Thanksgiving is this week. Typically, it’s a time to show gratitude for the people, places, and things that bring value to your life. And I’ll do that.
Later.
But as I reflect on the year since last Thanksgiving, during which my father died and the war in Gaza continued and the wildfire of antisemitism spread even faster around the world and things in the U.S. got even more tense and divided, it’s worth noting that there is plenty I’m not grateful for.
So, in that spirit, and in no particular order, here are some of those people, places, and things I’m giving no thanks to this year.
- The one-third of Jewish voters in New York City who helped elect the new mayor
- Netflix, for dropping all episodes of their shows at the same time, obligating you to watch them asap so they don’t get spoiled. And because the company is so anti-theatrical releases
- Hamas, for so many reasons, but especially for the fact that they are still holding on to the bodies of three hostages they killed on October 7, 2023
- Anti-Israel Eurovision performers and countries, for making me care about the singing competition these last couple years
- “Influencers” who share content and information without noting the source — especially those who then add their handle to other people’s photos and videos as a sort of watermark, as if to claim the content as their own or to make sure nobody does the same thing to them
- People who can’t even make it two hours in a movie theater without looking at their phone — and who, for some reason, are always sitting in front of me in the theater
- Somerville, Mass.
- FX, for canceling English Teacher
- People I know who, for two years, have not once said something publicly in support of Israel or the Jewish people — especially if they are Jewish
- The actors, musicians, filmmakers, and other celebs who have worn bloody-hand pins and keffiyehs to events and who signed a letter saying they were boycotting Israeli film organizations
- People who say “Happy belated birthday” (No. It’s “Belated happy birthday.” The birthday wasn’t late, your happy wishes are)
- Ms. Rachel, for her one-sided and tone-deaf advocacy
- The theme song of The Morning Show
- The BBC, for its biased headlines, its many, many, many reporting mistakes, and the fact that it’s been forced to correct two stories a week about the Gaza war since the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Additional lack of gratitude goes to BBC Arabic, which has had to make 215 corrections and clarifications over the past two years on stories that were found to be biased, inaccurate, or misleading
- Ireland (the country, not Kathy)
- Movie theaters like the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, Mass., that claim to be inclusive places for movie fans, and that showed the divisive and controversial film No Other Land for weeks, but didn’t play The Road Between Us even once
- The creators and cast of the show Slam Frank
- Work meetings that start after 5 p.m.
- The Red Cross, which never once visited the hostages in Gaza but thinks it deserves credit for being a glorified car service on the days when hostages were released
- The rule that says, when you’re making a left turn, the cars in front of you turning left onto your street have the right of way
- The Democratic Party, which has largely abandoned Jewish voters — especially those like myself who are pro-Israel — and which has put many of us in the difficult position of being grateful for a President we don’t like, and not wanting to vote for either party
- Elon Musk, who has ruined Twitter for so many active users like myself. I miss the old Twitter
- Countries like France, Canada, and Australia, which pledged to recognize a Palestinian state, and in doing so, emboldened Hamas, rewarded terrorism, and delayed the end of the war and the release of the hostages
- The U.N.
- People who, in 2025, are still saying “blog” when they mean “blog post”
- Supposed human rights organizations that turn the other way when Israelis are attacked and abused, or raped, but are the loudest when it appears like Israel is at fault — or if these orgs can somehow spin an event to make the case that it is
- People I consider(ed) friends, who never once acknowledged in any way that my father passed away. Who never once reached out privately, or commented on my multiple social posts across multiple platforms, and didn’t even like or react to something I posted about him
- Hamasholes and others who protest in front of synagogues (in London, too) or on the streets of Jewish residential neighborhoods or at football matches, who vandalize Jewish day schools, and who are usually labeled “pro-Palestine,” but who are, in reality, disruptive for the sake of being disruptive, and hateful antisemites
- The producers of F1, who undoubtedly had a difficult choice, but who ultimately decided not to submit Chris Stapleton’s “Bad As I Used to Be” for Oscar consideration
- Local news stations, which always seem to be so much less informed than their national counterparts
- Anyone who has used the word “genocide” or “famine” to describe what’s happened in Gaza these last 2+ years
No thanks to all of you on this list!
(One exception: Thank you to Ben Jensen, on Unsplash, for taking the photo at the top of this blog post.)
Martin's Musings 
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