Personalizing the Ramifications of the Israeli Rabbinate

By Amram Altzman January 13, 2014

It’s old news that the Israeli rabbinate rejects those who are not Orthodox, especially in regards to immigration or marriage. What was recently revealed, however, was exactly how this process of rejection or acceptance happens, in light of the Israeli Rabbinate’s recently calling Rabbi Avi Weiss’ status as an Orthodox rabbi into question. This was…

Read More...

Four Things You Don’t Know About the Swarthmore Hillel Controversy

By Derek M. Kwait January 9, 2014

  I have some reasonable propositions for how Hillel International should respond to the Swarthmore Hillel debacle based on four important facts missed by most other pundits on this subject. The first fact is that Swarthmore Hillel is uniquely financially independent. Swarthmore University has an endowment for all its religious groups on campus, and as…

Read More...

“Zero Dark Thirty,” or Shut Up and Watch

By John Propper January 22, 2013

“Zero Dark Thirty.” Something tells me I could type that title and walk away, and the comments section would take care of itself. No need for further input. Good game, everyone. Why is there so much anger over this movie? Many say it exaggerates the positive relationship between torture and the death of Usama bin…

Read More...

Shit Zionists Say; Mikvah controversy; Jewish Twitter; and more. [Required Reading]

By pkessler February 16, 2012

Norman Finkelstein, a noted advocate for Palestinian rights slammed the BDS movement, likening it to “Maoists”. His shift in position is indicative of a greater pattern in which the conflict is viewed as a matter of civil rights, rather than tension between two states, Sean O’Neill claims. [+972] “There is a paradigm shift in the…

Read More...

Jews and Messianics can agree on Long’s Torah debacle

By John Propper February 6, 2012

After a video of a recent service in Georgia with the controversial Bishop Eddie Long went viral, Jewish groups and bloggers were left scratching our heads and saying, “Huh?” The clip, found in last Friday’s Required Reading, featured Long being wrapped in a Torah scroll and declared “king” (though of what is unclear). There were…

Read More...