I bit into a Kossar’s bialy for the first time in more than a decade, my teeth and jaw straining at the chew. I had to ask myself that uncomfortable question when it comes to old-time favorites. Do I actually like bialies? Or is it just the nostalgia I love?
When my friend asked what was on my list for a first visit to New York City in eight years, Kossar’s bialies immediately came to mind.
Needless to say, the Kossar’s I’d last visited bore almost no resemblance to this Kossar’s. What was once a grotty industrial space with sawdust on the floor (and 99¢ a bialy!) has transformed into a proper Lower East Side appetizing shop (with hipster prices to match).
These days, Kossar’s is pretty much the only place in the world to find a bialy.
I used to think a bialy was a bagel with onions in the middle instead of a hole. Back when the Bagel Store was in operation, that’s what they called a bialy. But a true bialy is a totally different animal. It’s smaller, flatter and far, far, chewier.
Having happily (and yes, a bit painfully) munched my way through the half dozen I returned to Denver with, I’ve realized that when it comes to nostalgic foods, flavor and texture are only part of the experience, and sometimes not even the biggest part. It’s about all the other sensations that come with it.
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After Oct. 7, undoubtedly the biggest military and intelligence failure in Israel’s history, I couldn’t understand why Israel’s government didn’t resign. I thought of Neville Chamberlain, and his epic failure to secure peace with Nazi Germany. In the UK, governments are elected on mandates; when a government fails its mandate, its leadership typically steps down.
But as the war continued, I came to realize that the vast majority of Israelis supported the war cabinet, and that most of the decisions on how to prosecute the war were made with the cabinet’s unanimous or near unanimous agreement. That’s why, when Schumer called for Netanyahu’s ouster, I wondered in my column whether he was taking crazy pills, calling for a change in government when almost no one in Israel itself had done so.
Now, however, the tides are turning. As reported recently in the IJN, inquiries into Oct. 7 have been launched. The Israel Democracy Institute’s 15th “War in Gaza” survey, released April 21, found that a majority of Israelis, Jewish and Arab, say the time has come for those in leadership on Oct. 7 to step down.
A reckoning has begun.
Chamberlain resigned at around the six-month mark. He remained prime minister during what is called the “phoney war,” when Britain was at war without waging war.
There was nothing phony about Hamas’ invasion. Had the government stepped down, Israel may have been even more rudderless as it faced its most existential threat since 1973.
When the change in leadership comes, I just hope that some of the unity that came from Oct. 7 will continue.
Shana Goldberg may be reached at shana@ijn.com
© IJN 2024
