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Hip-Hop in Palestine

July 15th, 2010 by Carly Silver

For every critic who disparages hip-hop as being all about “booty-shaking” and liquor, there’s a rapper who defies that stereotype by putting out “conscious rap.” This subcategory of the genre often deals with real life problems that the artist faces, everyday dilemmas that are problems common to the artist’s listeners. As an area with its share of problems, the Middle East has spawned some notable rappers in the past decade. One group, called DAM, short for “Da Arabian MCs,” finds the Hebrew word for “blood” (which also means “forever” in Arabic) written in its name. These rappers are bound to spawn controversy: they’re Palestinians who rhyme about Israelis.

One recent Salem-News.com article urges the change that conscious hip-hop can bring to the Middle East. It argues that “the younger generation doesn’t have the same level of animosity toward non-Jews and many are really pissed about the way their own nation regards Palestinians. If a generation grows up thinking this way, there is hope for a different future.” I’d have to take issue with that statement: not all older Israelis hate Palestinians. In fact, it was people of that generation, like Yitzhak Rabin, that tried to make peace with the Palestinians by giving them land! Rabin was born in 1922 and was in his 70s at the time of his death, yet was willing to compromise for the sake of peace.

In an interview, one of the members of DAM, Tamer Nafer, said, “For the Israelis—and I’m quoting the Parliament of Israel, the government of Israel—we are considered a ‘cancer.’ This is how they call us, a cancer, because we are a demographic bomb for them, like we are Arabs inside of Israel, and we are a threat, us being natural and having babies. Small, cute babies are called demographic bomb and demographic threat for the majority of having—for the Jewish majority.” Nafer’s statement implies that all Jews–and all Israelis–regard Palestinian Arabs as a “threat” to Israel’s sovereignty. I doubt most Israelis think that way. Jews acknowledge Palestinians have a stake in the land, too–but so do we, as a people. Instead of this violent tug-of-war, maybe we could share the table a bit. That would make some good hip-hop music.

The article continues to say that Israelis “stand in judgment of legitimately elected political groups like Hamas…that gave up suicide bombing for good in 2005.” First of all, standing in the way of terrorist organizations, legally elected or not, can’t be a bad thing. Secondly, Hamas is still attempting to send suicide bombers out to wreak havoc.

The article posits that young rappers, speaking out about their suffering at Israeli hands, might help change matters. I agree that anyone should be able to express himself or herself through hip-hop, which has proven to be a wonderful art form for oppressed people in the past. Looking at some of DAM’s lyrics, though, I wonder whether this group is using its platform well.

Instead of advocating for cooperation and a peaceful solution, DAM lumps all Israelis together in a category of the “enemy.” In the song “Freedom for My Sisters,” one rapper says, “Americans discriminate against the Arabs/Zionists discriminate against the Arabs.” No doubt, some Americans do discriminate, as do some Zionists, but, by claiming Americans and Zionists are all racists toward Arabs, aren’t the members of DAM being discriminatory themselves? Not all Zionists are anti-Arab. In fact, many just want a cooperative existence for both Israelis and Palestinians. Zionists recognize Palestinians’ right to exist alongside others, just not instead of or in place of Israelis. In claiming that others generalize, DAM generalizes in the same hateful way.

On the other hand, the group doesn’t damn all Jews, but recognize fault in everyone: in the song “Change Tomorrow,” a member rhymes, “Jews, Christians, and Muslims/None of these sides wants to understand each other/Each side thinks they’re better than the other.” In doing so, they recognize that all sides have problems in their conception of Israel as “their own.” At the same time, DAM and other groups like them should not perpetrate the same stereotypes in their music that they say they seek to combat.

The movement of hip-hop in Israeli amongst young Palestinians is a good thing. It allows young people to express themselves artistically and non-violently. At the same time that getting the message out is important, if the message is wrong, then what good does it do? The same goes for Salem-News.com. Do the research and don’t generalize: only then can we turn the corner.

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Where is the love?

