There’s something simultaneously ironic, funny, sad and fascinating when a student messages me asking if they are white. Now this isn’t, of course, a question about physical colors, in which I’m no expert; any of my peers will attest to the fact that I wasn’t blessed with an eye for color schemes. Rather, they are…
A light rain was falling by the time the convoy of cars arrived at Nishuane Park in Montclair, N.J., where a stone memorial commemorates the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But the masked demonstrators who emerged to lay bouquets and notes near the plinth were reluctant to disperse. The mobile protest had gathered…
Songstress Barbra Streisand has given Gianna Floyd, George Floyd’s six-year-old daughter an unexpected gift— shares of Disney stock. A post on Gianna’s Instagram account showed her opening a folder stamped with the Disney logo and posing with what appears to be a letter from Streisand. “Thank You @barbrastreisand for my package,” she captioned the snapshot….
Human life is so sacred that Jewish tradition is famously reticent about criminal punishment in general and capital punishment in particular. Thus, Rabbi Tarfon and Rabbi Akiva said, “If we would have been on the Sanhedrin, no one would ever have been executed” (Mishnah Makkot 1:17). To be tried criminally, Jewish law requires that a…
After George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers sparked nationwide protests at the end of May, almost every major American Jewish organization released a statement condemning racism and expressing solidarity with the black community. In the ensuing weeks, some Jewish leaders have advocated for specific policy reforms: Hundreds have signed a letter…
“I experience racism in the Jewish community on a regular basis,” said Rabbi Sandra Lawson, one of four North Carolina rabbis behind an urgent call for American Jews to take action against police violence. “As a black queer woman, I don’t see a lot of people who look like me.” Long before Lawson was ordained,…
Editor’s Note: Click here for an article about the author’s experience sharing Hebrew prayers with members of the National Guard. On Wednesday, June 3rd, I went to protest in Washington DC. I went because I believe it was demanded of me as a Jew and an American. First I want to speak to the question…
Adam Rapoport, the longtime editor in chief of food magazine Bon Appétit, resigned after a photo showing him wearing a racist costume surfaced on Twitter and several staffers publicly called out racist practices within the magazine. In a statement on Instagram, Rapoport, who led the magazine since 2010, wrote, “I am stepping down as editor-in-chief…
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