Tag: Judaism
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
The Beginning of a Settlement — Dispatch from Palestine
Mahmoud’s family lives one Palestinian hill over from a newly-forming illegal Jewish settlement. Six Jewish settlers arrived about a year ago with tents and made a primitive campsite. All year they ... Read More
“Come and see, then go and tell”–Dispatch from Palestine
The Tent of Nations is an organic farm on a long narrow strip of Palestinian land that has held its deed since 1917, through four occupations: Turkish, British, Jordanian, and Israeli. It is placed in... 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
An Improvised Family: Yom Kippur with Rome’s Progressive Jews
Normally people do not go to Rome to refrain from eating. But it was Yom Kippur, and I was on my way to afternoon services at Beth Hillel, Rome’s new progressive Jewish community. My long walk to th... Read More
A Prayer in the Beginning
Last week I was in a Moroccan restaurant in Seattle and had a unique experience: The very nice Palestinian man who ran the restaurant started speaking to me in his Shammi (Eastern) Arabic, and I respo... Read More
From Ramadan to Yom Kippur: Temptation and Redemption
Perhaps the most profound religious experience of my life took place in the produce aisle of a Carrefour supermarket. It was my second Ramadan in Morocco. The first time around I had no intention of f... Read More