July 13th, 2010 by Elle Weiss

At least there is some good news today. There is obviously no Zionist conspiracy to run the world. Given the division in the Jewish community, it’s unlikely the community can agree on who a Jew even is, and the meaning of Judaism.

With assimilation  at an all time high, one would think the Orthodox world would be rejoicing to hear people wanting to participate more. Considering Anat Hoffman was arrested for carrying or reading from a Torah (reports differ), perhaps assimilation seems better to the Orthodox. Anat and the Women of the Wall are routinely subjected to spitting and abuse for daring to have a minyan by the Kotel, the place that is supposed to be holy to all Jewish people. Video has shown chairs being thrown at the women and the women being screamed at. In the holiest place in the world to many Jews, is this supposed to be a clear indication of how the pious ones behave?

Although Anat has been released quickly after being arrested, the effect on women in Judaism is quite clear: toe the Orthodox line or suffer. Even though the Kotel belongs to all people, only Orthodox law is allowed, with a separation between men and women. Separate but equal doesn’t even describe this situation, as Anat was on the women’s side of the wall when she was arrested.

This is not the first time Anat and her minyan have been arrested, but this time, the price has been very dear. Anat has been banned from the Kotel for 30 days. No wonder assimilation rates are so high. This situation sounds more like Iran and Saudi Arabia, where religion is used as a tool to criminalize those who do not hold to the fundamentalist line. Why does the Israeli High Court bow to the religious right’s prohibiting women from reading the Torah out loud? I suppose the rabbis would have said the same to Deborah, one of the greatest judges in the Bible. Given her warlike reputation, I would have paid to see that confrontation.

Anat’s case may be insignificant to the average American Jew, but the next piece of news shows how strong the Orthodox grip on Israel truly is. The Knesset is voting to give the chief rabbinate (which is all Orthodox) sole authority over conversion in Israel. Rabbi Uri Regev worries that this would give the ultra-Orthodox veto power to decide who was Jewish, which could potentially rip families apart.

The Kadima party has condemned the bill in the harshest terms, and President of the Jewish Federations of North America Jerry Silverman has expressed the hope that “the prime minister and the Likud will not allow such a bill to pass, as it would create a significant rift between Israel and world Jewry.” So why is this being done? Because the ultra-Orthodox party Shas wants it. And in a country plagued by war and inflation, it’s always a good idea to have a religious conflict.

One can understand the defense for Ultra Orthodox only conversions, to prevent intermarriage between “true Jews” and those who have converted improperly. The problem is, it’s too little, too late. It’s a lot like building a storm cellar during a hurricane, the storm is here already. Intermarriage is at an all time high. Shouldn’t we be encouraging people to stay in the Jewish community and not destroying the community internally by holding an unfairly high standard for people? Rotem, the sponsor of the bill, said it should “not influence the relationship of Israeli Jews and the Jewish communities in the Diaspora.” So basically, we are good enough to support Israel but Reform and Conservative Jews aren’t good enough to be Jews? I’m a die-hard Zionist to the marrow of my blood, but even I feel stung.

It is unlikely Netanyahu will allow the bill to pass. But between this and Anat, I feel like the country I love doesn’t consider me Jewish enough anymore. The ultra-Orthodox should not rule Israel; they are a minority in a country where the majority is secular. Those who want to join the Jewish people were once welcomed. Sadly, Moshe (married to a convert), David (great grandson of a convert) and Onkelos (a convert) wouldn’t have been welcome in the Judaism of today. Our loss.  Jewish people were once happy to even have the ability to read a Torah scroll without being arrested by outside authority, are now being arrested by their fellow Jews.

As this is the month of Av, I feel I must refer to my Yeshiva education and remind readers that it was not a lack of devotion to the Torah that got the Temple destroyed, but a lack of unity and brotherly–and sisterly–love.

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Posted in Israel, Reform, Religion | 2 Comments »

Remembering Rav Amital

July 12th, 2010 by admin

Adam Sales is a graduate student at the University of Michigan.

