Jackie Mason, the Borscht Belt comic who started his career as a rabbi but eventually achieved great fame as a comedian, passed away at the age of 93. Mason had a career of highs and lows, including being banned from The Ed Sullivan Show for allegedly giving the host his middle finger, yet ultimately appearing on Broadway multiple times, winning a Tony and an Emmy award, and doing the voice of Rabbi Hyman Krustofsky, father of Krusty the Clown on The Simpsons. Controversy often swirled around Mason, who was criticized for referring to New York Mayor David Dinkens with a derogatory Yiddish word, for which he apologized, though he used the same word later about President Barack Obama. Mason also called for the expulsion of all Palestinians from Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, and he was an admirer of Rabbi Meir Kahane and also of Donald Trump. In the 1970’s, Mason had an affair with Ginger Reiter, leading to the birth of a daughter whom Mason denied was his. Ultimately a paternity lawsuit led to his providing child support, though he had little to do with his daughter, Sheba Mason. Which of the following is true about Jackie Mason’s relationship with Ginger Reiter and Sheba Mason?

Jackie Mason by Carl Lender is licensed under CC BY 2.0

A. Ginger Reiter met Jackie Mason in 1977 when he performed at a restaurant in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida called Wolfie Cohen’s Rascal House.

B. During the time that Ginger Reiter and Jackie Mason were dating, Reiter said, “He would leave some of his suits and ties in my closet. But little did I know that there were women all over Miami Beach with his suits and ties in their closets.” Reiter later introduced those suits and ties as evidence in her paternity suit against Mason.

C. Ginger Reiter had trained as a teacher of hearing impaired, but later gave up that career and became a writer, performer and producer. Her first show, Oh, Jackie, Oh, premiered in 1983, about her relationship with Mason before their daughter was born. Jackie Mason saw the first version of the show Oh, Jackie, Oh at a Florida synagogue, and gave it the following review, according to Reiter: “I don’t understand why you think this is so interesting. A man and woman, they go out. They go to an early bird special. What’s so interesting about it?”

D. Ginger Reiter’s first show, Oh, Jackie, Oh, was revived and rewritten more than once, and ultimately ran off-Broadway in 2014 with a new title, 702 Punchlines & Pregnant: The Jackie Mason Musical, with songs including Ode To The Early Bird Special and I Never Met This Yente. Reiter said the 702 in the show title referenced “the exact number of times that I was with Jackie.”

E. Though Mason had little to do with his daughter Sheba, a comedian and actor, he did once run into her in Manhattan, where he complained about a joke she had made in her stand-up comedy act, where she said: “Sometimes I wish a better-looking comedian was my father, like Woody Allen or Rosie O’Donnell.”

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Richard Branson successfully flew into space on a supersonic plane developed by Branson’s company Virgin Galactic. The flight, with Branson, two pilots, and three other Virgin employees, flew more than 50 miles above the earth’s surace with passengers momentarily experiencing weightlessness before returning to earth and landing safely in New Mexico. Branson has expressed support for Israel in the past, saying that Israel is a country of “great entrepreneurs doing incredible things.” He supports peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and opposes BDS efforts. When Branson visited Israel in 2019, he kissed the ground upon disembarking from his flight. Virgin Atlantic, Branson’s commercial airline company, began flying from London to Tel Aviv in 2019. What steps did Branson take to promote the success of the Virgin flights to and from Israel?

Richard Branson by Dan G is licensed under CC BY 2.0

A. Branson met with representatives of the major Chassidic sects in Jerusalem, including the Lubavitchers, the Gerrers, and the Satmars, and agreed to hire kosher caterers who were under their supervision for the kosher food service on his flights. He also promised that Chassidic men would not be made to change seats to avoid sitting next to a woman.

B. Branson hired a law firm in Israel that had ties to Yair Netanyahu, son of then Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. There is speculation that because of this connection, Branson was able to get landing rights for Virgin Atlantic without going through the typical long, complicated, and expensive application process.

C. Virgin Atlantic will not fly to and from Israel on Shabbat, Friday night and Saturday. By following the policy of El Al rather than other carriers such as Delta and British Airways, Branson insured that Orthodox and Chassidic travelers would consider his airline for their travel plans.

D. Branson set up a stall in the Jaffa Market, where shoppers are accustomed to bargaining for their purchases. He personally negotiated with customers, in one case agreeing to a purchaser’s offer of $45 instead of $450 for his ticket.

E. According to Exodus Chapter 22, verses 15-16, if a man seduces a single (virgin) woman, he must marry her or pay her father compensation. Based on this, Branson established the Virgin Virgin Discount Program, offering a cost reduction to fathers of single (virgin) women on flights to and from Israel.

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Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense under Presidents Gerald Ford and George W. Bush died last week at the age of 88. Following the September 11 terrorist attacks, Rumsfeld led the planning and execution of the Afghanistan invasion and then the Iraq War which led to the toppling of Saddam Hussein. Rumsfeld was one of the prime advocates for going after Saddam Hussein even though there was no evidence that he had anything to do with the terrrorist attacks. He later referenced his claim that “We know where they [weapons of mass destruction] are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad” as a misstatement. Rumsfeld was an admirer and strong supporter of Israel and a critic of PLO leader Yasser Arafat, who he felt had not really transformed from a terrorist to a statesman. However, what is one area where Rumsfeld did not support Israel?

rumsfeld_d_h by Cody McComas is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

A. A. Rumsfeld strongly opposed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to annex large sections of the West Bank in mid-2020, a plan that was supported by President Donald Trump. Said Rumsfeld, “I recognize that Israel gained the West Bank in a war launched against her by neighboring countries hoping to wipe her off the map. But I also believe that annexation will only complicate U. S. efforts to broaden support among Arab counties against Iran, so I hope annexation plans will not be carried out at this time.”

