Archive
“It is the epitome of intellectual dishonesty to use a well-established term to define a group (pro-Israel) when that group and its members such as yourself admit that the meaning of the well-established term does not in fact apply.” This was one of the many responses I received after my op-ed last month, “Hillel Student […]
Just over two weeks ago, the Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Laws and Standards (CJLS) voted in favor of a controversial teshuvah (responsum), written by Rabbi Pamela Barmash, ruling that, according to Jewish law, women can be considered obligated in all of the ritual commandments from which they have classically been exempt. When I first […]
If you want to receive something from another person, often you have to do something for them at some point first. This week’s parsha, Bechukotai, shows us that even God is aware of this part of human nature. The parsha starts with God saying, “Hey, I get it! You’re selfish, and I can’t expect you […]
write this piece having just returned from a fascinating lecture by Bernard Wasserstein, a prominent history professor emeritus here at the University of Chicago. The lecture roughly corresponded to a recent book of Wasserstein’s, “The Ambiguity of Virtue: Gertrude van Tijn and the Fate of the Dutch Jews.” Unsurprisingly, Wasserstein discussed the story of Gertrude […]
This has, possibly until now, been the academic year of Hillel shooting itself in the foot. Though its roots go back much further, Hillel’s troubles began in December, when then-new Hillel President and CEO Eric Fingerhut published an op-ed in the Jewish Week with AIPAC’s Jonathan Kessler announcing their intention to work together on college […]
Judaism and Buddhism. The former is a monotheistic faith built on faith God, the Torah, and the idea of free will. Judaism emerged in the Levant around 3,300 years ago. The latter is a nontheistic and monastic religion that originated in India around 563 BCE. Its tenets are the teachings of Prince Siddhartha Gautama Buddha, […]
This is a busy week at the University of Chicago. For one thing, we students are consumed with the mid-quarter rush of exams and paper due dates. This week in particular, though, we are also exceedingly busy non-academically—if you can imagine anything but academics ever occurring at the University of Chicago. Two major events are […]
Activists often term Israel’s Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, and sometimes Israel itself, as constituting an “apartheid state.” So too do political figures concerned with ending the awful situation – be they Omar Barghouti, John Kerry, or Tzipi Livni. Indeed, it is a convenient, short, and powerful way to term the brutality of […]
Hannah Silverfine’s experience with a Jewish education that taught only a very narrow definition of “pro Israel” is not only a problem in the Reform Movement. I agree that a good argument can be made for teaching children why support of Israel is important first, then leave the messy stuff for when they’re old enough […]
I have alluded before to (what I see as) the somewhat sorry state of Israel education and advocacy today, especially on college campuses. I spoke about the fact that simply greeting people who claim that Israel is an apartheid state with some falafel and a blue-and-white cupcake is not an effective tool for advocacy in […]