Archive
When the paper I run, The Beacon, ran an op-ed entitled “Why it’s Time for Jews to Get Over the Holocaust,” the reaction was incensed. In fact, it was more than incensed. Readers were so wounded by the suggestion that they “get over” an event so personal and so tragic for so many of them that […]
Israeli band to perform on Yom Hashoah in Germany [JTA] Acclaimed Israeli group Balkan Beat Box (above), once members of the now defunct JDub label, were scheduled to perform Wednesday in Munich, Germany. The group released a statement saying that the scheduling was an unfortunate coincidence, but they intended to perform nonetheless. Stonybrook no longer […]
A production of an erotic Isaac Bashevis Singer story raises questions about the role of Yiddish theater.
Rabbinically intermarried [Sh’ma] Can a couple, both intensely devoted to their particular expression of Judaism, co-exist in a household? (Probably.) The more prudent question is… What does that look like? Rabbi Julie Adler, Director of the B’rit Milah Program of Reform Judaism, shares her own experience: “We’re each pretty certain that our way of observing Judaism […]
Apparently Facebook is more accepting of Palestinian peoplehood than, oh, I don’t know, Newt Gingrich. Obviously, this joke was too good to be missed, so I posted this very screenshot to Facebook earlier today. David (the Editor here) aptly pointed out that Facebook isn’t actually claiming that the Palestinians are a people, just that there do in […]
I am Jewish, and in my eyes this gives me the right to be self-depreciating. It’s the same for every culture I have encountered: each pokes fun at themselves slyly amongst themselves and (usually) gets offended if an outsider tries to do the same. So when I read Howard Meyer’s critique of tired Jewish stereotypes […]
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 […]