B. In 1982, Israeli forces invaded Lebanon with a goal of destroying the PLO, whose leadership was centered in Beirut. While Rumsfeld was a strong opponent of the PLO, he did not think Israel’s invasion of the sovereign nation of Lebanon was a wise idea. The PLO ultimately moved their headquarters to Tunisia, where they continued to promote terrorist acts against Israel, while Israel received international criticism after Lebanese Maronite militia supported by Israel carried out the Sabra and Shatila massacre. Rumsfeld wrote in his memoir, “I regret that I was not in government at that time, so that I might have been able to convince Prime Minister Begin not to take these actions in Lebanon.”

C. For many years, Rumsfeld strongly advocated against the release from prison of Jonathan Pollard, who had pled guilty to spying on behalf of Israel in 1986. As early as 1988, Israel began numerous efforts to bring about Pollard’s freedom. Rumsfeld organized a letter in 1998 to President Bill Clinton and signed by six other former secretaries of defense opposing the release, and in 2001 he sent a letter to President George W. Bush urging him not to support the freeing of Pollard. In 2015, Rumsfeld referenced those correspondences when he tweeted “Releasing Pollard was a bad idea in 1998 & 2001. It is not a better idea today.” Pollard, however, was paroled in late 2015, and following the end of his parole period in 2020, he emigrated to Israel.

D. The Israeli government under the leadership of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon proposed in 2003, and implemented in 2005, the unilateral Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Many setters left voluntarily, but those who did not were forcibly removed by the Israeli military. United States President George W. Bush supported the Israeli action as a positive step towards peace. But Benjamin Netanyahu, then Minister of Finance, and Natan Sharansky condemned the plan, leading Rumsfeld to say, “I firmly support peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors. But I also believe that Benjamin Netanyahu and Natan Sharansky should be listened to, as they are right that this withdrawal will only lead to more bloodshed.”

E. Rumsfeld read an article in the New York Times Travel section which extolled the state of Israeli cuisine and dining opportunities. He wrote a letter to the editor stating, “You know, when it comes to Israeli cuisine, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. Like falafel balls. We know they’re delicious. A mechayeh. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. Like what the hell is sabich? Who came up with that? That’s definitely a known unknown. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don't know we don't know. Like ful. Not only do we not know what that is, we don’t even know if it is a real food, or just something someone made up. A completely unknown unknown. I mean, they claim it’s like hummus made with fava beans instead of chickpeas. But why would you do that? Hummus is perfect the way it is. And the only way I like fava beans is with Saddam Hussein’s liver and a nice Chianti.”

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The United States Office of the Director of National Intelligence just released a report on the issue of unidentified aerial phenomena, colloquially called Unidentified Flying Objects, or UFOs. The document referenced 143 reports of sightings for which government scientists and military personnel could offer no explanation. At least 21 of these reports include aerial technology that is beyond our current capability or understanding, such as objects moving without observable propulsion. The report drew no conclusions about these sightings, other than that further investigation is needed. The report has greatly increased interest in UFOs and strengthened the belief of many that these objects may be from intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. Haim Eshed, the director of space programs for the Israel Ministry of Defense for nearly 30 years, gave an interview on the topic of UFOs. Eshed is considered to be the father of Israel’s space program, and has won many awards, including the Israel Defense Prize (the highest civilian defense honor of the State of Israel) on three occasions. What did Eshed say regarding the possibility of life on other planets?

ufo  by tonynetone is licensed under CC BY 2.0

A. Eshed said that Israel has long worked cooperatively with the United States in these investigations, and he confirmed that scientists involved in Israel’s space program and military are concerned about these sightings, for which there is no clear explanation. But he said, “This does not mean that aliens are about to land and take over. It just means there is more we need to learn.”

B. Eshed, an Orthodox Jew, said that he has always followed the science without hesitation. But he also said that he starts from the beginning, “literally, B’reishit. In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth. It does not say earths, so I believe that we are the humanity that God created. Having said that, I also recognize that God can do anything. So if the science shows me that there are others, I will welcome them to my Shabbat table.”

C. Though Eshed spoke extensively about space exploration and Israel’s program, he refused to speak about the specific topic of UFOs. There are reports that at least some of the unexplained aerial craft could have been created in a joint program between Israel and the United States. Some believe that the Director of National Intelligence report was in fact designed to obfuscate the level of engineering that US and Israeli scientists have developed, in particular to fool the Russians and Chinese who are also working on this technology.

D. Eshed criticized the Director of National Intelligence report, saying that releasing the report served no good purpose, and would only fuel speculation that there were aliens visiting the planet Earth. “People have wondered about UFOs forever. What I call angels sent by God some might call space aliens. People are afraid of what they don’t understand, so for the United States to announce that they don’t understand these phenomena is just an invitation to panic in my opinion.”

E. Eshed said that Israel and the United States have been dealing with aliens for years, that aliens and American astronauts share an underground base on Mars, and that President Trump almost revealed this secret, but the aliens, known as the Galactic Federation, convinced him that revealing their existence would lead to panic.

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