nation / world
Netflix to produce a ‘Jewish Matchmaking’ series
Matchmaker, matchmaker — are you going on Netflix?
The streaming giant announced a new “Jewish Matchmaking” series on March
24, modeled after its hit “Indian Matchmaking,” JTA reported.

Details are scant, and there is no premiere date, but Netflix companion site
Tudum said it will feature “singles in the US and Israel as they turn their dating
life over to a top Jewish matchmaker.”
“Will using the traditional practice of shidduch help them find their soulmate
in today’s world?” the show asks.

“Indian Matchmaking” was nominated for an Emmy after premiering in
July 2020, but it was also criticized by many who said it promoted stereotypes
and classism. The show’s production group, Industrial Media’s The Intellectual
Property Corp., will also produce “Jewish Matchmaking.”
Netflix has sustained criticism for shows such as “Unorthodox” and “My
Unorthodox Life,” for their negative portrayals of Orthodox Jews.

Some of Michael Steinhardt’s Looted Antiquities Being Returned to
Israel Are Missing
Eight of the looted artifacts that billionaire philanthropist Michael Steinhardt
must return to Israel as part of a deal with prosecutors in New York are still
missing, JTA reported.

That’s according to a press release on March 22 from the Manhattan District
Attorney’s office announcing that $5 million in stolen antiquities previously
belonging to Steinhardt are being repatriated to Israel, where Steinhardt is a
prominent donor to cultural institutions.

Steinhardt, 81, is one of the founders of the Birthright program.

Three of the repatriated items were already on display at the Israel Museum,
which years ago had borrowed them from Steinhardt. Israeli authorities on March
22 took possession of an additional 28 artifacts, including two 7,000-year-old gold
masks valued at $500,000 and three even older stone masks worth $650,000.

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Instagram Reverses Ban on Anti-Israel Group Without Explanation
“We’re back”: After a four-day ban from the social media platform, those words
overlaid a picture of Within Our Lifetime (WOL) leader Nerdeen Kiswani in a
March 13 Instagram post, JNS reported.

WOL’s detractors, who applauded Instagram’s decision to ban what they say
is not only an anti-Zionist group but “an extremely anti-Semitic” one, said they
were dismayed by what amounted to a wrist slap for WOL. Its account had been
taken down after it posted a collage of terrorist women on March 8 in celebration
of International Women’s Day.

Liora Rez, executive director of StopAntisemitism.org, said, “I’m extremely
disappointed. We have reached out to our contacts [at Instagram], and we have
not yet received a reply as to why they were reinstated.” Rez’s group had been one
of those petitioning to have WOL’s Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts
taken down.

Rez said that Instagram’s failure to respond to requests for an explanation is
“sadly, pretty standard. Social media companies are notoriously known for not
being transparent.”
Kotel Inspected Ahead of Passover
Israel’s Western Wall was inspected for safety on March 22 in preparation for
Passover, which begins April 15, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Western Wall stones are manually inspected twice a year — once before
Passover and once before Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The Western
Wall Heritage Foundation examines the wall to avoid potential disaster during
the year’s busiest times.

Engineers use a crane to move from stone to stone, checking each one’s durability.

Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz supervises the inspections in collabo-
ration with the Israel Antiquities Authority and the engineers.

A stone fell in July 2018, but nobody was hurt, even though it occurred the
morning after the fast of Tisha B’av, which was a crowded day. JE
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