Dear Editor; Putting aside the age-old question as to who is a Jew, it is unlikely that Arctic explorer and adventurer Peter Freuchen was Jewish (See February’s “Who Knew” column). It may be adventurous to explore the possible Jewish background of the towering, red-bearded Dane, but without anything more substantive than apocryphal anecdotes such as…
To the Editor: In Batya Ungar-Sargon’s recent article reporting on this year’s AIPAC conference, I was especially struck by her quoting a “Jewish community leader” who told her that “the Pew [Research Center] study and other data suggest that well over half of American Jews do not participate in Jewish life. In the course of…
To My Black Brothers And Sisters: I truly don’t understand how anyone in a position of social justice leadership could support or excuse Louis Farrakhan (I refuse to grant him the the honorific of Minister), and it makes me incredibly angry. I also don’t understand how people in the black community continue to support him….
In his recent op ed in these pages, former AIPAC staff member MJ Rosenberg argued that AIPAC should register as a foreign agent. This argument requires a response from an insider. I worked at AIPAC for 25 years and remained a close admirer of the organization after I left in 1997 (Rosenberg’s attitude to the…
In a recent op-ed headlined “Actually, Feminists, Vashti Was The Harvey Weinstein Of Persia” published by The Forward, Rabbi Joshua Krisch attempted to sever Vashti, a character from the Book of Esther, from the men and women who love her. His argument hinged on the idea that feminists ignored the Talmudic “facts” (namely the Talmud’s…
Dear Editor, The point about the decline of religious / spiritual connection between many younger Jews and the Jewish community is that almost all the “religious” institutions refuse to apply the prophetic vision to the government of Israel even when they apply it to the US government (and even that is weak). Many younger Jews…
There are various problems and concerning trends in Orthodox (and non-Orthodox) Jewish communities. Fortunately, to the best of my knowledge, White Nationalism is not one of them. However, a recent article written by Elad Nehorai in this space argued that “White Nationalist language is infiltrating our public spaces” and “the philosophy of white nationalism that…
Hostility toward Judaism, Jewish observance and observant Jews has always been a central part of anti-Semitism. Sadly, it doesn’t always come from non-Jews, as Eli Steinberg noted recently in these pages, in an op-ed called “Anti-Orthodox Is the New Anti-Semitism.” Steinberg could have been referring to another opinion piece which emerged but two days earlier,…
To the Editor: Tamar Manasseh writes in “Stop Calling Me a ‘Black Jew’ ” (Jan. 14) that she has never heard anybody referred to as a “White Jew.” Well I have. It was during World War II, when the armed forces were segregated and I was taking my basic infantry training in Florida, with a…
Dear Ms. Eisner: I very much enjoyed your piece about your West Bank trip and Palestinian non-violent resistance on January 3. It stimulated a couple of reactions, and since mine are different from those of Judge Djerassi whose opinion was published on January 6, I am writing now. I do think it is wonderful that…
Dear Jane, I am a Philadelphian who has admired your journalism and writing for many years. I read with great interest your piece in the January Forward magazine about your Encounter trip in the West Bank this past November. I agree positive recognition is deserved by Palestinians who dissent and protest non-violently. When you report,…
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