Jonathan Katz
By Jonathan Katz
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Opinion Confronting Jewish Complicity in South African Apartheid
Freedom Day, the anniversary of the end of apartheid and South Africa’s first democratic elections, is on April 27. For many of us in the South African diaspora, myself included, it’s an important day of remembering the struggle, past and present, for a better and freer South Africa. Many American Jews join in the celebration,…
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Opinion Lithuania vs. Morocco — Whose Jewish Museum Wins?
Model of a Rabat Jewish bride in her finery / Jewish Museum in Casablanca I was fortunate enough to travel this month to both Morocco and Lithuania — the former for a class trip, the latter for an attempt to become acquainted with the land of my ancestors, including my ancestral hometown of Panevėžys (Ponevezh)….
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Opinion 1 Thing Moroccans Want All Jews To Know
Moroccan Berbers, seeking to build better ties with Jews, celebrate a traditional wedding / Getty Images One of the most intellectually stimulating weeks of my life was the one I recently spent in Morocco. More than the architecture or the food, the thing that stimulated me most — and that made me think of Ashkenormativity…
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Opinion Is It Even Possible to Vote Against Israeli Occupation?
Getty Images In the latest news to come out of this already-strange Israeli election, the Jewish Press stated on Sunday that the ballots for the upcoming election will be printed in Karnei Shomron by Yisrapot, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank considered illegal under international law. The pro-settler writer at that publication claimed that…
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Fast Forward How Israel Sells Itself With Sex
Some people visit Israel for the holy sites. Some visit Israel as a political statement. Some visit Israel because they think Israelis are “hot.” Disagree? Well, the Israeli Tourism Ministry and City of Tel Aviv do not. Recently, Israel’s economic capital held a Winter Gay Festival advertised using not just a sand-snowman, but also posters…
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Food Is Marmite Kosher? Well, Yes and No
It was certainly one of the stranger Jewish conversations I have had. (Mind you, I have had many.) There I was in Oxford after a hearty Sabbath lunch, walking in the beauty of Christ Church Meadow, chatting with a new friend about food. At a moment, he turned to me and said, “You said you’re…
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Opinion Learning to Undo ‘Ashkenormativity’
Maimonides, one of the most famous Sephardic Jews, as portrayed on an Israeli banknote Like most Jews with ties to South Africa, my heritage is extremely Ashkenazi. In fact, both sides of my family largely originate from the same region of what is now northeastern Lithuania and northern Belarus. Growing up in New York, most…
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