In 1939, Harold Ickes, President Franklin Roosevelt’s secretary of the interior, proposed that four Alaskan locales play refuge to thousands of Europe’s fleeing Jews. Ickes’s idea -— which would become the premise for Michael Chabon’s “The Yiddish Policemen’s Union” — was later bucked by Roosevelt and by several prominent American Jewish organizations. But over the…
From Wyatt Earp to Sarah Palin, Alaska has a colorful history, which has occasionally touched on Jews. Four of the state’s legendary mountains are named after Jews. There’s a Star of David featured in one of the state’s most famed church stained-glass windows. Alaska Airlines helped airlift Yemeni Jews to Israel. Earp once ran a…
Finding Jewish Candidates Where You’d Least Expect Them: Forward Washington correspondent Nathan Guttman takes us beyond the usual suspects New York in Florida and into … well, other places where Jews are running for office. Hint: think “beyond the lower 48.” (MitzVote) Watch the Jewish vote — in state government: On the question of a…
Robert Alter discussed “tough Jews” with Michael Chabon on March 18 as part of the Berkeley Seminars in Modern Jewish Culture Lecture, but there seemed to be a gap in the Jewishness. Alter, the Berkeley professor and great critic of Jewish writing, interviewed the Pulitzer Prize-winning Chabon and asked about the author’s exuberant style, the…
A proposal requiring parental consent for abortions for girls ages 17 and under was certified last week by the state of Alaska. Guess who thinks this is a good idea? Yes, Sarah Palin. She may be leaving office with tremendous debt accrued from combating a bevy of ethics complaints, as she told ABC news while…
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