Erika Dreifus

• Responding to a Jewish Insider journalist’s mention of an episode of “Somebody Feeds Phil” incorrectly referencing Tel Aviv as Israel’s capital, I’ve finally “gone public” with my previously quiet, behind-the-scenes efforts to deal with a problematic treatment of Israel in a reference book for children. Amplification welcome. UPDATED AT 8:45 AM: I have received this morning an encouraging update from the publisher which I will share in full once I have confirmed that I have permission to do so. It’s very good news. Stay tuned! ADDING AT 9:10 AM: Now that Twitter is back up, I have added this info to the thread linked above.
• As I mentioned yesterday on the Practicing Writing blog, I’m still thinking about Joshua Cohen’s highly erudite letter to The New York Times Magazine as published in last weekend’s print issue. (I provided a single line from it as my most recent #SundaySentence; unfortunately, the Magazine has not made the full text available online, although I, for one, have inquired more than once via Twitter; again, amplification is welcome.) Like Cohen, I noted a certain “silence” in the publishing-focused article that he responded to, and I think it’s important for his comments to be made as accessible as the article itself remains. (Surely, the Magazine would wish to avoid further conveying the impression that, to borrow from David Baddiel, Jews Don’t Count.)
• And speaking of #SundaySentences: I suspect that Sarah Stone’s short story “Sarah’s Blessings (Or, Is There Such a Thing as Inappropriate Laughter?),” published in the latest Image, will be sourcing my next one.
• Streaming next Tuesday, July 19: “Past Imperfect: Reading Ukraine and Its Uneasy Jewish Legacy,” in which authors Gal Beckerman and Irina Reyn “will discuss the legacy of Jewish life and identity in Ukraine and how antisemitism is ingrained in its national history. Their conversation will be moderated by Andrew Silow-Carroll, editor in chief of The New York Jewish Week and senior editor at the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.” Earlier that same day (3:30 pm Eastern), Moment will present another online literary event: “Everything is Material: The Influence of Love, Loss and Humor in Fiction and Memoir,” with Susan Coll, Delia Ephron, and Amy E. Schwartz. The event is being held in celebration of the Moment-Karma Fiction Contest (note the free e-book offer).
• And with the Ephron name evoked, I’ll conclude with a recommendation to read Hannah Brown’s Jerusalem Post piece on “The Jewish Side of Nora Ephron.”

Shabbat shalom.