Two very different leadership styles on what to do in Colonial times...

Peter Stuyvesant

James Oglethorpe

Old Rivalries Never Die...

..they just go to court: Congregation Shearith Israel files appeal to retain control of Touro Synagogue's affects. (From the NYTimes, June 14, 2016--you know, just 253 years later)

Looking ahead... Can Jews "Pass as White" if they don't look white?

Though we didn't cover it in class, probably because conversations about it in American Jewish culture are too new, there is another wrinkle in the trajectory of American Jews being integrated into American society based on the privilege that we "pass as white."  Namely, what happens when some of us don't look remotely white to begin with?

The problem is that it can create, or continuously re-create an uneasy liminal state wherein Jews cannot fully access their Jewish identity in most contexts.  This, for better or worse, can include access to the benefits of, or even the opportunity to, "pass as white" that American Jews enjoy.  Mizrachi Jews in America may sometimes find themselves in a tenuous situation as xenophobia in general, and Islamophobia specifically, grows.  As classic racial tensions rise, Jews of African-American ancestry worry (with cause) about visiting synagogues during High Holidays.  The list goes on.

I feel that this is an issue that is somewhat unique and will require some new thinking in order to work through in the coming years and decades.  I'm wondering if anyone else has any thoughts on this?

Intersectionality, Anti-Semitism, and the "Hierarchy" of Oppression

One of the themes that we have been discussing is the relative social standing of Jews in America.  From the very beginning, Jews were able to escape many of the deep-seated social and political constructs of Europe that were built in some way on a foundation of antisemitism.  While Jews were no strangers to bigotry in America, even the antisemitic tropes that were similar, like Henry Ford's publishing of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, did not have the same impact on American society as it did in European nations.  Eventually, Jews gained de facto equality in the later part of the 20th century, able to "pass" as part of the privileged white middle class.

However, this led to an interesting phenomena among American activist movements, and one which I was almost wholly unaware of.  I was surprised to learn, for example, that some Christian Feminist movements predicated part of their ideology on the notion that Judaism was the inherently patriarchal element of Christian history.  This, in turn, created a difficulty for Jewish feminists, religious or not, who felt that an intrinsic element of themselves had to be denounced in some way in order to "earn" a seat at the broader feminist table.

I was thinking about this as we covered our section on GLBTQ Jews in recent history.  And while we focused on GLBTQ issues and rights within American Judaism, I feel that it is also necessary to continue to have a conversation about GLBTQ Jews in the greater sphere of American activist issues.

Earlier this year, the National LGBTQ task force canceled a reception that was to be hosted by the Israel LGBTQ group A Wider Bridge, and would have included representatives from Jerusalem Open House, citing that other LGBTQ groups were agitating for their exclusion on the basis of claims of "pinkwashing," and diverting discussion from policies related to the Israel/Palestine conflict.  While both of these groups are Israeli, what concerns me greatly is that some of the secondary effects in social media that I observed were pulling American Jews, both LGBTQ and their allies, into having to "take a side."  While I am not a person who personally believes that all criticisms of Israel (even those that refer to themselves as anti-Zionist) are inherently antisemitic, in the wider context of its effects on American Jews, I can't help but feel troubled.

From the example of earlier feminism and the LGBTQ movement today, I wonder this: is there a "hierarchy" of sorts related to activist groups?  If being Jewish (itself still a minority in many ways) requires a litmus test of sorts to gain access into the broader conversation of LGBTQ, or any other movement, focused on Israel, is this an example of antisemitism?  Is it based on classical antisemitic tropes, or is it something new?  Or is it a wholly different idea, and am I reaching?

Meaningful step? Or next to nothing?

This article was up on the Jerusalem Post a few days ago, and after our discussion yesterday regarding GLBTQIQ relationships with Judaism, I thought it would be worth posting.  It deals with Israeli Jews, not American, but I would like to think that the American Liberal Orthodox group mentioned at the end of the article had some influence into the Beit Hillel organization's statement.

The question that I pose in the topic is does this statement actually mean anything significant? It calls for the acceptance of homosexual Jews into the community as participating members, but at the same time reiterates the halachic stance that homosexuality is sinful.  They say it is ok to be gay as long as you don't do anything about it.

