I lack the ability as a writer to respond in real time to current events but I love the idea of a magazine called MAZL. You’re doing heroic work and I’d love to support this as a subscriber and/or writer.
Fabulous ideas! Thank you, Elissa for all the tireless work you are doing! One suggestion with regard to the Book Club: let's have subgroups or sub-clubs dedicated to various genres. I am now embarking on a new project connected to October 7 but like everything I do, this will be in the realm of speculative fiction. I am more than willing to support Jewish writers of all kinds but my expertise is SF, history, philosophy and non-fiction. I doubt I could write something interesting about, say, a psychological novel set in an ultra-Orthodox milieu. However, I do know a number of Jewish writers of SF who feel homeless. Already working in marginalized genres, they feel doubly marginalized as Jews. Let's give them our support!
It's true. I am so sorry to say it but the situation in the SF community is terrible for Jews who are suddenly discovering that their progressive colleagues have turned against them.
I don’t write SF, no. I only write CNF. Any attempt I’ve made in fiction was too terrifying for words and required immediate deletion! I am amazed by writers with range & flexibility. I am firmly rooted in essay, memoir, etc. If granted enough time, perhaps I’ll try again 😱
As it happens, the very first person to unfriend me after 10/7 was a SF writer, someone I’d befriended at a literary conference over 10 years ago & had maintained correspondence with ever since.
He was so anti-Israel, and I even tried to get him to speak with our family members who’ve resided in the desert since long before even the British mandate. He knew I had family there on 10/7, and that I was supposed to have been homeschooling my daughter for the semester in the kibbutzim (we cancelled due to my needing a hip replacement—who knew arthritis would be my great fortune?).
At first, he was somewhat kind. But as the days went on, his antisemitism reached a level I had not previously witnessed in modern life. Of course, I have seen so much since. But he was the first I knew personally.
And I didn’t even defriend him first! Like a fool, I tried to persuade him out of his hatred. I don’t know what I was thinking…but he’s a SF and fantasy person. Graduate of Clarion which I heard has been despicable.
Sorry it happened to you but you are not alone. Imagine what it is to be an SF writer in Israel today! And yes, I heard about Clarion and its descent into an ideological cesspool! Btw, may I ask if you are an SF writer yourself?
Even though deep down inside we all knew what the horrific fate of the Bibas kids and Shiri was likely to be, it still devastated me (and then it got worse, as the Israeli forensic examiner confirmed that the two kids were killed by hand. What kind of demented, depraved psychopaths do something like that?). Those kids were all of our kids..................and then I watched as it was condemned by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the Red Cross...................no, of course I'm not being serious. As usual, they didn't say bupkus. Dead or tortured Jews don't bother them at all.
Yes yesterday was awful and I’m not past it. Will I ever be? Why can’t students on campus protest against Trump’s betrayal of the Ukraine? Wouldn’t that be refreshing! I’m not as leftie as you but Elissa I admire your courage and your clear voice. Shabbat shalom.
1. I would love to try and meet up when you are in Israel.
2. The idea of MAZL is wonderful, and I feel that it is a platform to which I can contribute.
3. Please don't be too harsh on the meme. It was posted in loving memory of Oded Lipshitz, to show what a courageous advocate for peace he was. There is an element here which people are ignoring, surrendering to rhetoric to serve their narrative. Oded Lipshitz was not specifically targeted for who he was and a pioneer for peace. The f*&king butchers did not look beyond the fact that he was an Israeli, they were in a mode of mass murderous frenzy - any and every Israeli was their target. It is similar to the death of Dr. Melville Edelstein during the Soweto Riots of 1976. Edelstein instituted many projects aimed at assisting youth, disabled, poor, and marginalized communities within Soweto and was at an official opening for a branch of his Sheltered Workshop Program in Orlando East, designed to provide employment for disabled people, when the riots reached them and he was stoned to death. He represented a white man, that was all they saw. The same with Oded Lipshitz. And furthermore, there is a truth to the meme: neither they, nor we are going anywhere. At some point, this will have to end and we will have to learn to live together. Not now, of course. Not until we can process the trauma and learn to foster hope again, but Israeli oppression of the Palestinians is real, and often cruel. Sure, it is not what precipitated this Colludon-like massacre, but there is truth to the meme. Please consider seeing it in this light.