HaRav Yehuda Amital, one of the great contemporary Jewish leaders and thinkers–and one of my personal heroes–passed away in Jerusalem last Thursday night, July 9, at the age of 86.

Rav Amital was born Yehuda Klein in Transylvania in 1924, and survived the Holocaust in a labor camp. He moved to Israel after the war, changed his name and joined the Hagana, which he fought with in Israel’s War of Independence. After 1948, Rav Amital emerged as a leader of Israel’s religious Zionist community and encouraged simultaneous engagement in Torah study and modern, secular life. He insisted that his students study in a library with windows that looked out onto the wider world. In opposition to the idea that students could skip the army to study Torah, he helped found the “Hesder” program, which enabled religious boys to alternate between Torah study and army service. In 1968, Rav Amital founded Yeshivat Har Etzion–which would become the largest Hesder yeshiva–in a settlement in the West Bank, and served as its dean, along with Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, until 2008.

After losing many students in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Rav Amital shifted away from the messianic settler movement. He believed in the possibility, not the divine promise, of religious redemption through the state of Israel and began to argue for peace accords with Israel’s neighbors. He founded a political party in the late eighties called Meimad, which in Hebrew stands for “A Jewish state, a democratic state,” and served in Shimon Peres’ cabinet.

Rav Amital was unique because he blended passion with humility. His vision allowed him to found new institutions and pioneer innovative methods, but his drive never kept him from understanding the other side of an issue. When compelled by evidence, he would change his views.

My experience with Rav Amital began 10 years ago when I spent a year at his yeshiva. His personality drew me to him: he carried himself as a humble, simple Jew. And though he was serious about Torah, he did not take himself too seriously. Once, I had learned that a Jewish legal technicality had invalidated a ritual that I enjoyed performing. Rav Amital explained to me that what I had been taught was incorrect and continued, “You don’t have to search for problems. You don’t have to search for stringency. Take it easy! That’s what’s written in the Torah! Take it easy!”

“Take it easy” troubled me for years. Where is “take it easy” written in the Torah? What does it mean? Surely Rav Amital wasn’t advocating lax observance of Jewish law. What bothered me most of all, though, was Rav Amital’s personal experience in light of that advice. Was he taking it easy when he was in a Nazi labor camp? When he was fighting in the War of Independence? When he was founding the Hesder movement or his yeshiva or Meimad?

I’m not sure how to answer those questions, but I think that the focus of Rav Amital’s life was not Rav Amital; he placed the people of Israel and the Torah before himself. Personal anxiety did not factor into his thinking. He wasn’t advocating laxity so much as the easing of stress and anxiety. What’s important is the big picture: the sincere attempt at living a Torah life, not the small personal successes and failures.

Because Rav Amital was so devoted to a cause greater than himself, he was able to put aside his pride and switch camps—from pro-settlement to pro-land swap—when the evidence called for it. That was an outgrowth of his passion, not an obstacle to it.

Regardless of his political accomplishments, at his core Rav Amital was a student and a teacher. A famous rabbinic aphorism states that Torah scholars increase peace in the world. Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, one of Rav Amital’s theological role models, explained that Torah scholars will analyze every side of a legal argument, thereby increasing mutual understanding–which brings peace. That’s how Rav Amital learned, taught and lived: take every side seriously but when it comes to yourself, take it easy.

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Posted in Israel, holocaust | 2 Comments »

Hanukkah….in Summer

July 8th, 2010 by Carly Silver

After I got home from work today, I pried my hair off my sweat-soaked neck and flopped down on my bed. Flipping on the air conditioning, I turned my computer on and searched for an episode of Friends that I hadn’t seen yet. Knowing there were none, I settled into a re-run, as happily as if it had been a brand-new episode.

The one I chose featured one of the main characters, the lovable paleontologist Ross, attempting to teach his half-Jewish son, Ben, about Hanukkah. Spoiler alert: to combat the young boy’s obsession with Christmas and Santa Claus, Ross dresses up in the only costume he could find: that of an armadillo. Dubbing the creature “the Holiday Armadillo,” he attempts to teach Ben about how Hanukkah is just as fun as Christmas, even if there isn’t a man in a sleigh with presents.

