pkessler

On Remembering [Yom Hashoah]

By pkessler April 19, 2012

I never know what to do on Yom Hashoah. Some students read names in the library foyer – a powerful experience, especially in a room with vaulted ceilings where sound reverberates throughout the entrence of the building. Some educators strive to reach out, to teach the messages of the Holocaust so that everyone, not just…

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Yom Hashoah, Stonybrook no longer to close on Jewish holidays, and more [Required Reading]

By pkessler April 19, 2012

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…

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When joking crosses the line [Stereotypes]

By pkessler April 17, 2012

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…

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Oy with the Jewish stereotypes already; Palestinian prisoner hunger strike; Free the press, and more [Required Reading]

By pkessler April 17, 2012

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”,…

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On a Youth Activist Culture [Tikkun Olam]

By pkessler April 12, 2012

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….

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Drake’s Bar Mitzvah stirs controversy; Forget camp, Tikkun Olam; AEHazing, and more [Required Reading]

By pkessler April 12, 2012

Drake’s Bar Mitzvah [JTA] The rapper’s Jewish roots are well known. His new music video, featured above, allows viewers to see inside his ‘re-bar mitzvah’, held last fall. However, members of Temple Israel in Miami, the synagogue where the video was filmed, are less than pleased with its lyrical content. “And even though the song’s…

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The website we all love to hate [Media]

By pkessler April 10, 2012

I have spent, or rather squandered, countless hours pouring over Facebook. And every few months, usually in the midst of a particularly stressful work week in which I solemnly vow to stay focused, I consider removing myself from its vacuum and just going offline. However, in today’s age, deactivating your Facebook is like dropping off…

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Facebook buys Instagram; New reality show follows unorthodox; Focusing on community college, and more [Required Reading]

By pkessler April 10, 2012

Focusing on Community College [USA Today] Community College is no longer the subject of the hilarious NBC sitcom above. New government funding and a dearth of skills in several expanding areas has led to increased enrollment in community colleges offering technical and vocational skills that some view as crucial in today’s job market. However, focusing…

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When a Hack is just a Hack [Media]

By pkessler April 5, 2012

In the wake of more alleged hackings by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp empire, I wonder, as a journalist, how far is too far to get a story? In an internet age where so much information is publicly accessible and competition from various news outlets means that the same story will be told and retold from…

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Bob Dylan & Trayvon Martin; Eilat Missile Strike; Hungarian Blood Libel dredged up, and more [Required Reading]

By pkessler April 5, 2012

Bob Dylan and Trayvon Martin [Forward] Protestors outraged at the shooting of fourteen year old Trayvon Martin have utilized an old Bob Dylan song  to create the above video decrying the killing. However, JJ Goldberg argues, their anger is misdirected, and should be aimed at the system rather than a single individual: “Trayvon Martin’s death,…

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Drawing the Activist Line [Activism]

By pkessler March 29, 2012

Justice Antonin Scalia came to speak at Wesleyan a few weeks ago. Cool, right? Isn’t it great that the University chose to bring a Supreme Court Justice and highly educated Constitutional scholar to campus in order to engage in discussion with the students? Well, not quite. I respect the University’s choice to bring to campus…

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Brandeis SJP disrupts town hall meeting; Trayvon Martin and Jewish law; Matzah trays go modern art, and more [Required Reading]

By pkessler March 29, 2012

Brandeis Students protest Israeli Parliament Members [Brandeis SJP] On Monday, a Brandeis student group calling themselves Students for Justice in Palestine disrupted a town hall meeting in Newton, Mass where 5 members of the Israeli Parliament intended to speak. This activism comes on the heels of a similar effort by SJP last year. After the…

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What DSK can learn from the Marx Brothers

By pkessler March 27, 2012

My friend’s mother and her friends have a yearly award which they bestow on one Jewish celebrity. The title? Most embarrassing Jew. And they’re not talking some Marx brothers pie in the face slapstick humor. They’re talking about a Jew whose actions are so cringe-worthy that the fact that the two of you are associated…

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Strauss-Kahn Gate II; Hitler used to advertise shampoo; Media does media, and more [Required Reading]

By pkessler March 27, 2012

Jewish Community protests Hitler Shampoo Ad [BusinessWeek] Turkey’s Jewish community is up in arms after an advertising agency used old film footage of the Nazi dictator to promote a woman’s shampoo. The video created for Biomen shampoo, embedded above, has sparked international outrage. “The Jewish community and the Chief Rabbi’s office on Monday called Hitler “the most…

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Après Merah, le Déluge [Terrorism]

By pkessler March 22, 2012

Mohammad Merah, the 23-year-old French-Algerian accused of going on a spree of killings culminating in Monday’s deadly assault on a Jewish school in Toulouse, France, was killed trying to evade police after a 30+ hour stand off with law enforcement at his apartment. With Merah apprehended, France and Jewish communities everywhere can lick their wounds,…

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