Despite the title, most of the book is about the history of the Jews after biblical times and a history of Mr. Pekar growing up in an immigrant family in Cleveland. Very little is about modern Israel. I had the feeling it was an unfinished work, especially since Mr. Pekar died about two years before publication of the book. The authors raise some interesting issues regarding the occupation since 1967 of Palestinian areas on the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, but those points were not thoroughly developed. Maybe I am expecting too much from a graphic novel.

David Blatt was not the closest Israel came to a gold medal. Sue Bird, the guard for the US basketball team, had an excellent Olympics winning a gold medal for the United States (an incredible 5th straight for the USA). She has US and Israeli citizenship, fortunately, because Israel had no competitive basketball team. See the article by Elliot Olshansky in the August 10 Forward. She plays for the WNBA Seattle Storm.

Women using tefillin is considered against Jewish law by the Orthodox and has long been rejected by the Reform when either men or women use them. In Israel, it might get you arrested if you try it at the Kotel, where women carrying a Torah have been arrested and threatened with years of imprisonment. We live in a free country, where you can do it if it seems meaningful to you.

Reform Judaism has failed its young people by it move to more Orthodox, more traditional, more ritualistic religion. Instead of the meaningful emphasis on ethics and reason and on universal values set forth in the Bible, Many temples have made their religious schools mind numbing exercises in pretended fluency in Hebrew (or as some might say, faking knowledge for a Bar Mitzvah). How could this not be a turnoff? Services have moved to a foreign language that is not understood by more than 95% of the congregation. There is an odd desire to wear religious costumes so as not to fit in with their fellow Americans. Plus there is an emphasis in some Jewish organization on victimhood plus adoration for a sanitized version of Israel (where even Jews lack basic freedom of religion and equality) despite the fact that Jews have never been more free, equal, prosperous and secure as they are in America.

The Roman Catholic Church has had far more experience than Agudath Israel in having religious authorities screen sex abuse claims. Maybe Agudath Israel could get some assistance from them.

The unique success of American Jews and lack of anti-Semitism is due is no small part to public schools which educate and socialize a diverse student body. There is no substitute for friendships that originate in childhood. Not only do Jews learn about people of different races, religions, and economic backgrounds, but all those other people learn about Jews and are thereby inoculated against anti-Semitic lies and stereotypes. Jews raised in a diverse school system are stronger, prepared for life in the real world.
The benefits of Jewish day schools do not make up for the harmful effects on Jews and gentiles that comes from segregating Jews in their own parochial schools.

The disadvantages of segregated Jewish schools far outweighs any benefit. Jews who attend schools without Protestants or Catholics, without people of other races and ethnic and economic backgrounds, come out ill equipped to live in the real world where all those other kinds of people will be their co-workers, neighbors, customers, etc. They will be delicate hot house plants raised in an artificial environment. They will miss out on the extracurricular activities of diverse public and private schools with football and basketball teams, drill teams and band. They will usually have less choices in classes.

Isolating Jewish students will make it more less likely that they will form valuable, deep, personal friendships from a young age with Americans of other faiths, races and national origins which enrich their lives and help them network. Segregated Jewish schools also deny many of the Protestant and Catholic kids the opportunity to grow up with Jewish friends. Socialization by America's public schools and private schools with diverse populations have been a key factor in making this country one with some of the lowest levels of antisemitism in the world.

Parochial schools impose a financial drain and hardship on Jewish families and communities, taking money away from college funds and from a variety of important community needs.