagila” as they cram into the trams taking them to the stadium on the fringes of Amsterdam. Ajax fans tattoo the Star of David onto their forearms. In the moments before the opening kick of a match, they proudly shout at the top of their lungs, “Jews, Jews, Jews,” because — though most of them are not Jewish — philo-Semitism is part of their identity. Last night, the club that describes itself as Jewish played against a club of actual Jews, Maccabi Tel Aviv. As Israeli fans left the stadium, after their club suffered a thumping defeat, they were ambushed by well-organized groups of thugs, in what the mayor of Amsterdam described as “anti-Semitic hit-and-run squads.” What followed was a textbook example of a pogrom: mobs chasing Jews down city streets, goons punching and kicking Jews crouched helplessly in corners, an orgy of hate-filled violence. That this attack transpired on the streets of Amsterdam is beyond ironic. At least 75 percent of Dutch Jews died in the Holocaust. But there was an affectionate Yiddish nickname for the city: mokum, “safe place.” After the Spanish Inquisition, Holland absorbed Iberian Jewry, which flourished there. Amsterdam was the city that hid Anne Frank, the most famous example of righteous Gentiles taking risks on behalf of Jewish neighbors. And then there was Ajax.

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‘WITHIN YOU WITHOUT YOU’

Why the Sun Is Finally Shining on ‘Quiet Beatle’ George Harrison’s Legacy

(Irish Independent) - New York writer Seth Rogovoy, acclaimed for Bob Dylan: Prophet, Mystic, Poet — his thoughtful book on Bob Dylan — believes George Harrison’s reappraisal has been long overdue. His new book, Within You Without You: Listening to George Harrison, makes a compelling case that George’s contribution to the Beatles was far, far greater than most critics gave him credit for.... The engaging writing makes the listener want to hear well-worn songs anew.... Just when you think there is nothing else that can possibly be written about the Beatles or any of their members, Within You Without You demonstrates some will always find a way.

Seth Rogovoy to Read and Sign Copies of New George Harrison Book at Upstate Films/Orpheum Theatre in Saugerties, N.Y., Sun Nov 17

(WYWY) SAUGERTIES, N.Y. - Seth Rogovoy will read from and sign copies of his new book, Within You Without You: Listening to George Harrison, at Upstate Films/Orpheum Theatre in Saugerties on Sunday, November 17, at 2pm. The free event will also include a conversation with rock biographer Holly George-Warren and musician/author Robert Burke Warren, who will also perform several George Harrison favorites.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Artist Jeffrey Gibson at his art installation ‘Power Full Because We're Different’ at MASS MoCA

At MASS MoCA, Jeffrey Gibson Brings Difference Into the Light

(Boston Globe) NORTH ADAMS, Mass. - It starts outside, a low pounding thrum, a tease to what comes next. Open the frosted glass doors and the sound spills out and all but sucks you inside Mass MoCA’s gargantuan Building 5, where Jeffrey Gibson’s “Power Full Because We’re Different” awaits. In the darkness and din, long robes hover, apparition-like, spot-lit and shimmering; videos unspool on screens high above, as the space shudders with heavy, jubilant rhythms. Nightclub, temple, both, the space envelops, a cocoon of visceral, experiential wonder that, for all its airplane-hangar dimensions, feels intimately urgent. For more than 20 years, artists have grappled with the outsized stage Building 5 offers. But Gibson has become used to really big shows.

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Hudson’s Story Screen Cinema hosting inaugural Music Film Festival Nov. 13-17 (HV360)

NEWS FROM THE BERKSHIRES

Marge Cohan and Jim McGrath in a screenshot from Pittsfield Community Television's footage of the November 7th, 2024 ribbon cutting at the Merrill Road connection to the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail

‘A Peaceful Retreat from the Chaos in the Rest of the World’: Pittsfield Celebrates New Rail Trail Connection

(WAMC) PITTSFIELD, Mass. - State and local leaders gathered in Pittsfield on Thursday to hold a ribbon cutting on a newly completed segment of a rail trail that connects major Berkshire County communities. The Merrill Road access point marks another step forward for a popular countywide project that’s still far from completion. The picturesque Ashuwillticook Rail Trail’s first segments were completed over 20 years ago, and in 2017 it was extended north to connect the towns of Cheshire and Lanesborough to Adams. The north-south route is envisioned as a path that runs across the entirety of the commonwealth from Vermont to Connecticut.

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Leigh Davis wins 3rd Berkshire State House race, will succeed Pignatelli as the Southern Berkshires’ voice on Beacon Hill (WAMC)

Top Mass. Dems prep for second Trump: 'We will certainly be the ones to protect our fundamental rights and freedoms' (WAMC)

A second term secured, Western Mass. State Senator Paul Mark looks ahead to a new legislative session and a return to Trump’s America (WAMC)

Pittsfield voter turnout dropped at least 10% from 2020 to 2024 (WAMC)

Berkshire activists regroup to provide 'safe outlet to mobilize, gather, share post election' (Berkshire Edge)

Williamstown business owner calls for action on economic development (iBerkshires)

Select board recommends 10-year tax exemption for Adams Theater; voters will decide at next town meeting (iBerkshires)

A former ER nurse opens South Berkshire’s first medical spa in Great Barrington (Berkshire Eagle)

Jewish Federation of the Berkshires executive director Dara Kaufman appointed to state’s Commission on Combatting Antisemitism (B Edge)

Table with American, Israeli flags vandalized at Williams College (Williams Record)

Absurd grade inflation at Williams College — whereby nearly everyone gets an ‘A’ — prompts faculty concern (Williams Record)

NEWS FROM THE HUDSON VALLEY

Made X Hudson Retail Shops Are Hub for Local and Sustainable Fashion

(Chronogram) HUDSON, N.Y. - Founded in 2020 by Sergio Guadarrama of Celestino Couture and Eric De Feo of the Hudson Community Incubator, Made X Hudson launched a small-batch textile manufacturing factory and two slow-fashion boutiques in the Hudson Valley: one in Catskill and the other in Hudson. The storefronts feature clothes and accessories designed and sewn by them, alongside pieces by other small, sustainable brands, for whom they handle production. Made X Hudson also offers alterations, customization services, and hosts events and workshops like their open studios on Mondays and Saturdays and Catskill First Fridays, fostering community and creativity in the region.

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Smoke from downstate fires blows into Capital Region, triggering flurry of calls (ATU)

Mayor proposes $19.7M Hudson budget with 1.5% tax hike (HV360)

Galvan sues business partners over price of affordable complex in Hudson (ATU)

Hot Hudson housing market in top three percent nationwide (ABR)

An elegant new restaurant in Hudson serves produce from the owners’ farm (NYT)

Woman pleads guilty to threatening Black man in Catskill (ATU)

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