Category: News
Who is my neighbor? (Syria edition)
As the conflicts in Syria and Iraq have become increasingly sectarian over the last few years, feeding off one another’s dynamics and international rhetoric and involvement, stories about the pe... Read More
In Another Gilgul: Forgiveness, the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict, and Bedtime
Every night before we go to sleep, Jewish liturgy offers us the opportunity to forgive. The Bedtime Shema begins: “Master of the universe, I hereby forgive anyone who angered or antagonized me or wh... Read More
Living into human peace
In a recent application, I was asked to reflect on my thoughts about nonviolence and whether I consider myself a pacifist. This turned out to be a much more difficult question than you might assume,... Read More
Fear and Loathing in Qalandiya
Before today, I never imagined I would be quite so relieved to not understand Arabic. That’s because today, I visited a small portion of the West Bank with my wife and infant son courtesy of the... Read More
Ridicule and Rationality: Jon Stewart’s Interfaith Dialogue
Good liberals know that religious beliefs are to be celebrated, but not criticized and certainly not ridiculed -- at least in polite company. In the real world, interfaith relations aren't so well-be... Read More
Dasani, Mayor Bloomberg, and Reverse Idolatry
Earlier this month, the New York Times published a five-part series on Dasani, an 11-year-old girl living in a homeless shelter in New York City. The series explicates the experience of New York City... Read More
Finding Jesus at the Texas-Mexico Border
It was cold and windy on the last morning of our trip to the Rio Grande Valley. We sat at a wooden table toward the back of the restaurant, warming ourselves with coffee and eating breakfast tacos. Ci... Read More
Sticking the Poor with Climate Change: People, Power, and Privilege
As I write this, I am sitting at my kitchen table while my ten-year old, home from school today with a fever, watches a movie upstairs. It is a bright, beautiful fall day in Austin, Texas—and part o... Read More