The other side of the coin is that Beit Hillel is a religious zionist organization, with many members located in settlements behind the green line.  So even if one was grateful for this statement, but also had the political stance of being against many of the other statements this group has made in the past regarding land, state, and belonging, what is the moral imperative to either accept the statement or condone the group?

Click for article

Questions of (one) Gay Jew

Yesterday in class we discussed one question that gay American Jews were asking early (and continuously) was "what is my place in this community?"

I thought I'd share a little of my own evolution on this question, as it is so well documented!

Exhibit 1: A resolution passed and approved by the General Board of NFTY at Mechina 2003, authored by yours truly. The typos and the 17 year old reasoning are fabulous, but it remains a part of NFTY History (check out page 60 there). Most interesting is the implicit "compromise" or recognition that NFTY ought not care about the word marriage. The resolution states (or would state in proper english) that NFTY... "supports the right of same-sex couples to wed, or the equivalent thereof." (Emphasis added 2016)

Exhibit 2: An op-ed piece published in the Brown Daily Herald on Yom Kippur 2005, which coincided with National Coming Out Day. Lots of problematic pieces here, but definitely true to how I felt then after returning to the U.S. from a gap year in Israel which had pushed me hard on the pendulum towards "tradition."

Exhibit 3: An August 2014 piece on ReformJudaism.org in which I talk about coming "full spiral," so to speak, and the blessing of having such documents to serve as "time capsules" along my own growth and understanding of homosexuality and Judaism.

I would love to hear any feedback from any of you on what you find surprising or interesting in any of these "points" along my "Gay Jewish American" (or American Jewish Gay) timeline.

On Jewish Feminism and "new traditions."

So, here's the thing...

A few weeks ago, Women of the Wall announced that they would be undertaking a new project: to hold a Birkat Kohanot observance on the women's side of the Kotel, on Shachareit over Chol HaMoed Pesach.  Little details are being given as to the actual logistics, such as if the blessing will be performed only by those of Bat Kohen status, but already it seems to be causing a stir among the usual suspects.

As a tradition that isn't usually practiced outside of the land of Israel, save for specific days and in more traditional synagogues, I'm not certain that I've ever known it to happen that a Bat Kohen has performed this in, say, a Masorti Synagogue in Israel, or in a Conservative Synagogue here in the US.  While I understand the halakhic interpretation that WoW and other egalitarian groups follow in order to wrap tefillin, read from Torah, and practice other observances, I can't think of anything similar for the offering of the priestly blessing.

From my perspective, of admittedly little knowledge, this seems to be a wholly new thing, but I could be wrong.  I admit, though, I'm a bit uneasy with it, if for no other reason than the word "Kohanot" and its singular, "Kohenet" already has a usage that could be troubling to WoW.  

Rabbi Jill Hammer, graduate of JTS, has already claimed the word for use in her Kohenet Institute.  This organization is, to my eyes at least, a vaguely neo-pagan, "earth based" version of feminist ideology mashed-up with Judaism.  It is as Jewish as the Kabbalah Center is actually about Kabbalah.  While the two organizations aren't linked, WoW's detractors might think it is, and frankly, adopting this brand new observance doesn't help with WoW's assertion of legitimacy.  

These two organizations might be unconnected, but I wonder if this may be a case of good intentions with poor marketing on the part of WoW.

I want to be an individual, just like all my friends...

As Max brought up earlier this week, our reading, "Jewish Education in the Age of Google," sounded quite dated, in its speculation of a future where, "Someday soon - if not already - children, and some adults, will be carrying devices that operate as cell phones, PDAs, MP3 players, PlayStations or XBoxes, Wifi internet devices, DVD players, and TV receivers all in one."

Of course, we know that not only has this technology been realized, it has given way to secondary industry built upon the level of communication and sharing of data it provides.  A level of individualization that probably wasn't even conceived a decade ago.  Someone may have been able to understand the preponderance of services like Amazon Now, which allows me to shop at lunch and have the electronic, productivity, or food items that I order be at my door by the time I come home.  What was probably impossible to predict were other secondary "on-demand" services.  Uber and Lyft for ride-sharing.  Zipcar for hourly car rentals.  Luxe for valet parking anywhere.  Soothe for massage.  Wag for dog walking.  Wherever you are, at pretty much the time you want it.

