With antisemitism both on the rise and yet purposely dismissed—a not uncommon paradox associated with the world’s oldest prejudice—what better place to reimagine this quirk of political correctness than on a stage, with the most infamous of Jewish fictional characters: the moneylender from Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice,” Shylock.

I am known to have unrealistic expectations. For instance, once the Gaza 20-Point Peace Plan was signed, I naïvely, facetiously, imagined that Mark Ruffalo, Dua Lipa, Emma Stone, the Hadid sisters, Javier Bardem, New York City’s mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, and legions of pink-and purple-haired antisemites would all ecstatically dance the hora in celebration.

The ceasefire that went into effect on Friday between Israel and Hamas, and the hostage release that took place on Monday—and the still uncertain regional peace the ceasefire may portend—is a monumental achievement from an American president not known for diplomacy. It should have garnered Donald Trump the Nobel Peace Prize. Begrudge all you wish, but he has had a hand in neutralizing eight wars under his watch.

Since 2020, the Western world has been on a covered-face fetish. The pandemic made the N95 mask an indispensable artifact of the coronavirus—more important an accessory than the iPhone. We came to accept that protecting our respiratory systems meant forfeiting our facial identities.