The world loves dead Jews. Far more than live Jews. Israel is going through an historic few days with world leaders raining down on Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, to commemorate dead Jews. It is historic, even if it is for dead Jews. It used to be unthinkable even for dead Jews. It is a big show, and while some of it might include ulterior motives (eg Putin), this is a tremendous accomplishment of Israel, Netanyahu and Rivlin (and whoever else was involved). I tend to dislike the reinforcement of the connection of Israel's legitimacy with the memory of the Holocaust, but we take what we can get.

Among all the craziness, this might take the cake. German President Frank Walter Steinmeier started off his speech at the Forum with a few sentences in Hebrew, including the bracha of Shehecheyanu.