Archive for December, 2009

The Jews can be trusted with holy sites but Muslims can’t?


Proposted in a Jewschool chat thread by one of our lurkers:
How many mosques were there in West Jerusalem prior to 1948? How many mosques are being recorded as destroyed?
My response:
I cannot believe you even suggested that.
Do you want the specific numbers in just West Jerusalem, or would you like the number of mosques in the [...]


A quick rant against Jewish newspapers


I just barked a laugh and nearly snorted my afternoon coffee while reading JTA’s peice on American right-wing mogul Sheldon Adelson’s “Bibiton” Israel Hayom. (Hebrew pun: Netanyahu’s nickname “Bibi” + Hebrew “iton” meaing newspaper = free right-wing tabloid.)
This analysis, of course, makes two implicit assumptions: That all the other newspapers don’t fold because of the [...]


Men are (in) trouble


This masculinity in progressive Judaism topic is deeply interesting to me. The furor online and off revealed an issue of great disagreement within progressive Jewish circles. The outburst of passionate opinion said as much — 120 comments don’t come from nowhere. Those are the topics really worth pursuing.
I have been searching for ways to [...]


Parshat Vayigash: Hiding and Opening


To better understand the Jewish scriptures cycle and my approach to my sermonizing versus my blogging, see my explanation.
In Parshat Vayigash (Genesis 44:18 - 47:27), Joseph reveals himself to his brothers. Rather than brotherly reconciliation or trends in assimilation, this week I think more interesting is a mediation on hiding and opening. “Hiding and opening” [...]


Why being Gazan sucks…to put it lightly


This is a real email from a real person. If you’d like to be in touch with Mohammad, I’ll provide you with his email. I post this here because it’s a good time to remember what occupation really means, and because I am a big fan of Gisha: The Center for Freedom of Movement, an [...]


Solicitations


Mail solicitations I have received since I last took out my paper recycling, say, 3 weeks ago:

The Salvation Army
The Police Athletic League
Brit Tzedek v’Shalom: The Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace
The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous
City Harvest
The New Israel Fund
The Children’s Aid Society
The Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty
JDub Records x 2
American Jewish World Service x [...]


Man Power


I’m thinking a lot about the recent “male space” kerfuffle on Jewschool. It’s not the first time and I’d say it’s one of the larger disagreements in our online community. The recent kerfuffle is summarized as follows: I posted a men’s only synagogue event to Jewschool, featuring two male celebrities on the topic of the [...]


Mercaz Harav’s rules of just war: you can kill anyone


I’m a student of just war theories. They fascinate me. World War II and the Holocaust altered international law and consciousness on huge scales. The foundation of what is acceptable and what it not in warfare today is an attempt to prevent a World War III that would again kill countless civilians or fail to [...]


If Israel were a village of 100 people


What’s social justice in Israel about? This: