Here it is! Issue number 1 of our 2nd year of The Gantseh Megillah! I am delighted and proud to welcome all of you to this first issue for the year 2001. It is my hope to make the Megillah even more interesting and entertaining than ever. During the first few months of the year, certain new features will present themselves in the newsletter. Among these features will be reviews of books pertaining to the interests of our community, guest editorials on issues of importance, more original stories as submitted by our family of subscribers and many other surprises. I urge you to stick around and even more importantly, to actively participate in our ongoing experiment by submitting stories and ideas for consideration.

The U.S. presidential election is finally over and we have a new president. How will the Bush II administration deal with the ongoing situation in the Middle East is anyone’s guess at this point in time.

This is a situation the Megillah will be watching closely. A lot of effort has been expended in trying to reach a genuine and lasting peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Sometimes it feels we are so close we can taste it. And yet at other times the entire concept appears to be an impossible dream. It will be interesting to see if the Bush administration continues to follow-up on the efforts that have already been initiated by President Clinton. Again, time will tell, and we shall be watching.

I have been approached by the BBC in London, England to participate in a documentary program they are producing dealing with “Borscht Belt” comedy. Although I have never been a comedian (not intentionally anyway) I spent many years of my professional life as a singer and performed at a lot of the resorts in that area of the Catskill Mountains. I’m delighted to have been asked to be a part of the project and I will keep you informed as soon as more information is available.

As I have mentioned in the past, I am always interested in knowing what Megillah readers are thinking and a “letters to the editor” department has been set up for that purpose. Please write to me at yenta@pass.to with any comments, questions or ideas you would like to share with your fellow megillah subscribers. I will do my very best to respond personally to every letter that comes in. You have my word on that. I want the Megillah to be YOUR newsletter. And the best way for that to happen is for you to make your feelings known and your voices heard.

2001 promises to be an exciting and interesting year in more ways than one. Events in the world are moving quickly. The Citizens of the United States have just been through the most bitterly contested presidential election in the history of the country. Our fellow citizens in Israel are about to go to the polls to elect a new prime minister in another highly and emotionally contested campaign; the results of which could easily determine the direction any chance for peace takes. It’s gonna be a hell of a ride, and I would like for all of us to share it together so we can understand “The Gantseh Megillah.”

My love to all of you,
Michael
Editor