Jewish Routes // Vermont
The Jewish presence in Vermont can be traced back to land speculators in the 1760s, but a more substantial group, primarily German-speaking, started settling in the state in the 1840s
Talk of the Table // Parsley, Celery and Cilantro, Oh My!
The Passover seder is one of Judaism’s most simultaneously stable and mutable traditions: There are universally agreed-upon aspects of the ritual (the four questions, the bitter herb, the four cups of wine), and yet there are many variations
How The Black Lives Matter and Palestinian Movements Converged
In August 2014, Ferguson, Missouri erupted in protests after the death of Michael Brown, while thousands of miles away, war raged in Israel and Gaza. From this confluence of events emerged a new movement of black-Palestinian solidarity. How did this alliance come to be?
Book Review // Sailor and Fiddler
I recently asked undergraduates in my Jewish literature class at George Washington University whether the name Herman Wouk meant anything to any of them. Not a single hand went up; not a single nod of recognition. Caine Mutiny? No response.
Opinion // The Cold, Hard Realist’s Case for Israel
The United States doesn’t need to get into a discussion of “shared values.”
An All-Women Symposium: The Missing XX-Factor
1| What more could be done to achieve
peace between Israelis and Palestinians?
2| What might women bring to the
peace process if more were included?
with Ruth Calderon,...
Ask the Rabbis // Proselytizing?
Should Jews advocate for their religious choices in conversation with Jews who have chosen differently?
Jewish Word // Baal Teshuvah
Religious seekers are as old as religion itself. But it wasn’t until mid-20th-century America that there was a full-fledged, organized movement of Jews who moved from less observant to more observant—and a name for them. Behold, the birth of the baal teshuvah.
Visual Moment // Moshe Safdie
In 1967 a 29-year-old Israeli-born Canadian architect by the name of Moshe Safdie gained international recognition for his groundbreaking, visionary design for high-quality, affordable urban housing.
Opinion // Who Will Be Israel’s Champion?
It’s never been easy for the Israeli establishment to foresee how a newly elected American administration is going to behave. Israel did not know in advance that Lyndon Johnson was going to be Israel’s best American friend, possibly ever.
From the Editor // March/April 2016
Not long ago, I visited dear old friends for dinner and, over dessert, fell into a conversation with their daughter, whom I have known since she was born. She recently graduated from college and is an artist and activist who participated in the 2014 protests in Ferguson, Missouri, after the death of Michael Brown.