Feminism needs mentioning
While a recent panel called Israel, Canada and Me in the Age of Trump covered many topics well, there was a noticeable omission – feminism. Three of the four panelists at the Peretz Centre on April 9 were women –…
Opinion
Israel at 69 – “love forever”
Jews all over the world celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day – even those who have no intention of ever making aliyah and many of whom have never even visited Israel. “It’s a kind of insurance policy,” one overseas friend…
Beyond the binaries
The concept of intersectionality recognizes that multiple forms of oppression and discrimination can impact individuals at the same time. For example, African-Americans experience systemically and socially both economic disadvantage and racial discrimination. Black women face an addition layer of intersectional…
Obligation to be hospitable
Imagine, for a minute, that you’re throwing an open house for a children’s sports team. You’ve invited a lot of people. You don’t know them all. Yet, you’re the host. It’s a beautiful, sunny, warm day. You’ve set up your…
Failure is a possibility
Israeli culture does not encourage failure; rather, it is somehow more tolerant and accepting of it. (photo from Shutterstock.com via Israel21c) When was the last time you admitted you failed? Have you ever felt comfortable talking about your failures? How…
A healthy relationship
An interesting exchange occurred last week between four members of Israel’s Knesset and a Diaspora Jew who warned them that Israel risks losing the support of people like her. In a forum in Boston, an audience member said Israel had…
What now, with arrest?
A teenager was arrested last week in relation to the scores of bomb threats against Jewish institutions throughout North America and elsewhere. There was widespread relief over the arrest, on the assumption that most, if not all, of the threats…
The work is not solely ours
Music is an amazing tool for learning. When I was a kid, I learned a lot of Jewish music. It wasn’t choir music, or strictly for prayer. No, I learned “everything” Jewish through music. I sang parts of Pirkei Avot…
Some civil discourse basics
There should be a word for the phenomenon where an individual comes to mass public attention only when their reputations are imploding due to impolitic remarks on social media. Milo Yiannopoulos, a former editor of the far-right Breitbart news, was…
Active Jewish millennials
If the occupation is going to end with the help of North American Jews, it will be owing to the growing force of millennials who stand up not only for their own rights, but the rights of others. One of…