So what does this mean for Judaism?  This level of on-demand individualization and customization is more difficult to realize in a thing built upon thousands of years of tradition and community, but it is still possible.  Though I haven't seen an app for an on-demand minyan yet (though if anyone has seed money, I smell a startup), there is a whole different business paradigm that is coming into prominence that seems to be more of a parallel to the trajectory of Jewish communities in the US: the online "boutique" commerce sector.

Rather than going for mass-market appeal and storefront space, these companies are using different models to produce a single product or service to be sold direct-to-consumer.  Their marketing focuses more on high detail of the construction and manufacture of mattresses, linens, clothes, to capture a high percentage of a more narrow market, usually aimed at middle-class millennials, and almost entirely relying on ads on the internet or podcasts.

Part of the marketing relies on appealing to a sense of individuality, cutting-edge sensibility, and yes, even a "sexy" factor.  Of course, there is nothing inherently new about Jewish communities, just as there is nothing inherently new about, say, a mattress, but through a combination of a single new element and high-gloss marketing, we have successful companies with sexy names like Casper, Purple, and Helix.

And so, we have it too, with Jewish communities.  In the last decade, there has been an emergence of non-affiliated minyanim in largely urban areas with similarly sexy, non-standard names (and websites) like The Kitchen in San Francisco, Lab/Shul in New York, and our very own IKAR here in LA.  Part of the appeal of these communities is, arguably, their ability to better meet the needs of a more narrow market based on local culture than needing to balance it with the demands of a larger, national level organization like the URJ, USCJ, or OU.  Similar to the businesses who maximize quality for cost by efficiency in manufacture and delivery, these Jewish communities are able to shift money for services and individualization by eliminating things like institutional dues, or even the overhead associated with a brick-and-mortar physical location.

However, this begs the question, at least for a Jewish community model, if this level of individualization is sustainable over the long term.  What do they do when demands of its membership turn toward more traditional attributes?  IKAR is right now considering raising money and support for a permanent location.  Several of these communities have even formed a coalition for mutual support called the Jewish Emergent Network (whose website looks strikingly similar to the mattress companies above).  What does this mean for the future of these unique, individual institutions, especially as they will need to confront the questions of generational issues and the services that traditional synagogues provide to meet these needs such as childhood education?

And so, what is the likelihood that this Jewish Emergent Network will eventually find itself asking the question of whether or not to become a full-fledged institution to support it's individual members?  I'm sure the next 10 years will tell us.

For Debbie Friedman

Towards the end of the article that we read for tomorrow morning's class, Nadell mentions Debbie Friedman. While I can assume that this was not meant as a "throw-away" line, I wanted to make sure to expand the record a bit.

Debbie (זצ״ל) is in large part responsible for the way that Reform worship and music looks throughout the country, and for many melodies that are now understood as "traditional" throughout the world. (For example, I have heard Orthodox yeshiva buchers singing Havdalah to the "traditional niggun" which they don't even realize was composed by Debbie...)

Her personality was electric, riveting, and yet made each and every person feel as if their voice mattered. She was the antithesis to the silencing of voices, and her impact was much, much more than Miriam's Song. She was teaching at HUC here in LA before she died, and her albums have sold over half a million copies.

I will always be grateful to have learned from Debbie. Her memory remains a blessing for me, and the breadth and depth of her influence continue to grow. If you'd like to learn a little more about her influence on Reform music and thus Reform Judaism, take a look at this tribute video from the URJ from 2008:

Orthodoxy and Millenials

I took a closer look at the article Dr. Hochman shared in class today, published just last week—great read. This quote seemed particularly apt:

Relationships and community may represent both the greatest opportunity for loss and the most appealing opportunities for gain in becoming more traditionally observant.

Green goes on to discuss that baalei teshuvah often gain a strong sense of community that stands in contrast from the surrounding, secular American culture, but they often have to work diligently if they are to remain close with their families and communities of origin. This reminded me of a cousin who became baalat teshuva later in life (she was probably early 30s when she became orthodox) and had a lot of trouble meeting a husband because she was "old" for the community she was entering. Simultaneously, it was very hard for her parents to adjust to her new life... Do any of you have stories like this in your families or extended families? In what ways do you think involvement in Reform communities may also represent an opportunity for gain or for loss? How can we make sure that participation and collaboration with our communities lands more often on the side of gain than the side of loss?

On a separate note, Green suggests that perhaps this trend into orthodoxy is "a way to find meaning in the relentless rhythms of daily life," and I'm wondering what kind of modes of meaning we are working on practicing for ourselves and working on offering as alternatives to orthodoxy for our congregants.

Finally, to offer a counterpoint, see this longer essay from Mosaic August 2014 on Modern Orthodoxy, and the challenges it faces from the right and the left.

Jewish Education in the Age of Google

I was really intrigued by the articles assigned for tomorrow's reading, in particular because while they are so "contemporary," they are also already quite dated. Take for instance "Jewish Education in the Age of Google" written by Jonathan Woocher. The article is dated to May 15, 2006—just shy of 10 years ago. While it may be hard for us to imagine, that means that this article was written over a year before tbe first iPhone was released. 

I thought it would be interesting to see how many results we get for the same google searches Woocher conducts in his first paragraph. Here's what I found:

"Jewish Education" 2006—34.8 million hits, 2016—3.66 million
"Torah" 2006—7.02 million, 2016—17.4 million
"God" 2006—176 million, 2016—1.39 billion
"Israel" 2006—250 million, 2016—811 million

The result for "Jewish Education" which decreased tenfold since 2006 is puzzling to me, but the increases in the "Torah," "God," and "Israel" are pretty much what I would have expected to find.

Woocher reminds us, of course, that this is a "curious exercise," but nevertheless, it seems interesting to share here. I believe that Google also adjusts its search algorithm based on your location and/or search history, so some of you might want to share if you get very different results for these searches.

More broadly, the article makes me wonder how some of the conclusions may be more or less relevant today than they were 10 years ago. For instance, he notes that "good platforms can be even more powerful (and profitable) than good programs," and he cites a Jewish example of this in the Birthright model of providing a framework where program providers can come in and customize a program to their constituents and their beliefs. Where else do we see models like this? Can the contemporary synagogue be an effective "platform" as they continue to restructure in terms of dues, program schedules, etc? Or should we be seeking alternate platforms entirely?

Jewish Participation in the Political Process

Happy April Fools everyone! Here's a little story about a nice Jewish woman's spectacularly failed "participation" in the political process and her "attempt" to make Jewish into American. "A Mink Coat in Every Closet!"

Does cultural Judaism needs religious advisors?

Particularly interesting in regards to the question of why does one need and advisor for Jewish content. Specifically taking into account the secular world's interaction with Judaism with examples like Fiddler on the Roof. 

What does this need for religious advisors say about our current interaction with Judaism and the structure of Jewish communities today? 

http://nypost.com/2016/03/26/these-are-the-weirdest-jobs-on-broadway/

How Martin Luther King Jr. Inspired a Passover Seder

http://thejewniverse.com/2015/how-martin-luther-king-jr-inspired-a-passover-seder/




I found this article really fascinating, in relating to our discussion of the Americanizing of the Hagaddah on Monday.  Apparently, the very first 'Freedom Seder'  (a term coined specifically in regards to Seders that have tell not only the Exodus story but include a message of Black American liberation ) was created by Arthur Waskow in 1969-inspired by the life and death of Martin Luther King Jr.

Read more for details! Personally, I helped put on a few Freedom Seders for a wide interfaith community through the Jewish Community Relations Council in San Francisco. They can be really powerful!

Tensions in Black-Jewish Relations

Article from The Jewish Women's Archive by  Judith Rosenbaum


Interesting read about the Jews and tensions that existed in the American Civil Rights Movement.


Here is the article.

Anti-Semitism, Liberalism and College Campuses

As our course moves into the most contemporary of American Jewish history/American Judaism, I felt compelled to share this disturbing story out of my very own Alma Mater, and out of the house I formerly called home:

Brown University is investigating anti-gay and anti-Semitic graffiti found in a campus building that houses a Jewish fraternity and a fraternity with many LGBTQ members.
President Christina Paxson in an email Friday to the Brown community said campus police will investigate the incident at Marcy House.
The graffiti was discovered early Friday morning scrawled across the house's walls.
A university spokesman tells the Providence Journal that Beta Rho Pi, a Jewish fraternity, and Zeta Delta Xi, a co-ed fraternity with many LGBTQ members, live in the house.
A speech by a writer and transgender advocate scheduled for March 21 at the Ivy League school had been canceled Wednesday amid controversy. An online petition accused the co-sponsor, Brown RISD Hillel, of defending "Israeli state's policies of occupation and racial apartheid.

