Rachel M. Cohen

‘Companionship or Death’: Jewish Engagement With the Injustice of Solitary Confinement

By Rachel M. Cohen January 22, 2013

If community is a foundation of Jewish life, what does Judaism have to say about solitary confinement, the forcible separation of a person from the community? A few months ago I began an internship with Solitary Watch, an investigative news organization dedicated to reporting on solitary confinement. Once I got started, I became interested in…

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Are Rabbis Allowed to Speak Their Minds?

By Rachel M. Cohen December 10, 2012

The Forward’s Artist-in-Residence, Eli Valley just published a comic about a recent episode at Bnai Jeshurun, a non-denominational, liberal synagogue in New York City. The rabbis had sent out an email to their congregants praising the U.N. Palestinian vote, and then, after intense media coverage and mixed reactions from the community, they later apologized and…

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‘Apolitical’ Israel fairs? No such thing

By Rachel M. Cohen May 8, 2012

Two weeks ago we celebrated Yom Haatzmaut – Israel’s birthday. It’s an exciting time of year for those of us who care and advocate for the state of Israel. Celebrations commemorating Israel’s Independence Day happened on college campuses all over the country. And yet I observed two troubling trends surrounding many of these events that do injustice to Israel, to pro-Israel advocacy, and to the intelligence of college students.

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Yiddish theater for anglophones

By Rachel M. Cohen April 18, 2012

A production of an erotic Isaac Bashevis Singer story raises questions about the role of Yiddish theater.

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