Archive
Stereotypes, Oy [Huffington Post] Howard Meyer laments the longevity of unflattering Jewish stereotypes, claiming they are representative of the prejudices of a few discontents years ago and have little relevancy in today’s Jewish communities. He cites examples from the Seinfeld episode “The Yada Yada”, above, in which Jerry’s dentist converts to Judaism “for the jokes”, […]
Educating a new generation of Jewish learners
The strongest people in my life have always been women. I didn’t plan for that. It just happened. Growing up in a restrictive, uber-religious environment, I am familiar with every scripture (both Jewish and Christian) used throughout history to justify the inferior treatment of women. And yet, like something out of a fairy tale or […]
Gender and the Wall [Tikkun] The gender segregation at the heart of politics surrounding the Western Wall has been increasingly contentious over the last few years. In this blog from Tikkun Magazine, Joan Reiss explores the challenges often faced by the Women of the Wall, an activist group seeking the equality of women… well, at the […]
JTA reports that members of the now-defunct Boston University branch of Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi are under investigation following apparent hazings. The disturbing article reads: “Police responding to a noise complaint early Monday morning discovered the Boston University students in the basement of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house. The men were found bound together […]
The Great Schlep begins again [Forward] After a successful 2008 campaign to encourage young Jews to talk to their elders about voting for Obama, the follow-up (again called The Great Schlep) has grown by leaps and bounds. The Jewish Daily Forward reports: “The group, called the Jewish Council for Education and Research, ran a high-profile campaign […]
We received an odd letter here in the New Voices office last week: A single piece of paper with a collection of magazine covers featuring some classic money-Jews (Madoff, Greenspan, etc.) and the words “WALL STREET JEWS” in large letters followed by “…OCCUPY WALL STREET” in smaller letters. I guess it’s kind of true, in […]
As a recent high school graduate, I can safely say that figuring out what to do with your summers can be a minefield. Going to camp is fun, but doesn’t look that great on college applications. Taking classes at a college can be education, but you don’t really want to spend anymore time in school. […]
At the University of Chicago Hillel the students aren’t the rebellious ones. The Jewish federation of Chicago fired the professional head of the U. Chicago Hillel along with its entire board on March 30, the Forward reports (written by former New Voices editor Josh Nathan-Kazis). There’s a whole lot of weird in this story: What […]