For those who may not have heard, Beta Rho Pi is formerly Alpha Epsilon Pi, Beta Rho chapter, and my college fraternity. The undergraduate brothers disaffiliated from the national fraternity earlier this year. (That process and that story, in itself, could be a useful topic for further exploration with respect to the challenges of fraternities as uniquely American Jewish institutions...)

It seems ironic, though, that only months after the local chapter leaves the national fraternity, an incident like this occurs which would ordinarily be an opportunity for the national institution to thrive and support the local chapter.

The ABC news/AP piece quoted above mentions the controversy about a trans advocate who had been slated to speak at Hillel. Here is some more information about that component of the story (passed along to me by none other than my mom :) )

Ultimately, besides making me very sad to hear such troubling stories, all of this makes me wonder in what ways the Jewish community's history of "stifling dissent" around Israel (see Diner, 327) may still be contributing to some of the resurgent left-wing anti-semitism that we see in the BDS movement and on college campuses. How do we move forward?

Judge Garland and Jewish Minority Status

Given our class discussion about Jewish privilege/minority status I found it interesting that many articles about Judge Garland contained phrases like this:
"Some progressive groups have expressed disappointment that President Obama nominated an older white male to the Supreme Court rather than a woman or a minority member, but the White House said that Mr. Obama’s record of diverse judicial appointments was unprecedented."(Emphasis mine)
 http://www.nytimes.com/live/obama-supreme-court-nomination/progressive-groups-lament/ 

Also interesting, Judge Garland in his comments when introduced by President Obama, framed his nomination with a narrative of his family's American-Jewish history. Thoughts?

"My family deserves much of the credit for the path that led me here.  My grandparents left the Pale of Settlement at the border of Western Russian and Eastern Europe in the early 1900s, fleeing anti-Semitism, and hoping to make a better life for their children in America.  They settled in the Midwest, eventually making their way to Chicago.

There, my father, who ran the smallest of small businesses from a room in our basement, took me with him as he made the rounds to his customers, always impressing upon me the importance of hard work and fair dealing.  There, my mother headed the local PTA and school board and directed a volunteer services agency, all the while instilling in my sister and me the understanding that service to the community is a responsibility above all others.  Even now, my sisters honor that example by serving the children of their communities."
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/03/16/remarks-president-announcing-judge-merrick-garland-his-nominee-supreme 

Isaac Mizrahi on Fashion

Yesterday, Stephen Colbert interviewed Isaac Mizrahi about his show at the Jewish Museum in NYC, "Isaac Mizrahi: An Unruly History."

Here is Mizrahi speaking with Colbert about his upbringing in a Jewish family: "You know, the Jews kind of run the garment business in New York." With the outsourcing of the garment industry to locations of cheap labor, I would have thought that this paradigm was different. I find interesting his perception of continued Jewish involvement in the garment industry.

Mizrahi initially attended Yeshivah in Flatbush, but the story of his family's immigration may suggest reasons for his ability to forge his own path outside the religious Jewish community. According to a 2011 New York Times interview, Mizrahi's mother was born in New York to immigrant parents from Aleppo, Syria. "She finished college, which was very strange for girls of that background, and married my father very late, around 35 years old." Although we have not yet focused on patterns of non-Ashkenazi immigration in the course yet, I would imagine that the factors in Mizrahi's mother's life as a first-generation American, as a college graduate, and as a "late" married woman might have provided her son the safe environment to pursue secular education and to enter the world of fashion.

American history timeline

As a tool to situate ourselves in time, and really understand where we are in history, this timeline serves as a powerful resource. I suggest looking at it (especially into the 1900s!)

http://americanjewisharchives.org/education/timeline.php

Los Angeles' Jewish Self-Identification (1967)

Here's a look at denominational affiliation in Los Angeles in 1967. All the statistics in these graphs came from research sponsored by the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles. You can either find this specific study through the Jewish Databank (link on the right is broken), or here directly:

The survey parsed its statistics into geographic segments (is your apartment in Region V, VI, or VII?)

