Archive
In past blogs, I have talked about progressive Judaism at length. I’ve written about queering Jewish spaces. I’ve explored the burgeoning institutionalization of Jewish atheism. I’ve critiqued the bureaucracy of conversion in Israel and for immigrants. Sometimes, the reaction to these pieces is positive. Thanks for that. Other times, the reaction goes something like this: “How much […]
The Abayudaya are a tribe of roughly 1,000 Jewish Ugandans living in and around Mbale. Haven’t heard of them? Me either—until I recently got the opportunity to meet their leader, Aaron Kintu Moses, during a shabbaton at the P’nai Or of Portland. The event was sponsored by Kulana, a non-profit organization that works to support isolated […]
On the first day of Ulpan, Jenna Gang showed us the tattoo of her Hebrew name printed on the back of her neck. From then on, we called her Yosefa. We lived together in a cramped apartment in Jerusalem, she the established New York City photographer and I the aspiring California writer, both participating on […]
In case you couldn’t tell, this week is Doppelgänger Week on Facebook. What does this mean? Practically, it means your newsfeeds will suddenly become overrun with a steady stream of highly attractive people who you’ll recognize not as your friends, but as actors, athletes, and an assortment of other famous people. Your friends will choose the […]
By way of following up on yesterday’s post on a new report about Israeli and Palestinian textbooks: (via quickmeme)
Oh, Lena Dunham. Every awkward girl out there now has a role model to pin her hopes and dreams on; every female writer can hold her up and say, “Look, she can do it. Maybe I can too.” It’s a nice fantasy. Because not only does she have a wildly successful, award-winning television show (based […]
Students trickle into a cozy room. Boys walk to the farther side, and girls sit in the closer side. A mechitza [partition] runs down the middle. Everyone opens up his or her siddur and prepares for Kabbalat Shabbat as a female student walks up to the bima [stage] and starts the Yedid Nefesh prayer. This […]
The first ever scientific study of whether Palestinian textbooks actually vilify Israelis as badly as a long-standing pro-Israel narrative claims they do — and vice versa — has poked a big hole in both sides’ version of the argument. In case you were worried anyone might react unpredictably to this news: Palestinian Authority Prime Minister […]
Yesterday afternoon, I sat on a park bench in my neighborhood, soaking up the sun. Dhana, a small Filipino girl made her way over to me, soccer ball tucked under her arm, dragging her mother by the wirst. When she reached the bench where I sat, she dropped the ball, threw her arms around me […]
There is still at least another hour before the moon blankets the surrounding rice fields and the gargantuan boulders here in the south Indian town of Hampi. But at Dudu Falafel it may as well be midnight. An Israeli tourist stands in the main window serenading passing strangers with the lyrics of an Israeli pop song as it blasts over the speakers. In the kitchen, Dudu Falafel owner Chandru Singh supervises his staff as they prepare falafel, shakshuka, and moussaka for Israeli backpackers and other foreign tourists. Dudu is one of several local restaurants offering Israeli comfort food – but it stands out from the rest, boasting that it imports its zaatar, paprika and even the instant coffee that many Israelis can’t live without.