Category: War
Memorials for All? Government and Religious Expression
The issue of establishment of religion by the government is in the news again, this time dealing with a library in New Jersey. As reported here, a monument to veterans and fallen soldiers, paid for by... Read More
Just Another Brick in the Barrier…..
I knew Rabbi Twersky. We weren’t best buddies, or drinking pals, or even very close, but I considered him a friend. I met him several times in Boston and in Israel and always found him to be a great... Read More
“There is no such thing as Palestine!”–Dispatch from Palestine
“You can’t teach me anything about Europeans,” once commented the deputy mayor of Jerusalem. Europeans had killed his father. “You can’t teach me anything about Palestinians.” Palestinians... Read More
A Dialogue Among the Deaf
On Tuesday, the uncle of one of my Arabic-language students was slaughtered by an axe-wielding Palestinian man in Synagogue as he prayed. On Tuesday, the uncle of one of my Arabic students was slaught... Read More
“You are an ambassador”–Dispatch from Palestine
We drive along the barbed electric fence that surrounds the Israeli settlement of Har Gilo. We are headed to the Walajah valley of the Palestinian territory. The valleys are deep and lush with pine ... Read More
“Just Tell Our Story” — Dispatch from Palestine
We met Shirim at her family’s olive grove plot. It falls just outside the Betar Illit settlement. More accurately, it falls on the entire hill but the settlement imposed itself right on top of the f... Read More
The Waste Land
What is that noise? The wind under the door. What is that noise now? What is the wind doing? nothing again nothing. I’ve been having the oddest response to the latest Israel/Palestine crisis: al... Read More
Mourning Our Way to the World to Come
One of the things I love most about Judaism is how we mourn. We do keriya, a physical tearing of our clothes to materially represent our pain. We recite kaddish yatom, a prayer that requires a group o... Read More