I:       San Fernando Valley - North                         II:      San Fernando Valley
III:    Palisades, Westwood, Beverly Hills              IV:    Hollywood, West Hollywood
V:     Beverly-Fairfax                                              VI:    Wilshire-Fairfax
VII:   Beverlywood, Cheviot Hills                          VIII:  Santa Monica
IX:     Baldwin Hills, Jefferson, Westchester          X:      Underreported areas


This survey notes the prevalence of the self-reported category, "Just Jewish," in addition to the denominational labels we consider today. Note behind the "Just Jewish" category, the prevalence of Conservative Judaism. The chart shows total percentages on the left, followed regional percentages.

Here is another chart tracking synagogue affiliation and intermarriage rates by region. Again, total percentages are on the left, followed by regional percentages.

Murders of 1964

I was disturbed and interested in finding out more about the murders of the young men in Mississippi in 1964. Here's Andrew Goldman, pictured one year before he was killed:

According to this CBS news piece, none of the KKK assailants were convicted of murder until 2005, when one man (then 89 years old) was convicted for his role as the ringleader.

I guess that makes me glad that there is no statute of limitations for murder, but it's hard to feel like locking up a 90 year old really serves "justice."

I call that "Negative Identity"

Great reflection on Sanders' answer to Anderson Cooper's question about being Jewish by Charles Krauthammer in The Washington Post today.

Jews Need to Give Up Whiteness?!

Jews in America struggled for decades to become white. Now we must give up whiteness to fight racism. (Rabbi Gil Steinlauf)

As per our discussion today of Jewish involvement in fighting for civil rights for African Americans in the post-War era, I thought this article, written by Rabbi Gil Steinlauf, might add some food for thought to the conversation. His general premise is that 21st century Jews can't operate under the same paradigm our parents and grandparents did. We need to question our whiteness in order to start being true allies for the #BlackLivesMatter movement and other racial justice advocacy groups today.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/09/22/jews-in-america-struggled-for-generations-to-become-white-now-we-must-give-up-that-privilege-to-fight-racism/


 

One of the most provocative lines he writes is in his opening argument:

" Finding our true Jewish identity can begin by questioning our whiteness. In a flawed and racist society, we Jewish Americans are prospering, reaching the top echelons of privilege and power. With racism and injustice entrenched year after year, generation after generation, we must now ask ourselves: What role do we play in that injustice now that most of us live as white people in America? We must cease to consider ourselves to be part of the social construct of whiteness, despite all the white privilege that America affords us, privilege that eluded many of our parents and grandparents."

What do you make of his argument? Would this article affect the way you teach about race and Jewishness in religious school?

Kansas City: Decling population

Being from Kansas City, I was curious how the Kansas City Jewish community changed throughout the 1900's. Deborah Moore's article in AJE wrote about the static population of KC since the 1950's (p. 319).

Here is a nice article from 2007 about the current Kansas City Community (Yes, American Judaism is alive and well in Kansas City, with a multiplicity of options of arts, culture, and Jewish life!)

The huge in-migration to the Kansas City suburbs by professionals matched the flood of Jews out of the city in the rest of the country. They fled into Johnson County where the majority of Jews still live. However, a huge barrier to entry was covenants that limited the number of Jews (and African Americans who could come into. (http://www.jocogov.org/blog/3891).

The Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced Foreign Scholars

From Wikipedia, the incredible story of the Committee that helped academics escape Nazism. The best part? It was run by Edward R. Murrow. It's a forerunner to the Institute of International Education. Check out its history page.

Bernie Sanders "Comes Out" as Jewish

Here's an article written by the daughter of a congregant about Bernie Sanders' most explicitly Jewish admission during last night's Democratic Candidate debate. I do not agree with all of her assertions/opinions, but I believe the article presents an important perspective and reminder that Sanders is an example and representative of many millions of Jews in America.

