All posts tagged: Oct

A horrific Oct. 7 report demands that Jews stop apologizing for their anguish

A horrific Oct. 7 report demands that Jews stop apologizing for their anguish

Published by Sam Flores

Warning: This post contains references to sexual violence. (RNS) — Sitting on my bookshelf at precisely eye level is the saddest book I know. “The Literature of Destruction: Jewish Responses to Catastrophe,” edited by David G. Roskies, who teaches at the Jewish Theological Seminary, is a 700-page anthology of Jewish literary responses to persecution, from the Bible through the Holocaust. The book consists of sacred text, poetry, fiction, memoirs and art. Its constant theme is, what did it mean for Jews to record, to remember and to return to some semblance of sanity after the catastrophes that faced our people? But for the past two days, I have been reading a document that challenges the Roskies volume in its impact. A recently released 300-page report by an Israeli researcher commission on the sexual and gender-based violence during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on Israel and against hostages held in Gaza is a modern book of Lamentations. The report’s central conclusion: Hamas’ acts of sexual violence were not merely isolated incidents coming from bad actors. …

Super Junior’s Leeteuk and Heechul form new sub-unit, bringing fan-con tour to Singapore on Oct 16

Super Junior’s Leeteuk and Heechul form new sub-unit, bringing fan-con tour to Singapore on Oct 16

Published by Sam Flores

The tour’s title, 1983, is inspired by both members’ birth year. It will be making a stop in Singapore on Oct 16 at The Star Theatre. Details, including ticket sales, will be announced at a later date. The duo will kick off the tour in Seoul on Jul 25 and 26 before hitting Tokyo, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Macau, Kaohsiung, Singapore and Taipei. During the Seoul encore concert of Super Junior’s 20th anniversary world tour, Super Show 10 SJ-Core, Leeteuk and Heechul had surprised fans with a duet performance of an unreleased song, Onsaemiro. Source link

36,000 MOE teachers, allied educators to get up to 9% pay increase from Oct 1

36,000 MOE teachers, allied educators to get up to 9% pay increase from Oct 1

Published by Sam Flores

The Singapore Teachers’ Union (STU) welcomed the move. “STU has long called for a comprehensive review of teacher pay, and we are pleased to see this long‑awaited step forward,” it said in a Facebook post. “While the 2 per cent to 9 per cent adjustments are a necessary recognition of the gaps with market benchmarks, salary revision alone is not sufficient,” STU said.  It added that MOE must take a holistic view of total compensation, including allowances, career progression and benefits, to ensure teaching remains an attractive and sustainable profession. Teachers’ workload should also be addressed, said the union. “More can and should be done to reduce non‑core administrative tasks so that teachers can focus on what matters most: the holistic development of our students. The union said it hopes to work closely with MOE to turn the announcement into lasting improvements for educators and students. Source link

‘Holding Liat’ documents a more complicated reality behind the Oct. 7 hostage crisis

‘Holding Liat’ documents a more complicated reality behind the Oct. 7 hostage crisis

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — Two years after the Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s devastating retaliation in Gaza, a slew of new films are coming to theaters and generating Oscar buzz. One of them offers a surprising and nuanced portrayal of an American-Israeli family whose adult daughter and her husband were kidnapped from their home on a kibbutz near the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023. “Holding Liat” takes place in the early days and weeks after the Hamas attack. It follows Yehuda Beinin and his wife, Chaya, American Jews who immigrated to Israel in their youth, as they try to agitate for the release of their kidnapped daughter, Liat Beinin Atzili, and find out the fate of her husband, Aviv Atzili. The documentary is now showing in New York, and, beginning Friday (Jan. 16), in Los Angeles. It will then roll out at theaters across the country. Yehuda makes clear he doesn’t trust the Israeli government and detests its leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The film documents him setting off with his other daughter, Tal, and …

Streaming Ratings Oct. 20-26, 2025

Streaming Ratings Oct. 20-26, 2025

Published by skeptic

Netflix’s political drama The Diplomat moved into the top spot on Nielsen’s streaming charts with sizable growth from its premiere week, and the streamer’s true-crime documentary The Perfect Neighbor also surged. The Diplomat drew about 1.24 billion minutes of viewing time for the week of Oct. 20-26, improving by 36 percent from the previous week and displacing Monster: The Ed Gein Story from the No. 1 overall spot. The Diplomat’s weekly total was its best since the second week of its first season in 2023. Nielsen also notes that 72 percent of the show’s viewing — about 889 minutes — came from the newly released third season, with the remainder devoted to prior episodes. The Perfect Neighbor, meanwhile, grew by 26 percent week to week and hit 1.01 billion viewing minutes. Rom-com Nobody Wants This came in third overall with 904 million minutes of watch time with the premiere of its second season on Oct. 23, but that was off by about 13 percent from its series premiere last year. After three weeks as top streaming …