By Ben Cohen (JNS) On a recent evening, I was traveling on the New York subway in a car that was empty except for me, a woman and her child, and two men. As I sat down, I realized that one of the men—a young guy dressed in gym clothes with the powerful build of […]
We Need to Step Up the Fight Against Anti-Asian Hatred in America Read More »
Opinion, USA
By Eric George Tauber CINCINNATI, Ohio — When I was an undergraduate, one of my acting teachers said that you start with a stereotype and build a character from there, adding as much complexity as the role allows. In my recent conversation with Yuval David, he talked about how perceptions of his Jewishness have affected
Ethnic Stereotype-Casting Read More »
Eric George Tauber, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Opinion, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — Tracking Nancy Pelosi’s Gazpacho police must be a rigorous chore, yet the idiocy of the congresswoman who fabricated the story hardly compares with blocking the appointment of an antisemitism monitor or undermining the attorney-general over disruptions at local school board meetings that weaponize antisemitism. Republican members of Congress are
Gazpacho Police Overshadows News About Antisemitism Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Opinion, USA
By Ariel Zwang (JNS) As the pendulum continues to swing between diplomacy and possible conflict in Ukraine, a quiet crisis of human need is spreading out across the country. While not the dramatic stuff of front-page news, it’s impacting the most vulnerable people—the poor and elderly, especially—and its toll materializes in a tragic choice between
A Quiet Crisis in Ukraine Read More »
International, Opinion
By Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D JERUSALEM — American Jews: Who are they? How many are there? Do they comprise a community? If so, what are the lines of division among them? What about their attitudes and behaviors about Israel? It’s impossible to answer any of these questions with certainty. There’s a lot of information, but it’s
American Jews: A Muddled Picture Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, Opinion, USA
By Heidi Gantwerk SAN DIEGO — A few weeks ago I had the privilege of listening to Deborah Lipstadt speak in conversation with Rabbi Jason Nevarez in a wide-ranging discussion about security, antisemitism, racism, Holocaust denial, and Jewish identity. She was asked how she stays standing given all the ugliness she deals with and teaches
A Stronger, More Rooted San Diego Jewish Community Read More »
Heidi Gantwerk, Opinion, San Diego County
By Natasha Josefowitz, ACSW, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — We live in a hyperculture: the internet, email, cell phones, and texting are all speeding up our interactions. It’s not only faster, it’s also more complex, leaving behind people like my mother, who, when asked to push a number on her phone in order to continue
Shyness in Our Hyperculture Has Been Exacerbated by Isolation Read More »
Lifestyles, Natasha Josefowitz, OpinionBy Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — Never would we expect Nazis assaulting an American Jew near Disney World. Or anywhere else in this nation. Yet authorities report that Nazis did in Orlando nearly two weeks ago what Nazis commonly did in Germany 85 years ago. Furthermore, the victim – identified as David Newstat, a student
Dissecting the Ongoing Wave of Antisemitism Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Holocaust, International, Middle East, Opinion, USA
By Richard L. Cravatts, Ph.D BOCA RATON, Florida — In May, while Hamas was firing more than 3,000 deadly rockets from Gaza with the express purpose of murdering Jewish Israelis, members of academic communities around the world were falling over themselves to express their solidarity, not with the beleaguered citizens of the Jewish state again
Amnesty International’s Pseudo-Scholarship Read More »
International, Middle East, Opinion, USA
By Shoshana Bryen (JNS) U.S. Ambassador Thomas Nides spoke before the conference of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Israel this week. He was charming and reassuring, and stressed the bipartisan nature of American government support for Israel. “We have unbreakable ties, and we will reinforce them.” Unfortunately, he also took a large
By Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D JERUSALEM — On February 1, Amnesty International, claiming to be a movement of 10 million people, published a report headlined, “Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians: a cruel system of domination and a crime against humanity.” A couple of days before then, Israel managed to obtain a copy, and began a campaign that
Amnesty’s Report Assures Distortion on Israeli Arabs Read More »
International, Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, Opinion
By Jerry Klinger YBOR CITY, Florida — It’s a simple, small concrete gray hexagonal paver. The words Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation, contracted for line count restrictions, are etched in a slightly off-centered recess. The paver is on the sidewalk, in front of the former Buchman store at 1910 E. 7th Ave., Ybor City,
Ybor City, the Pavers, and the Jews Read More »
Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Opinion, USA
By Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel “The View” featured a discussion about a Tennessee School District’s decision to remove a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust from its middle school curriculum. Whoopi Goldberg asserted, “The Holocaust isn’t about race. No, it’s not about race.” Goldberg made a mistake that revealed her ignorance about the
Whoopi’s Immaculate Misconception Read More »
Holocaust, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Opinion, USA
By Elie Klein JERUSALEM — As a kosher foodie living in Israel, I am intimately familiar with the ever-potent power of novel and nostalgic comfort food. Within minutes of hearing about the newest offerings at our favorite restaurants or the childhood treats that clandestinely crop up on our grocer’s shelves, Israel’s Anglos hunt them down
Will We All Scream for Inclusion? Read More »
Middle East, Opinion, Travel and Food