Hitler's Death. Wonder Woman's Birth.
"On this historic date, all of us at JEWDICIOUS are thinking about of all our brethren in Israel."
This is going to be a quick one. And delightfully so.
I love history, and historical dates. And there’s nothing better than when the irony of two dates smacks you right between the eyes.
Eighty years ago today, Hitler killed himself. April 30, 1945. Shot himself in the head. That’s all the space he gets here. Except to say that he got out easy.
But 40 years ago today, Gal Gadot was born. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, Gal is the Israeli gal who became a massive star when she played the universally known DC Comics superhero known as Wonder Woman in the film of the same name in 2017. Since its release, it has grossed more than $800 million worldwide.
The two dates are a delicious coincidence of the calendar.
Also, in the movie, Wonder Woman (“Diana Prince”) fights the Germans in World War I alongside an American war pilot. Nice.
Oh, one more thing: This year, the Israeli holiday of Yom Ha’atzmaut — Israel’s Independence Day — is today (the fifth day of the Hebrew month of Iyar).
Seventy-seven years later, the State of Israel continues to fight for its independence in real-time — as well as other natural disasters. There are fires raging today in the country, which Hamas is now encouraging. All of us at JEWDICIOUS are thinking of all our Israeli brethren.
But we know with the hindsight of all of history that Israel and the Jewish people will survive. And thrive. Throughout everything that has been thrown at us, it has always been thus.
Lastly, this fascinating date gives me a special opportunity to thank a dear friend of ours in Jerusalem, Steven Drucker. Steven is the historian and author of DUST AND STARS, a Substack partner who publishes notable dates in Jewish history every day. If this kind of content interests you as it does us, check out his column!
Am Yisrael Chai.
MICHAEL GOLDEN is the Editor-In-Chief of JEWDICIOUS and founder of The Golden Mean.
From navigating the nuances of family and relationships to unpacking history and politics to finding the human angle on sports and entertainment — plus our unsparing take on what’s happening in the Jewish world — the canvas at JEWDICIOUS is limitless!
The mash-up of these significant events are interesting. But the current - actually not yet under control - fires have personally taken the wind out of my sails. The wind itself is an actor, maybe most important in the whole scenario.
While Hamas has tried to whup up more arsonists and one was already arrested, it is the effect on the nation that concerns me. We have had a hard year and a half, the nation has mourned, fought international persecution in person, in the ICC, on sports fields, in Ubers, and it takes a toll. The religious calendar builds us spiritually from Purim to Pesach, and the secular calendar lays another level as we grow from Yom ha Shoah Yom ha Zikaron to Independence Day and then to the upcoming joy of Shavuot.
Our children and youth and yes, adults too, take these fires as a gut punch. At least I feel that. We pivot, we zorem, we invent new examples of incredible resilience.
We also get a bit worn out. Everyone needs balance. The synchronicity of all this is remarkable but sometimes boring would be a nice change.
For clarity’s sake: Diana Prince didn’t go back in time, she just was there in 1917, which is when the movie happened. And she was fighting alongside an American pilot in WW1, so the Nazis didn’t exist yet.