4. Sorry that I cannot commit to buying a book every month.
5. If only there was something I could do to allay the despair in the US. It is stultifying. I know Israel is not an option, but it may become one - and I will be waiting to welcome you, if it happens.
I deeply appreciate these comments, Paul and I so hope to meet you when I'm in Israel, and I would love to have you write for MAZL.
As an aside: if you listen to the episode of Call Me Back that features Dr. Einat Wilf, whom I find brilliant and compelling, she holds the opposite opinion: that Hamas deliberately seeks out the peaceniks and left-most Israelis as targets, to drive home the point that there is nothing an Israeli can do to absolve themselves of the crime of being Israeli. I'd love to know what you think of her perspective as put forth in that interview.
I have read and heard Einat Wilf quite a lot. She has undergone a transformation since Operation Protective Edge in 2014, and has become cynical and fatalistic, in a way. I think in a way she has fallen into the trap of judging and basing any proposed initiatives for the future, their viability and success based upon the now and projecting the present forwards. Totally untrusting. The flaw in this perspective is that it dismisses the possibility that if we do come to a negotiated process, it will (or has the potential to) cause a paradigm change that would make possible what seems impossible now. But she sounds so knowledgeable and erudite about it, doesn't she? It's convincing, but all in all it is her analysis. And I think that it is cynical and kills any hope for a resolution. Some examples:
For instance: She cites the failure of the Oslo Accords by pointing to the Hamas bombings and the intifada, as if the entire Palestinian population were insincere about the process and were only looking to lull Israel into a sense of complacency. The truth is that Hamas sought all the time to torpedo the process, while for the most part the PA accepted in in good faith, It was a time when Hamas was fighting to make a place for itself in the Palestinian street. using its extremism as the lever. The failure of Oslo was more complex than that, and the intifada which followed, could have been avoided. Including Arafat's supposed plan to cause it. (Had Sharon not gone up to the Temple Mount when he did, and if we could have had time for the situation after Camp David to stabilize). Now Wilf sees everything through the prism that the Palestinians are devious and always have hidden intentions.
As for "Hamas deliberately seeks out the peaceniks and left-most Israelis as targets, to drive home the point that there is nothing an Israeli can do to absolve themselves of the crime of being Israeli." It sounds so deep, right? It is something that people want to hear, because it makes Hamas even more evil, right? But I think it gives them too much "credit". It would mean for instance that the Nukhba who invaded Nir Oz were not engulfed in a "feeding frenzy", that they were aware of the identities of who they were kidnapping and their activities. I don't believe it. I think our expectation that they would spare peace activists, or cite that peace activists were not spared as an expedient justification that the idea of peace is naive, is ridiculous, even patronizing. I do not believe that those foot soldiers had that awareness in the heat of battle while they were going about their massacre. And what? Afterwards, they would release him because he drove sick people to hospital? Really?
Why is it naive to think a person's political bent and actions should be considered by the enemy? Nat Turner did not butcher abolitionists and if he had, that would have been insane.
Sorry, I think it is naïve because in the heat of massacre I doubt they had the presence of mind to be able to stop and do a "selection". It would also mean assuming that every single one of the hundreds of terrorists who invaded Nir Oz knew and could identify specific people. But isn't that what Wilf is saying? That Hamas intentionally targeted peace activists? Like they could distinguish who is and who isn't?
I’m so relieved to read this, and I think it’s a great idea to reclaim Zionism in the magazine.
And yes—totally agree that building connective tissue with pre-existing Jewish book clubs makes sense. Perhaps also bringing in Israeli ones too?
When I look at the current state of affairs here & add time to speculate, I become very worried for Israel and for all Jews in the diaspora. The creation of a “third” way—of a space to hold American progressives who are also Zionists—is imperative.
Currently, there is no container for American progressives who are also Zionists. I’d argue that it’s been a problem for a long time before 10/7, more than two decades at least, but it was easier to ignore before. The propaganda was already underway, but it wasn’t fully unleashed & made manifest for all to see.
I would add that in my own experience, there is a growing rift between American Jews who are longtime Americans, as compared to immigrant Jews who arrived here in more recent times, whether from Israel, Russia, South America, etc.
