Today in NY City I had a visit with a doctor I had never met before. He was a bit older, quite distinguished looking, and he was wearing a yarmulke.
While he was sticking needles in me and fiddling with various equipment, he asked me whether my family name was Jewish. When I said yes, he asked whether we had had problems at NYU with the “Palestinian situation”. I said no, and that NYU had done an excellent job of diffusing tensions all around.
We then got onto the subject of how our respective families had migrated from Eastern Europe in the great mid-century wave of Jewish immigration to America. In the end he wished me a happy Hanukkah, and I wished him a happy Hanukkah.
During our chat, I decided not to bring up the topic of Mayor-elect Mandami. It seemed like the right decision, given that I was talking with a person who was sticking needles in my body.