Antisemitic Tropes Haunt ‘Wendell & Wild’

By Talia BarNoy December 15, 2022

Despite a thoughtfully diverse cast, the movie falls short when it comes to its only Jewish character.

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Revisiting the Jewish American Princess Zine

By Miranda Sullivan July 26, 2021

“While the Jewish American Princess has been weaponized by non-Jews for antisemitic purposes, intracommunally it’s often been used as a caricature to make fun of classist and racist Jewish people.” Welcome to the Jewish Underground Press.

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The Longer-Term Fight Against An Insurrection

By Drew Perkoski January 14, 2021

“Antiracist action requires more than protests; it requires community education, eliminating poverty & inequality, and abolishing those institutions which perpetuate racism and cannot be reformed.”

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Atoning for Jessica Krug

By Nora Herzog October 29, 2020

“Whether we ‘claim’ her or not, whether we knew her or not, as a Jew, Jessica Krug is part of our community. All of us must atone for her transgression, just as all of us must atone for the transgressions of synagogues who hired police and security that scrutinized Black Jews and Jews of Color entering our sanctuaries. There cannot be any evasion here.”

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Jews, You Don’t Have To Be White To Be White™

By Noam Lindenbaum January 11, 2018

Originally published in Scribe. “You don’t need to be white to be White™.” So said the comment on a contentious Facebook post in Columbia University’s premier meme sharing platform, columbia buy sell memes. The comment was in reference was to a ‘starter pack’ meme that ridiculed the generic wealthy lifestyle of those at Columbia who support…

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Jewish Students Join the March For Racial Justice

By Sara Weissman October 9, 2017

What do you do the day after a fast? (Sleep? Reflect? Make up for a day of missed meals by eating like a hobbit?) For hundreds of Jewish activists, the answer was march across the Brooklyn Bridge. When the Washington D.C. March for Racial Justice was organized on Yom Kippur, Jews gathered for solidarity marches…

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The Day After Yom Kippur, You’ll Find Me Marching

By Aliza Lifshitz September 29, 2017

As I reflect on this past year, moments of crisis stand out in my mind. I think about the ways in which God has tested me and my community. I think about experiencing a surreal and seemingly endless stream of challenges, pushing me to stand for my Jewish values that suddenly felt under attack. Even…

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The Fight For Racial Justice Starts at Home

By Margo Blank September 27, 2017

On Oct. 1, I’m going to the March For Racial Justice in Providence, Rhode Island – and my motivation for participating has nothing to do with anti-Semitism. For me, this march isn’t about the history of Jewish persecution. It’s about not only standing in solidarity with people marginalized around the world but also making a…

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UC Irvine students protest IDF presence on campus

By Nicole Zelniker June 1, 2016

On May 18, students at the University of California, Irvine, protested a screening of the documentary “Beneath the Helmet,” an Israeli film about the Israeli Defense Forces. “They were screaming. They tried to push open the door, but we were holding the door from the inside,” said President of Students Supporting Israel Katrin Gendova in…

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At what point does exploitation become inappropriate?

By Josh Weiss May 19, 2016

I love over-the-top, grindhouse, Tarantino-esque exploitation B-movies as much as the next Nice Jewish Boy™ — but sometimes I wonder if there’s a cut-off for when the blatant mocking of reality goes a little too far. I’m not talking about the explicit use of sex, drugs, violence and cursing; these elements are the essential cornerstones…

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Campus anti-Semitism isn’t always about Israel

By Chloe Sobel March 29, 2016

Today, the Forward published six students — five studying at American universities, one in South Africa — who answered a call to write about an experience at college that had shaped their Jewish identity in ways good, bad, or other. It’s an interesting read. The preface states that “every student interpreted the question as being about…

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It’s time for Jews to become intersectional

By Amram Altzman March 25, 2016

“Is _________ good for the Jews?” This question seems to be asked any time a major political development is revealed, especially in the Diaspora. One might ask, for example, if Canada’s new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is good for the Jews; many asked if Obama’s election in 2008 was good for the Jews; and there…

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Jewish pluralism — and its limits

By Amram Altzman March 15, 2016

The Jewish community has always been in the project of negotiating itself — what people are part of the Jewish community, what opinions are acceptable, and what are not. We also have a tradition of ideological pluralism which dates back centuries — indeed, to some of the earliest rabbinic literature. Throughout all that tradition, some…

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UChicago dealing with aftermath of AEPi’s racist emails

By Nicole Zelniker March 11, 2016

Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi rocked the University of Chicago’s campus last month when BuzzFeed News obtained emails that referred to Muslim student activists as “terrorists” and mocked Martin Luther King Day, calling it “Marathon Luther King Day” and saying to celebrate by eating fried chicken. AEPi International spokesperson AEPi Jonathan Pierce told New Voices that…

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What Kitty Genovese teaches us about Donald Trump

By Samantha Levinson February 17, 2016

When my Rabbi first told me about Kitty Genovese, it was my sophomore year of high school. After that, he would often invoke the story of how she was murdered while witnesses stood by. He would use Kitty to make a point about personal responsibility, or accent a story about not standing idly by, or…

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