A new code of ethics commissioned by Israeli education minister Naftali Bennett, considered a rival of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, would bar Israeli universities from discussing politics in the classroom. Meant to protect students from political coercion, the code offers disciplinary action against lecturers or professors who express political views while teaching. The only exception…
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. Not long ago, I arrived in a small corner of Eden in rural western Pennsylvania: a bit of forest, a burbling brook, manicured lawns and camp-style wooden cabins and lodges. Displayed in and around the main lodge was all that a young child might desire—charmingly wrought sand…
Harvard rescinded acceptance offers for least 10 incoming freshman after the students shared sexually explicit and racist images over private Facebook group chats, images that made fun of sexual assault, child death and the Holocaust. The incident has left students, faculty and figures on both sides of the political spectrum divided. Erica Goldberg, Assistant Professor…
Students in the overwhelmingly black and Hispanic school district of Hempstead, New York, on Long Island, may be forgiven this fall if it takes them awhile to get used to their new superintendent — a Hasidic Jew who wears a dark coat and hat, sports a beard and has a yarmulke made of velvet. Shimon…
(JTA) You’ve seen the advertisements: A fit young woman pedals a stationary bicycle while an instructor on a video screen shouts encouragement. The company, Peloton, promises “fitness at your fingertips,” and both “live and on demand” spin classes and “world class instructors,” all from the comfort of your own home. What does a stationary bike…
This week marks the 63rd anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark Supreme Court case that declared segregated schools, even if they had similar resources, were “inherently” unequal because separating children by race caused serious adverse effects. Shockingly, more than six decades later, New York City has the most racially divided schools in…
Through collaboration with the Teaneck Creek Conservancy and Amir Yechieli, founder of Israel-based “Yevul Mayim,” the Jack Flamholz Water Sustainability Project has successfully introduced water conservation curriculum and rainwater harvesting to Hawthorne Elementary School in Teaneck. This is the first project of its kind in New Jersey and will allow students to explore ideas on…
This article was first published in The Forward on May 21, 1999. The terrain reminded me of the Negev, especially as I gazed out over it from high above the desert floor: coarse sand, prickly shrubs, sandstone cliffs. A rope was the only thing that protected me from injury or death. I was leading a…
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