Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
There’s a lot of talk about personal modesty as it applies to the religious life. Religions around the world often encourage a codified form of dress to distinguish their practitioners from “the rest of us.” Fights over the Muslim hijab are excellent examples of the firestorms sparked by the modesty question. For Jews, recent events…
“We need to talk about Beit Shemesh” [Sh’ma] In this article from Sh’ma, Laura Frank explores the connections between true modesty (an ambiguous idea) and the misogyny of many ultra-Orthodox Jews. Can a balance between inner and outer appearance, and the implications of “legislating” dress as a form of social control, be reached? “As a…
Jewpacabra Get More: SOUTH PARKEric Cartman,Leopold “Butters” Stotch,more… South Park does Passover [SP Studios] Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the guys behind South Park, have a reputation for injecting religious commentary into their work (see: “The Book of Mormon“). Now in the 16th season of South Park, they take on Passover. And who better to…
Majority of Jews support marriage equality [Forward] Though it probably won’t come as a surprise to most of you that there are liberal Jews (GASP!), turns out an overwhelming majority of Jews support the equality of all persons to marry their partner, regardless of sexual orientation. Specifically, 81%. The Jewish Daily Forward writes: “Marriages between…
Years later, patrilineal debate rages on [Forward] The debate over “Who is a Jew?” has perhaps never been more heated in the years following the Reconstructionist, and later Reform, decision to accept as Jews those with only one Jewish parent: the father. While many perhaps expected this trend to catch on in the wider world,…
Israeli matzo is a hot commodity [Forward] Picked up matzo from the store yet to stock up before Passover? If so, you may have noticed the large bundles of Israeli matzo. But have you ever thought of what it takes to get it to your supermarket? The Jewish Daily Forward writes: “But Menachem Lubinsky, who…
Beis Rivkah High School’s war on Facebook immodesty [The Algemeiner] A school in Brooklyn, New York, is coming under fire for trying to force students to delete their Facebook accounts (under fines and threat of expulsion). Why? Because girls, dammit! The Algemeiner writes: “The decision by the all-girls Beis Rivkah High School in Brooklyn, New…
In light of the Reason Rally on March 24, at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., now seems like a good time to ask: how are Jews supposed to respond to a rise of attention to atheists, humanists, and the secular? Given how controversial the Rally has turned out to be (and was there any…
Christians & Jews in the West Bank [Forward] Evangelical Christians have taken up the cause of Jewish settlers in the West Bank, The Jewish Daily Forward reports. In this article by Nathan Jeffay, a spotlight is cast on the role of evangelical Christians in affirming the lives of West Bank settlers, all under the believed…
After one of Jerusalem’s largest ethnic clashes, no arrests made [Haaretz] It became one of Jerusalem’s largest clashes between ethnic groups. Yet when the smoke cleared, not a single arrest was made, and no charges were pressed. After a soccer game, a group of Beitar Jerusalem fans poured into a shopping mall and began harassing…
Rising indie pop artist Chana Rothman seems tailor made for an enthusiastic fandom. With greater numbers of young people embracing the roots of their cultures, music that blends Western sensibilities with world sounds is in greater demand. In the Jewish world, musicians have capitalized on this need for both cultural authenticity and tame worldliness to…
Daily Reform prayer? There’s an app for that [Forward] Following the recent release of the Reform movement’s Kabbalat Shabbat siddur in iPad form, the movement has now released an update featuring daily morning prayers. The Jewish Daily Forward reports: “The new application, which costs less than $5, was launched at the annual gathering of the…
In Friday’s Required Reading, we featured a short article by Gavriella Lerner on “ex-frum” stories and the implications they have for Orthodox Jews. The article follows the publication of “Unorthodox,” the story of a young woman who flees a Satmar Chasidic community. The book is gaining momentum in the public eye. But Lerner’s not sure…
Does the Catholic Church ‘demonize’ Israel? [YNet] Has the Catholic Church drawn a line between Judaism and Zionist thinkers, to the detriment of the current discourse over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? In this piece from YNet, Giulio Meotti argues that the Church is embracing a dangerous notion of anti-Zionism. Could this temper further Jewish/Catholic interreligious dialogue?…
Israeli security detain Harvard students… wait, what? [The Harvard Crimson] 55 Harvard students were detained Tuesday by Israeli border security during a trip to the West Bank. The students were visiting a Palestinian town. Afterwards, the trip’s guide was apparently arrested. And for what? That’s all a bit unclear. The Harvard Crimson reports: “‘There was…