This paragraph in particular reminds me of the sentiment in the "Why We Went" letter we read for Dr. Adler's class:
We must acknowledge and check our own white privilege, but not assimilate to the point where we forget that our identity has historically been anything but an advantage. Nor should our history give us a sense of entitlement — it must be our mandate to fight for those who are currently persecuted. Jews need to stand with movements like #BlackLivesMatter and remember that within our grandparents' lifetime, certain signs on swimming pools in America read "no Blacks, no Jews, no Dogs." There but for the grace of history go us, and we are needed as allies now more than ever.

When 'Gentleman's Agreement' Made Jewish Oscars History

The Forward Ran a Fascinating Analysis of the Gentleman's Agreement as a Shining Moment in Jewish Cinema History. Read on for more analysis of what this movie, and Gregory' Peck's portrayal meant for the Jews!
http://forward.com/culture/171133/when-gentlemans-agreement-made-jewish-oscars-histo/





https://youtu.be/E2eAXa7rNXw

Gangsters!

A wanted poster for Jewish gangster Louis "Lepke" Buchalter

If you read the book Confronting Scandal as a part of Rabbi Fox's class last semester, you'll remember the conversation about the phenomenon of Jewish gangsters as an expression of Jewish power (in the vein of the "New Jew") and the tacit approval of their illicit actions given the protection they provided the whole New York Jewish community from anti-Semitism.

I'm attaching a link to a clip from "Boardwalk Empire" that depicts the Jewish gangster Meyer Lansky and "Nucky" Thompson (played by Steve Buscemi). Note the connections between Lansky and prohibition-era bootlegging, the heroin business, and a belief in God.
NSFW for violence and language.

Brandeis' and the Supreme Court

I hope you haven't been too busy with the presidential race to take notice of the vacancy at the Supreme Court and the reluctance of the Senate Judiciary Republicans to do their job. It's a really big deal.

However, you may not know that the very first confirmation hearings for a Supreme Court justice were apparently held after President Woodrow Wilson nominated Louis Brandeis in 1916. Apparently, "until that point, the Senate simply voted yay or nay" and Brandeis himself didn't even show up to the hearings.

Here's a picture of him from Wikipedia:



Interestingly, the Wikipedia article reports that Brandeis' legal work helped develop the right to privacy. Pretty cool stuff!

American Machzorim

In looking for the 1948 Reconstructionist Machzor I came across this interesting article detail time-lining the creation of machzorim for the different movements in America. It is interesting to see when each movement created their own, or revised it, and what material needed to be left in/taken out. The reticence of each movement to create change is visible in the time span between machzor releases, as is the awareness of the times.

I looked on Amazon and Ebay, but cannot seem to find copies of this Machzor. I'd be curious if anyone can. It was published by the Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation, under the English title: High Holiday Prayer Book.

Jews and Noses

The number of rhinoplasty (nose job) procedures, once considered a "rite of passage" for teenager Jewish women (primarily), has dropped dramatically in the past few decades. As the desire to look less 'ethnic' or 'unique' decreases, there is less need to see a "surgical procedure [as] a small price to pay for easing the anguish of appearing too Jewish" (Diner 224). If you can look past some of the frustrating rhetoric of the plastic surgery world in the comments from the surgeons, this article provides an interesting insight into the changing nature of beauty both within and outside of the Jewish community.

Though it seems Shia LaBeouf still went under the knife... as did many other Jewish celebrities. Hollywood beauty standards are still more standard, though beginning to diversify (slowly).

Jewish Women At the Forefront of Encouraging the Vote-1935

This photo depicts women in 1935 teaching other, newly arrived women how to vote, and make their voices heard in the national arena. A cool reminder that Jewish women have always fought to have an impact on the American political arena, and made sure no female voice was frozen from the conversation for lack of know-how!

Political anti-Semitism in the Year of Our Ford 108

http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-gop-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/03/louis-farrakhan-donald-trump-220021?lo=ap_c1

On Bernie Sanders' Jewish Identity

Here is a fascinating article from the Forward concerning Bernie Sanders' Jewish identity. The article's thesis:

The Sanders campaign is providing the backdrop for a mass Jewish psychodrama of wrenching, deeply depressing proportions. Sanders is serving as a passive canvas onto which we are projecting a startling array of our saddest insecurities, neuroses and self-delusions.