Of course, this has been my anecdotal experience. I haven’t made a study of it. But I’ve become increasingly fearful. I worry that American Jews with ties to the left here are going to turn against Israel more and more. Or, in their desire to support Israel, will join the MAGA crowd. I worry that people will not be able to sustain both their American progressive ideals and their Zionism, simultaneously.
They are not mutually exclusive positions—in reality, they are compatible—but false narratives have been superimposed upon Zionism, as we know. And people are scared and exhausted and in the absence of a clear alternative refuge, it is my opinion that they will inevitably choose “a side.” But there is no good choice between the two sides. We need to create a new choice for ourselves.
It’s all too much for a comment on a thread—I suck at brevity. I have been seeing this in my mind’s eye—a third way—but I certainly don’t have the platform or reach that you have.
We must abandon the flat and taut line of American politics. It’s a tug of war. It is futile. I sincerely believe the way forward is a push off this rope, a rise above this line. We need more dimensionality. We need more shape.
Perhaps I sound like an idealist, but if we don’t aim for something beyond the current options, I think we are headed for even more danger and despair than we currently find ourselves experiencing.
Thanks—I’m happy to help out with the magazine in any way I can. Would love to be able to talk in person too.
I really wanted to be able to meet & support you and the others who are doing panels at AWP, but I simply cannot make it happen with my husband, Tomer, still recovering from pump head side effects of his recent heart surgery.
You, indeed, are a hero and dose of sanity (if there is any at this time! I read your post, turn to my husband, and read to/share with him - "she's my soul sister". I'll do whatever in my power to continue to support and just thank you ... for who you are and what you are doing. Thank you doesn't share adequately - and yet, it will have to make do. Blessings and Thanks - Always
I’m so sorry, I’m just now seeing your reply. Jewishgenrechallenge@gmail.com. The creator’s name is Lailah, but there are others involved as well, I’m just not as familiar with them as I am with Lailah.
Thank you as always. You share fantastic ideas and have np if someone else helps to make it happen. That is true leadership & devotion. May you now have a restful evening and day tomorrow with your fam. Alesia
“On my favorite podcast of all time - Call Me Back, hosted by Dan Senor - I've had to endure listening to beloved analysts express the opinion that Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.
I was a wildly appreciative paying supporter of the Free Press for their clear-eyed coverage of Israeli issues, until the hundredth time they went after Biden with real dripping vitriol while treating Trump like a loveable rascally scamp who occasionally goes too far.”
It’s like you were writing my thoughts! I never feel alone here.
I’ve become disgusted with the majority of The Free Press (even Hughes rambling on about the end of DEI is bothering me. Does he not understand how doing things for the wrong reason differs from the right reason?) Weiss’s contrarian schtick pisses me off and feels insincere. The constant narcissism around “being the only place to say the truth” rings of a Tucker Carlsonian pronouncement (couldn’t help myself).
Senor at Call Me Back seems at least sincere, I’ve always known we differ politically but his focus is so narrow that it becomes ridiculous. Nukes could rid the world of starving children, but that doesn’t mean it’s the correct approach. I used to check multiple times a day just in case a new episode dropped, now I have 8 unplayed and zero desire to listen to how great the world is because Trump is “correcting the mistakes” of the Democrats.
I’m done with FP, they won’t get my $8 a week until the agenda changes from prioritizing the intellectual provocateur of the news world identity, to doing what they purport to do.
Also, Nellie Bowles is funny but her FP commentary is flaccid and empty. SNL’s Weekend Update is more poignant. Every time I read it, I can’t help thinking that she needed to get it checked by the boss before approval.
As always, Elissa, thank you so much for your words, your energy, and your heart.
I wonder if (even) more people might be able/willing to commit to a monthly book purchase if a program might a) be able to offer a discount and/or b) include books that aren't necessarily available in hardcover only.
I lack the ability as a writer to respond in real time to current events but I love the idea of a magazine called MAZL. You’re doing heroic work and I’d love to support this as a subscriber and/or writer.
Oh, and when I can’t afford to buy books by Jewish authors, I make my local public library system buy them for their circulating collections.
SO important to suggest purchase recommendations to libraries (even if mine aren't always successful).
