Better looking politicians get more media coverage than less attractive ones, says a new Israeli study from the Department of Communication at the University of Haifa. Results also show the correlation between looks and media coverage to be stronger for women than men, though despite female politicians being rated more attractive, they still get less media coverage than their male counterparts.

The study, published in the International Journal of Press/Politics, explored the association between the physical appearance of politicians and news coverage on three Israeli television channels. The researchers surveyed the coverage of all members of the 16th Israeli Knesset on these channels. Dutch students, unfamiliar with these politicians, rated their attractiveness based on website photos.

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“Seeing as there are those politicians who enjoy and seek out media coverage more than others, we wanted to examine whether motivation and effort to achieve media exposure are the factors that actually determine the amount of coverage. But this study has revealed that these are not mediating factors for physical appearance, and attractiveness has an effect regardless,” the researchers noted.

What other factors affect media coverage? Political tenure and seniority both have positive influence on coverage. Army rank also has quite some weight.

“Being attentive to outward appearance can increase the politician’s exposure through the media,” the researchers concluded.

This from a school in the same country that elected Golda Meir, brilliant but not exactly hot babe material.

• Last week in N&S, I wrote about a young man named Jonathan Goldberg, who died in 2007 two weeks after his bar mitzvah at Congregation B’nai Amoona. The crux of the piece was that a newly built sports shed in Jonathan’s name, which had been spearheaded by his father Dr. Rick Goldberg, was dedicated at the synagogue last month.

Jonathan’s parents are divorced. Each is remarried. The story did not name Jonathan’s mother, Linda Dembo, because she was not involved in the building of the shed or the dedication ceremony.

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Still, when she read the story in the Light, and saw her son’s picture accompanying it, she felt blindsided. I know this because she called to tell me as much. And I understood how she must have felt.

We talked for a while. During our conversation, she explained that the way she grieves for her son is privately. There have been some tributes in his honor that she has championed, but for the most part, she shares her grief with only a chosen few.

Later that day I called Robert Fishbone, whose wife, Sarah Linquist, had died last month of complications from ovarian cancer at the age of 58. Years ago, I had done a story about the two and their art business called On the Wall Productions. I wanted to offer my condolences.

I also know Fishbone as “Honi,” a fixture at Central Reform Congregation who entertains the children there with his music and wild costumes, including during the High Holiday services. When my 12-year-old was younger, I would get him excited about attending children’s service by a mere mention of seeing Honi in action.

As Fishbone and I spoke, he told me how some of Linquist’s friends were coming over Sunday morning to tend to her garden. He also explained how he and their daughter Liza were going to complete a children’s book project that Linquist had begun.

All of this got me thinking about how we grieve. In the Jewish religion, we tend to bury our loved ones quickly and then sit shiva for a certain number of days, most often a week.

But that doesn’t mean our grief stops then. We each must find our own way to deal with the pain and separation of that loss. There is no right or wrong way, just our way, be it through public tributes, private graveside visits, tending a garden or lying in bed with the covers thrown over our heads. Grief is so individual, so personal, so organic. And just because we grieve a death one way, doesn’t mean we will grieve another death in the same way.

As a result of these conversations, I decided I want to write more about grief and healing and the way we, as Jews, deal with both.

I want to hear your stories about what helped you cope with a great loss and how you found perspective so that you could move forward with your life. I feel strongly that there is something important to be explored here and much that we can learn from one another. But I need your help. Feel free to email me at efutterman @ thejewishlight.com or call me at 314-743-3669.