Category: Social Issues
Arab Like Me: Rachel Dolezal and My Anxious Jewish Mask
Am I the Jewish Rachel Dolezal? I was sitting in my East Jerusalem apartment in a Moroccan djellaba, Abdel Halim Hafez warbling from the stereo, sipping mint tea and reading a New Yorker article about... Read More
On Dignity, Morality, and Responsibility: The Effect of Obergefell vs. Hodges
This summer has been full of some pretty amazing and terrifying historic moments, and the Supreme Court decisions definitely made the list for me. As someone who finds the judicial process fascinating... Read More
“50 Years Since Nostra Aetate” with The International Council of Christians and Jews
“Jews are non-Christian in a way that other religions are not.” Meredeth Banki, speaker at the International Council of Christians and Jews, said this when speaking about her experience as part of... Read More
Digging Deeper: Archaeology and Interfaith Community
As the sun spilled over the Galilee hills in the distance, I paused for a moment, straightening up from over my pickaxe and squinting into the east. The sky had been lightening for the past thirty min... Read More
Ethnographic Filmmaking and the Scientific Study of Religion
What happens when a social scientist uses a camera as a tool in ethnographic fieldwork? For a decade prior to pursuing graduate school, I worked as a composer, film editor and documentary filmmaker. W... Read More
The Slow Steps of Progress: Health(care), Love(#wins), and Hate (Beyond a Flag)
Random fact: I was born in South Carolina. My family isn’t from there. I don’t remember being there before we moved. I’ve visited maybe a handful of times since, but when I need a copy of my bir... Read More
Should Civil and Church Marriage be Separated?
Some Christians have responded to the court's recent ruling in favor of same-sex marriage by calling for Christians to totally separate 'civil' marriage from 'church' marriage. But this position is to... Read More
On Taking a Selfie with Pope Francis
Recently I attended an audience with Pope Francis with the International Council of Christians and Jews. It was my second audience, as I had also gained access to the Vatican’s elaborate reception r... Read More