Fabulous ideas! Thank you, Elissa for all the tireless work you are doing! One suggestion with regard to the Book Club: let's have subgroups or sub-clubs dedicated to various genres. I am now embarking on a new project connected to October 7 but like everything I do, this will be in the realm of speculative fiction. I am more than willing to support Jewish writers of all kinds but my expertise is SF, history, philosophy and non-fiction. I doubt I could write something interesting about, say, a psychological novel set in an ultra-Orthodox milieu. However, I do know a number of Jewish writers of SF who feel homeless. Already working in marginalized genres, they feel doubly marginalized as Jews. Let's give them our support!
Absolutely -- if you’d like to helm that effort and/or even become a genre editor at JUDITH, I will make you an admin. Please message me!
I have heard that the SF community has been even worse than other (already awful) literary spaces.
It's true. I am so sorry to say it but the situation in the SF community is terrible for Jews who are suddenly discovering that their progressive colleagues have turned against them.
I don’t write SF, no. I only write CNF. Any attempt I’ve made in fiction was too terrifying for words and required immediate deletion! I am amazed by writers with range & flexibility. I am firmly rooted in essay, memoir, etc. If granted enough time, perhaps I’ll try again 😱
As it happens, the very first person to unfriend me after 10/7 was a SF writer, someone I’d befriended at a literary conference over 10 years ago & had maintained correspondence with ever since.
He was so anti-Israel, and I even tried to get him to speak with our family members who’ve resided in the desert since long before even the British mandate. He knew I had family there on 10/7, and that I was supposed to have been homeschooling my daughter for the semester in the kibbutzim (we cancelled due to my needing a hip replacement—who knew arthritis would be my great fortune?).
At first, he was somewhat kind. But as the days went on, his antisemitism reached a level I had not previously witnessed in modern life. Of course, I have seen so much since. But he was the first I knew personally.
And I didn’t even defriend him first! Like a fool, I tried to persuade him out of his hatred. I don’t know what I was thinking…but he’s a SF and fantasy person. Graduate of Clarion which I heard has been despicable.
Sorry it happened to you but you are not alone. Imagine what it is to be an SF writer in Israel today! And yes, I heard about Clarion and its descent into an ideological cesspool! Btw, may I ask if you are an SF writer yourself?
Even though deep down inside we all knew what the horrific fate of the Bibas kids and Shiri was likely to be, it still devastated me (and then it got worse, as the Israeli forensic examiner confirmed that the two kids were killed by hand. What kind of demented, depraved psychopaths do something like that?). Those kids were all of our kids..................and then I watched as it was condemned by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the Red Cross...................no, of course I'm not being serious. As usual, they didn't say bupkus. Dead or tortured Jews don't bother them at all.
Yes yesterday was awful and I’m not past it. Will I ever be? Why can’t students on campus protest against Trump’s betrayal of the Ukraine? Wouldn’t that be refreshing! I’m not as leftie as you but Elissa I admire your courage and your clear voice. Shabbat shalom.
I would subscribe and tell friends yay for progressive Zionism!
Dear Elissa
1. I would love to try and meet up when you are in Israel.
2. The idea of MAZL is wonderful, and I feel that it is a platform to which I can contribute.
3. Please don't be too harsh on the meme. It was posted in loving memory of Oded Lipshitz, to show what a courageous advocate for peace he was. There is an element here which people are ignoring, surrendering to rhetoric to serve their narrative. Oded Lipshitz was not specifically targeted for who he was and a pioneer for peace. The f*&king butchers did not look beyond the fact that he was an Israeli, they were in a mode of mass murderous frenzy - any and every Israeli was their target. It is similar to the death of Dr. Melville Edelstein during the Soweto Riots of 1976. Edelstein instituted many projects aimed at assisting youth, disabled, poor, and marginalized communities within Soweto and was at an official opening for a branch of his Sheltered Workshop Program in Orlando East, designed to provide employment for disabled people, when the riots reached them and he was stoned to death. He represented a white man, that was all they saw. The same with Oded Lipshitz. And furthermore, there is a truth to the meme: neither they, nor we are going anywhere. At some point, this will have to end and we will have to learn to live together. Not now, of course. Not until we can process the trauma and learn to foster hope again, but Israeli oppression of the Palestinians is real, and often cruel. Sure, it is not what precipitated this Colludon-like massacre, but there is truth to the meme. Please consider seeing it in this light.
