“If not us, then who:” ‘Nana’ aims to help millennials relate to the Holocaust

By Alexa Kempner January 28, 2016

From a young age, Serena Dykman, a young European filmmaker, has known about the Holocaust. As the granddaughter of three survivors, she not only received a school education on the Holocaust, but a very personal one as well. She has witnessed the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe with the attack on the Jewish Museum of Belgium…

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Perspectives on Syrian refugees: Finding commonality in Jewish history

By Danny Blinderman January 27, 2016

In 1939, the United States denied entry to the MS St. Louis, a ship filled with Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution. Half of the passengers subsequently perished in the Holocaust. In 2015, the now iconic image of a drowned Syrian child illustrated the human cost of the Syrian Civil War and the consequences of closed…

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LGBTQ Jews: Let’s stop talking about Israel

By Amram Altzman January 26, 2016

When I first heard about the National LGBTQ Task Force’s decision to cancel A Wider Bridge’s event at the Creating Change conference this past weekend, I was sad. I know what it’s like as a religious person to feel alienated from queer spaces because of my decision to remain religious despite coming out of the…

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Co-opting social justice won’t erase reality in Israel

By Chloe Sobel January 20, 2016

I was hoping that in 2016, the Jewish community would find better ways to reach out to millennials. I guess they have, if co-opting social justice, intersectionality, and related ideas counts as outreach. It started with an op by David Bernstein, the current CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, published Jan. 4 in…

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It’s time for Jews to condemn Rabbi Mizrachi

By Jackson Richman January 18, 2016

Haredi Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi is a renowned worldwide Torah lecturer, claiming to be devoted to bringing Jews closer to Judaism. But it’s clear in light of recent remarks that his devotion to kiruv — Orthodox outreach — is anything but unificatory. It’s time that the Jewish community, regardless of affiliation, takes a stand against the…

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