• With Congress out of session this week, President Obama is calling for a deal to avoid broad cuts, including defense positions and first responders that will be enacted on March 1 without a deal. [NYT]
• David Axelrod, a one-time senior Obama adviser and two-time campaign architect, has shaved the ‘stache and is now going to take a cushy job as a senior political analyst at NBC News and MSNBC. [NYMag]
• Final yearly statistics in a new report show a 58 percent increase in anti-Semitic attacks in France in 2012, including a near doubling in physical attacks. [JTA]
• The National Yiddish Theater-Folksbiene is developing a brand new prize for playwrights who scribe new work in Yiddish. The first one will be awarded in 2015, so you better get writing. [NYT]
• In her monthly comic, Elizabeth Simins tackles the arduous task of introducing her Gentile fiance to her friends and handling their acrimonious reactions. [Jewcy]
Adam Chandler was previously a staff writer at Tablet. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Slate, Esquire, New York, and elsewhere. He tweets @allmychandler.