4. Sorry that I cannot commit to buying a book every month.
5. If only there was something I could do to allay the despair in the US. It is stultifying. I know Israel is not an option, but it may become one - and I will be waiting to welcome you, if it happens.
As usual, love, admiration and awe.
I deeply appreciate these comments, Paul and I so hope to meet you when I'm in Israel, and I would love to have you write for MAZL.
As an aside: if you listen to the episode of Call Me Back that features Dr. Einat Wilf, whom I find brilliant and compelling, she holds the opposite opinion: that Hamas deliberately seeks out the peaceniks and left-most Israelis as targets, to drive home the point that there is nothing an Israeli can do to absolve themselves of the crime of being Israeli. I'd love to know what you think of her perspective as put forth in that interview.
I have read and heard Einat Wilf quite a lot. She has undergone a transformation since Operation Protective Edge in 2014, and has become cynical and fatalistic, in a way. I think in a way she has fallen into the trap of judging and basing any proposed initiatives for the future, their viability and success based upon the now and projecting the present forwards. Totally untrusting. The flaw in this perspective is that it dismisses the possibility that if we do come to a negotiated process, it will (or has the potential to) cause a paradigm change that would make possible what seems impossible now. But she sounds so knowledgeable and erudite about it, doesn't she? It's convincing, but all in all it is her analysis. And I think that it is cynical and kills any hope for a resolution. Some examples:
For instance: She cites the failure of the Oslo Accords by pointing to the Hamas bombings and the intifada, as if the entire Palestinian population were insincere about the process and were only looking to lull Israel into a sense of complacency. The truth is that Hamas sought all the time to torpedo the process, while for the most part the PA accepted in in good faith, It was a time when Hamas was fighting to make a place for itself in the Palestinian street. using its extremism as the lever. The failure of Oslo was more complex than that, and the intifada which followed, could have been avoided. Including Arafat's supposed plan to cause it. (Had Sharon not gone up to the Temple Mount when he did, and if we could have had time for the situation after Camp David to stabilize). Now Wilf sees everything through the prism that the Palestinians are devious and always have hidden intentions.
As for "Hamas deliberately seeks out the peaceniks and left-most Israelis as targets, to drive home the point that there is nothing an Israeli can do to absolve themselves of the crime of being Israeli." It sounds so deep, right? It is something that people want to hear, because it makes Hamas even more evil, right? But I think it gives them too much "credit". It would mean for instance that the Nukhba who invaded Nir Oz were not engulfed in a "feeding frenzy", that they were aware of the identities of who they were kidnapping and their activities. I don't believe it. I think our expectation that they would spare peace activists, or cite that peace activists were not spared as an expedient justification that the idea of peace is naive, is ridiculous, even patronizing. I do not believe that those foot soldiers had that awareness in the heat of battle while they were going about their massacre. And what? Afterwards, they would release him because he drove sick people to hospital? Really?
Sorry, but I am not one of her disciples.
Why is it naive to think a person's political bent and actions should be considered by the enemy? Nat Turner did not butcher abolitionists and if he had, that would have been insane.
Sorry, I think it is naïve because in the heat of massacre I doubt they had the presence of mind to be able to stop and do a "selection". It would also mean assuming that every single one of the hundreds of terrorists who invaded Nir Oz knew and could identify specific people. But isn't that what Wilf is saying? That Hamas intentionally targeted peace activists? Like they could distinguish who is and who isn't?
I’m so relieved to read this, and I think it’s a great idea to reclaim Zionism in the magazine.
And yes—totally agree that building connective tissue with pre-existing Jewish book clubs makes sense. Perhaps also bringing in Israeli ones too?
When I look at the current state of affairs here & add time to speculate, I become very worried for Israel and for all Jews in the diaspora. The creation of a “third” way—of a space to hold American progressives who are also Zionists—is imperative.
Currently, there is no container for American progressives who are also Zionists. I’d argue that it’s been a problem for a long time before 10/7, more than two decades at least, but it was easier to ignore before. The propaganda was already underway, but it wasn’t fully unleashed & made manifest for all to see.
I would add that in my own experience, there is a growing rift between American Jews who are longtime Americans, as compared to immigrant Jews who arrived here in more recent times, whether from Israel, Russia, South America, etc.
