Lessons from Colleyville
Shabbat-morning services took an unexpected turn on Jan. 15 when four Jews were taken hostage for 11 hours in their Texas synagogue. While the FBI initially announced that the attack by armed assailant Malik Faisal Akram “was not specifically related to the Jewish community,” Jews worldwide instantly knew otherwise. It was indeed motivated by Jew hate, specifically … Continue reading
This Is Not How Holocaust Education Was Supposed to Work
Understanding the world’s capacity for cruelty is a lot for children to handle, which is why responsible history education accounts for children’s developmental readiness. This is especially true when it comes to the Holocaust. Holocaust survivors carry physical and psychological wounds, which live on in their descendants as epigenetic trauma. But not all adults are responsible. Kimberlynn … Continue reading
Zahra Billoo criticizes ‘polite Zionists,’ the ADL responds
ADL national director and CEO Jonathan Greenblatt deserves credit. On Dec. 7, he posted two tweets. He urged CAIR to condemn their San Francisco Bay area executive director Zahra Billoo for her “textbook vile, #antisemitic, conspiracy-laden garbage attacking the mainstream US Jewish community” and sounding like a white supremacist. Unsurprisingly, CAIR stood by Billoo. They condemned Greenblatt instead. Days later … Continue reading
Publishers against the People of the Book
Writing stars such as Saul Bellow and Philip Roth illuminated the postwar era, a veritable golden age for American Jewish authors. The People of the Book were storytellers for popular consumption, and publishers eagerly kept those stories coming. What was once a love affair between Jewish writers and the publishing industry, however, is looking more … Continue reading
melissa langsam braunstein 