JEWISH WORLD

By THANE ROSENBAUM I am afraid it’s much worse than we realized. Our nation is termi- nally divided, and unlike the Civil War, this time it is not but one single issue that separates us. This is a deeper division, one that tran- scends even politics. It is a founda- tional fight, a culture war writ large, a disagreement without end. And that’s why this past presi- dential election solved nothing. The raging of the cancel culture is becoming a caricature of itself. Ironically, the progressive impul- ses of the whole woke movement makes almost no distinction bet- ween Democrats and Republicans. The Klan is as noxious to the can- cellation crowd as is any centrist. Even their natural allies — the moderate members of their own party! — are too sullied for inclu- sion. To be woke is to be at war with anyone who doesn’t fanatically toe your line. N o one gets a pass. Even Abrah- am Lincoln, apparently, failed his racial justice test. When the Great Emancipator first ran for president, he didn’t oppose slavery or, for that matter, entirely believe that political and civil rights should ever be granted to Blacks. He was a man of his time and shared certain racial prejudices with his white contemporaries. Before he mobi- lized the North to free the slaves, Lincoln was insufficiently woke. What to do with such a man in these days of identity politics run amuck? Surely his name must be erased on the facades of school buildings, as just happened in San Francisco. What next: renaming the Lincoln Memorial for some other president, one who more closely approximates the moral standard? Good luck with that. Evidently, the passage of the 13th Amendment entitled our greatest president to no bonus points in the white suprema- cy/cancel culture sweepstakes. In this tortured exercise in nation- al-abasement, diversity and equity By RUTHIE BLUM P fizer CEO Albert Bourla was scheduled to arrive in Israel recently to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials. One ostensible pur- pose of the visit — slated to coin- cide with the completion of the delivery of 10 million doses of BioNTech — was to examine the possibility of Pfizer building a vac- cine-production plant and R&D center in Israel. A few days after the announce- ment, however, Pfizer said that it was postponing the trip. According to the pharmaceutical giant, Bourla and the members of his team who were part of his entourage were not yet fully vaccinated. Certain Hebrew news sites pounced on this detail for the click- bait effect. Take Ynet, for instance. Rather than opt for the “cobbler’s kids wear no shoes” angle, the online version of the widely popular daily, Yediot Achronot , highlighted misleading keywords to suggest that the folks at Pfizer weren’t tak- ing any chances with their health by subjecting themselves to their own concoction — the one that they’ve been pushing on the rest of the world. The ploy initially worked. The item in question, shared on social media by people who clearly hadn’t read past the headline, began to cir- culate. Anti-coronavirus-vaxxers couldn’t have been happier or felt more vindicated. O ne Facebook user recounted overhearing two women in line at an ATM in Jerusalem talking about the “two Bs, Bourla and Bibi” exploiting the naiveté of the Israeli public to “conduct experiments on us.” To add weight to their belief that the vaccine is unsafe at best and a global conspiracy at worst, the interlocutors pointed to Bourla’s “refusal” to be inoculated. In keeping with the wise saying that “a little knowledge is a danger- ous thing,” these ladies, like fellow skeptics, didn’t bother to widen their horizons beyond rumor. Had they even done a perfunctory Google search, they would have realized that in December, soon after the first shipment of vaccines landed at Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion International Airport, Bourla continued on page 21 The misuses of his planned visit to Israel CANDLE LIGHTING continued on page xx 115 Middle Neck Rd. Great Neck, NY 11021 516-594-4000 The award-winning independent Jewish newspaper of Long Island Publisher & editor-in-chief Jerome Wm. Lippman Assistant Editor Jeff Helmreich Features Editor Barbara Weinblatt Travel Editor Tania Grossinger Contributors Douglas M. Bloomfield, Shira Dicker, Lawrence J. Epstein, Marcelle Sussman Fischler, Ezra Goldstein,, Sandy Portnoy, Joseph R. Rackman, Erica Rauzin, Walter Ruby, Lawrence H. Schiffman, Barbara Schultz, Jacob Stein, Carol Steinberg, Harold S. 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Local Offices: 1441 President Street Brooklyn, N.Y. 11213 311 W. 37th Street New York, N.Y. 10018 The Wrath Of The “Woke” Cancel culture is a threat we cannot ignore Trump wasn’t wrong about “witch hunts” — but they are aimed not at him but at everyone who doesn’t subscribe to the tyranny of political correctness. Netanyahu haters urged Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla to postpone his visit to Israel until after the election so that it wouldn’t help the prime minister. continued on page 26 People Canceled off a Cliff: We are witnessing a cultural sea change where wrong- thinking Americans are rendered castaways. Those found guilty are forever unforgiven and can never return. Pfizer CEO And Fake News ANALYSIS PERSPECTIVE 4 JEWISH WORLD • MARCH 19-25 2021 Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla didn’t come to Israel because he hadn’t received his second vaccine, after waiting for the first until his rightful turn came. Friday, March19 Candles 6:49 pm Shabbat ends 7:54 Friday, March 26 Candles 6:56 pm Saturday, March 27 Candles 8:27 pm First Passover Seder Sunday, March 28 Candles 8:28 pm Second Passover Seder Friday, April 2 Shabbat Candles 7:04 pm For Shabbat and 7th Day Passover Saturday Night, April 3rd Light Candles 8:35 pm For Sunday 8th Day Passover Sunday, April 4 Passover ends 8:40 pm