Of course, this has been my anecdotal experience. I haven’t made a study of it. But I’ve become increasingly fearful. I worry that American Jews with ties to the left here are going to turn against Israel more and more. Or, in their desire to support Israel, will join the MAGA crowd. I worry that people will not be able to sustain both their American progressive ideals and their Zionism, simultaneously.
They are not mutually exclusive positions—in reality, they are compatible—but false narratives have been superimposed upon Zionism, as we know. And people are scared and exhausted and in the absence of a clear alternative refuge, it is my opinion that they will inevitably choose “a side.” But there is no good choice between the two sides. We need to create a new choice for ourselves.
It’s all too much for a comment on a thread—I suck at brevity. I have been seeing this in my mind’s eye—a third way—but I certainly don’t have the platform or reach that you have.
We must abandon the flat and taut line of American politics. It’s a tug of war. It is futile. I sincerely believe the way forward is a push off this rope, a rise above this line. We need more dimensionality. We need more shape.
Perhaps I sound like an idealist, but if we don’t aim for something beyond the current options, I think we are headed for even more danger and despair than we currently find ourselves experiencing.
I would love to have your voice in the magazine and would be more than happy to link it to your substack site to drive new readers to you.
Thanks—I’m happy to help out with the magazine in any way I can. Would love to be able to talk in person too.
I really wanted to be able to meet & support you and the others who are doing panels at AWP, but I simply cannot make it happen with my husband, Tomer, still recovering from pump head side effects of his recent heart surgery.
Truly disappointed I will miss everyone.
I love these ideas and wholeheartedly support them!
You, indeed, are a hero and dose of sanity (if there is any at this time! I read your post, turn to my husband, and read to/share with him - "she's my soul sister". I'll do whatever in my power to continue to support and just thank you ... for who you are and what you are doing. Thank you doesn't share adequately - and yet, it will have to make do. Blessings and Thanks - Always
Great ideas! Please consider reaching out to the Jewish Genre Challenge for your book idea, I think it could be a good thing!
Thank you! Do you have a contact there?
I’m so sorry, I’m just now seeing your reply. Jewishgenrechallenge@gmail.com. The creator’s name is Lailah, but there are others involved as well, I’m just not as familiar with them as I am with Lailah.
Thank you as always. You share fantastic ideas and have np if someone else helps to make it happen. That is true leadership & devotion. May you now have a restful evening and day tomorrow with your fam. Alesia
“On my favorite podcast of all time - Call Me Back, hosted by Dan Senor - I've had to endure listening to beloved analysts express the opinion that Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.
I was a wildly appreciative paying supporter of the Free Press for their clear-eyed coverage of Israeli issues, until the hundredth time they went after Biden with real dripping vitriol while treating Trump like a loveable rascally scamp who occasionally goes too far.”
It’s like you were writing my thoughts! I never feel alone here.
I’ve become disgusted with the majority of The Free Press (even Hughes rambling on about the end of DEI is bothering me. Does he not understand how doing things for the wrong reason differs from the right reason?) Weiss’s contrarian schtick pisses me off and feels insincere. The constant narcissism around “being the only place to say the truth” rings of a Tucker Carlsonian pronouncement (couldn’t help myself).
Senor at Call Me Back seems at least sincere, I’ve always known we differ politically but his focus is so narrow that it becomes ridiculous. Nukes could rid the world of starving children, but that doesn’t mean it’s the correct approach. I used to check multiple times a day just in case a new episode dropped, now I have 8 unplayed and zero desire to listen to how great the world is because Trump is “correcting the mistakes” of the Democrats.
I’m done with FP, they won’t get my $8 a week until the agenda changes from prioritizing the intellectual provocateur of the news world identity, to doing what they purport to do.
Also, Nellie Bowles is funny but her FP commentary is flaccid and empty. SNL’s Weekend Update is more poignant. Every time I read it, I can’t help thinking that she needed to get it checked by the boss before approval.
As always, Elissa, thank you so much for your words, your energy, and your heart.
I wonder if (even) more people might be able/willing to commit to a monthly book purchase if a program might a) be able to offer a discount and/or b) include books that aren't necessarily available in hardcover only.
I'm a paid Democratic operative, an ardent liberal Zionist and own a small Ad agency. I would love to work on Mazl or something similar.
I tried to respond to your poll, but my response did not register. Yes, your idea of a new publication is wonderful!