The Book of Anna
17 May
Arts & Culture, Latest

The Acid That Burns: Joy Ladin on The Book of Anna

The Book of Anna By Joy Ladin EOAGH Books, March 2021 $20, 151 pp. The Book of Anna is a fictional narrative that tells the story of Czech-German Holocaust survivor Anna Asher’s life after the war in 1950s Prague. Through poems and prose diary entries, Anna struggles to make sense of the dissonance between the horrors she experienced and Jewish thought. A tapestry woven with biblical allusions and Talmudic references, The Book of Anna stands out among the piles of Holocaust literature seeking to explain the inexplicable. The book’s initial publication in 2006 solidified author, poet and professor Joy Ladin’s tenure position at Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women, but otherwise went unnoticed. Still living as a man named Jay at the time, Ladin published Anna under the initial J. Ladin. For the recent rerelease of the book, Ladin changed...

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George Floyd
27 Apr
Uncategorized

Twitter Explained | Did We Just Get Justice for George Floyd?

Tens of thousands of Twitter users tuned in last week to hear the jury’s verdict in Derek Chauvin’s trial for the murder of George Floyd. Streamed live on news accounts such as MSNBC, ABC and CBSnews, the trial that had captured the country's attention for weeks finally came to a close.  America is no stranger to public trials. Lizzie Borden, Leopoldo and Loeb, Rodney King’s attackers, OJ, Casey Anthony and others had widely publicized trials with highly anticipated verdicts. Chauvin’s trial, however, was the first to be live-streamed, a decision made by the judge to make up for COVID-19 restrictions closing the gallery.  Responses to the verdict—guilty on all charges—varied, ranging from relief and celebration to doubt and skepticism, and Twitter trends reflected this wide scope of reactions. In fact, mere moments after the judge read the verdict,...

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20 Apr
Latest

Twitter Explained | Can We Compare Daunte Wright with Ashli Babbitt?

I first noticed the name Ashli Babbitt trending on Twitter late last Tuesday afternoon. It took me a moment to remember why it sounded familiar. Ashli Babbitt? Right—the sole rioter killed by Capitol Police during the January 6 insurrection at the U.S Capitol (three other protestors died—one from a heart attack, one from a stroke, and a third was crushed by fellow rioters). Mentions of Babbitt’s name spiked when, in response to outrage over the April 11 fatal police shooting of 20-year old Daunte Wright, conservatives began equating his death to that of Ashli Babbitt.  Let’s compare the facts. Ashli Babbitt, a 35-year-old white female Air Force veteran, was shot and killed by Capitol Police on January 6 while climbing through a broken-in window at the U.S. Capitol as part of a riotous mob. Daunte Wright, a...

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Half of Republicans
08 Apr
Uncategorized

Twitter Explained | A Day in the Life of ‘Half of Republicans’

On the morning of April 5, Reuters/Ipsos released a poll that found that half of Republicans believe that the January 6, 2021 attack and invasion of the U.S. Capitol was either peaceful or staged by the left. By the time I logged on to Twitter that day at around noon EST, the phrase “half of Republicans” was trending.  On Twitter, a “trend” begins when users start to include a word, phrase, hashtag or topic at a higher rate than others. Twitter then features these topics in a “Trending” sidebar, tailored to each user based on their interests, geographic location or other account characteristics.  Twitter’s enigmatic algorithm picks trends based on sudden upticks in conversation topics. A gradual increase in the use of a phrase or hashtag won’t cause a trend, but a quick spike will. This explains...

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09 Oct
Uncategorized

Twitter Explained | Can You Be Anti-Miller Without Being Anti-Semitic?

On Tuesday, October 6, senior White House aide Stephen Miller confirmed his positive COVID status. Miller is one of a dozen staffers close to President Trump to have tested positive, but he’s the only one to have generated a lively Twitter conversation on the dos and don’ts of anti-Semitic tropes. 

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04 Sep
*Ongoing Findings, Latest

We Asked Our Voters: How Do You Feel About November?

As part of our Jewish Political Voices Project, Moment has been following 30 voters—3 from each of 10 battleground states—over the last 12 months as the political climate continued to shift and the pool of Democratic presidential candidates narrowed. As one of their final check-ins before casting their ballots, our voters shared their thoughts on the Trump and Biden campaigns, voting by mail and more.

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