Our Nice Jewish Editor Will Focus on Abuses of Power

By Daniel Holtzman July 24, 2018

Content warning: This article mentions sexual violence. The evening I interviewed to be the editor in chief of New Voices, I was nervous. I checked my hair in the webcam, set a water glass nearby, and waited for my internet to connect. When it did, several faces appeared. We all introduced ourselves, smiling, and as…

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Pew Survey Conversation (Part 3)

By Derek M. Kwait October 30, 2013

Part 3 in a 3 part series. Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here. 7.      What are your reactions to survey respondents’ answers to “What does it mean to be Jewish”? What creates Jewish meaning for you? Dr. Steven M. Cohen, sociologist: These questions pertain to areas of great ambiguity. I wouldn’t…

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Meet Steve, Sarah, Eliana, and Jonathan.

Pew Survey Conversation (Part 2)

By Derek M. Kwait October 29, 2013

Part 2 of a 3 part series. Part 1 is here. 4.      Are the survey’s categories of denomination a useful marker of determining true religious affiliation/practice in today’s Jewish world? Dr. Steven M. Cohen, sociologist: Yes. Denominational identities can be meaningful for people as many are strongly attached to Orthodoxy, Conservatism, Reform, and Reconstructionism. But…

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Meet Steve, Sarah, Eliana, and Jonathan.

An Inter-Everything Conversation About the Pew Survey

By Derek M. Kwait October 28, 2013

Part 1 in a 3 part series.   We might just be the last Jewish organization to respond to the big bad Pew Survey and we’re fine with that. It seems like every response so far is other people telling us what how we need to feel about it, whether we should be scared,  take…

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The Reading List: Some things never change

By Ben Sales March 31, 2011

A synopsis of an article about the University of Wisconsin’s Jewish community from 1924: “The author defends the Jewish student population at the University of Wisconsin, declaring that such Jews do not engage with Jewish communal life because communal institutions have no interest in accommodating their specific requests.” Sound familiar? [BJPA] 45 years later, Woody…

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Steven Cohen: Birthright should include J Street (and other news…)

By Ben Sales February 4, 2011

In the above video, posted yesterday by the Berman Jewish Policy Archive, BJPA Director Seven M. Cohen says that “Birthright is making a mistake” by not allowing a J Street trip. Cohen recommends, in brief, that Birthright provide “value-oriented trips to Israel”–a range of trips that provide space for students with diverse values or beliefs. Birthright,…

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