Intersections with several of the conversations we've been having about American Jewish identity and appropriate for our conversations around Super Tuesday:

a.) Jewish identity does not necessarily correlate to religious identification.

It might not be a Judaism that’s particularly gratifying to those of us who take our Judaism — Jewish learning, Jewish practice, Jewish fidelity — very earnestly. But it is the Judaism of the great majority of American Jews, millions of them.

b.) He represents the enduring tensions between the anxieties of standing out vs. political passivity.

The article talks about a 2008 open letter from Jewish senators, of which Sanders was a signatory, condemning negative emails about Barack Obama that were specifically sent to the Jewish community:

The letter is historic for a single reason: It is the first time in history that any Jewish senators signed a public statement that included the words “As Jewish United States Senators.” Customarily... Jewish senators avoid such statements because they see themselves as representing all the people of their state, not the small Jewish minorities.... This was the first time a group of Jewish senators felt compelled to speak out “as Jewish United States Senators” to their fellow Jews while the rest of the world looked on.

c.) What is at stake for the American Jewish community when it confronts a public persona that represents "assimilation"? I.e: Is the community more comfortable with a Joe Lieberman or a Bernie Sanders?

Those of us who do live fully in our Jewish skins tend to judge those who don’t as wanting. We think they’ve failed in their duties, or walked away... This is what gets projected onto public figures who are outstanding in their chosen fields but ordinary Jews in their private lives.... Think of the abuse Bob Dylan has taken over the years because his Jewish self didn’t meet our needs. Now look again at Bernie Sanders.

Sanders’ Judaism — looking to the Holocaust as a paradigmatic Jewish experience and learning from it that people need to be kind to each other — is utterly typical of the Judaism experienced by the majority of American Jews. It’s a Judaism that’s not fluent in Talmud and doesn’t touch the Jew’s every waking hour. It’s humble, imperfect, not worn on the sleeve.

Oscars/Hollywood/Magnin

There are far too many things I want to post about this Magnin reading and the Oscars, so here are just a few highlights:

1) A letter to Rabbi Magnin from Cecil B. DeMille. He had awesome friends.

2) Son of Saul won Best Foreign Language Film. Here's an excellent Fresh Air podcast with the Director and star of the film.

3) A few articles about this year's Oscars and the deep Jewish connections to the industry and the awards.

4) Would definitely be interested to talk more about the underlying current of race in Hollywood that permeated this year's ceremony. If you haven't watched Chris Rock's monologue, I highly recommend it.

Dude, Where's My Car?

A little more detail regarding the time when Rabbi Leo Franklin returned the sedan gifted to him by Henry Ford. The comments, unsurprisingly, provide a frustrating view into current Islamophobic rhetoric, but the article itself provides an interesting parallel between anti-Semitism of Ford's time and the anti-Muslim sentiment today.

Larry David and the non-Jewish Country Club (NSFW)

Take a look at this video for a NSFW video! (go to 1:25)

Bernie Sanders and the Meat Rioters

I saw this article about Bernie Sanders' Jewish identity and this description caught my eye:

Mr. Sanders, those who know him say, exemplifies a distinct strain of Jewish identity, a secular offshoot at least 150 years old whose adherents in the shtetls of Eastern Europe and the jostling streets of the Lower East Side were socialists, anarchists, radicals and union organizers focused less on observance than on economic justice and repairing a broken world.

The description of the lower east side socialists made me think of the role these women took in their community and the economic life of their local society.

Stuffed Derma?

Just in case anyone was, like me, wondering what "stuffed derma" actually looks like...

... it's kishkas!!! Enjoy--

New York Meat Riots: Women Voiced

With the Meat Riots in May of 1902, young housewives in their 30's developed a voice and recognition that they too could participate in political activism. The women even interrupted the Torah reading so they could promulgate their very real struggle. Apparent in the riots is that these women cared deeply about the price of meat, considering that meat went up from 12 cents to 18 cents. Here is a NY Times headline from 17 May 1902:

Also, here is a New York Times article from 26 May 1902, explaining the events of the previous day with regard to the Meat Riots. The Butchers wanted to open their doors, but needed police protection in order to do so. The article contains many statements, particularly from the (Ladies) Anti-(Beef) Trust Association.