The City University of New York has a problem with systemic anti-Semitism
New York may be the most Jewish city in the United States, but its publicly-funded higher education system has been warped by anti-Semitism. Worse still, the City University of New York (CUNY)’s leadership doesn’t seem motivated to address the systemic problem. The New York City Council’s Higher Education Committee recently held a hearing to address … Continue reading
Bambi, Before It Was a Kids’ Movie
When I first saw Disney’s Bambi as a child, the whole cinematic experience was overshadowed by the emotional wallop of watching Bambi lose his mother. More like an old fashioned Grimms’ fairy tale than a typical, modern kids’ movie, Bambi planted the terrifying and highly realistic fear of losing a parent. And yet, Disney’s movie is saccharine compared to … Continue reading
How to Help Children Orphaned by COVID-19
The Atlantic recently ran an article urging the federal government to do more to help the country’s children who lost a parent or primary caregiver to COVID-19.1 It was long on urging assistance but shorter on detailed remedies. The federal government clearly has a role to play, but it can’t solve this problem singlehandedly, as much of the relevant control remains at … Continue reading
A New Report Sheds Lights on Renewed Efforts to Free ‘Lady Al-Qaeda’
When Malik Akram took four Jews hostage in their Texas synagogue in January, his focus on freeing convicted terrorist Aafia Siddiqui sounded out of the blue to most Americans. According to a new report from the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), though, it was anything but. To keep reading, visit The Dispatch.
Amnesty International’s Problematic Israel Report
The term “apartheid” evokes horrific images from nearly half a century of South African oppression. Given how charged a word it is, it’s imperative that those applying it to other contexts substantiate the allegation with solid evidence. A recent reportfrom Amnesty International fails in that regard. “Crime of Apartheid: The Government of Israel’s System of Oppression … Continue reading
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
Fixing Baltimore’s schools: A model
Baltimore City’s public school system is clearly broken. But what would repairing and rebuilding education in the city look like? To answer that question, I turned to Laura Hawkins, chief of strategic advancement and communications for New Schools for New Orleans, and Patrick J. Wolf, distinguished professor of education policy and 21st Century Endowed Chair in School … Continue reading
melissa langsam braunstein 