Watching this episode reminded me of all the things I love about Hanukkah. It’s so much more than a Jewish Christmas. Yes, the two holidays fall at the same time most years and, yes, Jewish kids do get presents the way Christian children do. But Hanukkah has a spirit of triumph and good conquering evil, something that the birth of Jesus doesn’t inspire in me. Maybe that’s just because I was born and raised Jewish, but the will of a people and the miracle of holy oil lasting eight nights is a testament to their faith and trumps a birth. If the Christians had put one of Jesus’s miracles around the same time of the year, maybe there’d be some competition.

To me, the Jewish people are like the oil in that menorah. People have expected us to give up, peter out, disappear. They’ve tried to kill us, burn us, smoke us out, but we just keep on surviving. To me, that’s one of the central messages of Hanukkah. It’s not just that G-d is with us, which is true. The message, to me, shows the defiance of the Jewish people in the face of all the odds. There really was just enough oil to last one night, but it kept going for longer than anyone expected. In the end, it resulted in a whole new holiday. In the same way, the more that people have tried to exterminate the Jews, the more we have risen to the challenge of existing and cemented our place in the world.

I’m aware that this is the wrong time of year to be waxing lyrical about Hanukkah—the weather outside bears no resemblance to the chilly frosts of December. However, the holiday’s message is timeless, as is that of the Holiday Armadillo episode of Friends. Just as the oil lasted, so do the Jewish people. So, too, must the Jewish tradition, by passing it on to the next generation. We can’t expect to endure challenges if the Jewish tradition doesn’t exist in the future. It doesn’t have to be religious Judaism, in my opinion, for the legacy of Judaism to continue on. The courage and heart that we have carried with us for centuries is enough. That, to me, is the spirit of Hanukkah.

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Jew Camp–wishing I was there… kinda

July 8th, 2010 by David A.M. Wilensky
For the record, that boat is on wheels, attached to a pickup truck and on its way to the dump.

For the record, that boat is on wheels, tied to a pickup truck and on its way to the dump.

The recent rebroadcast of the summer camp episode of This American Life has me thinking this week about Jew Camp, which will be my name for the camp where I spent the five summers prior to this one. Jew Camp is an odd Jewish summer camp because all of the campers–participants, as we called them–are in high school. Jew Camp is meant for leadership training and fun, but it’s in a typical summer camp setting, as you can see in the picture. Before Jew Camp, I spent five summers at another Jewish summer camp closer to home in Texas.

The weirdest thing about camp is that it’s the rare place in this world where you’re a customer at first, but where you enjoy working more. Everyone always told me that being on staff is more fun than being a camper and I never quite believed them. I’m not sure I even appreciated how great being on staff was until I wasn’t a counselor anymore.

A couple of weeks ago, I started hearing from friends on this summer’s staff at Jew Camp. It’s totally absorbing to hear about. Camp, as one staffer in a segment on “This American Life” pointed out, is a soap opera. I’d even say it’s a gigantic, immediate soap opera hopped up in 16-year-old hormones. It also proceeds at breakneck speed because it only has one month to see all the plots to their conclusion. What’s worse is that some plots are left as loose ends–the kiss that never happened for one camper or staffer, the ticking time bomb lunatic faculty member that never quite blew up, or the job left unfinished.

I don’t even have to be there to get wrapped up in the drama. One friend, a fellow former staff member, was visiting Jew Camp for a couple of days recently, hooked up with one of the girls on staff this summer and I found out about the whole thing over the phone with another friend. And for reasons I can’t fathom, it seemed to me like one of the most important pieces of news I’d received in weeks. But the whole thing is the seasonal opposite of a season of television. Rather than waiting all summer for the thrilling conclusion, the series  runs only in the summer, leaving the rapt voyeurs guessing at the ending for the next 10 months!

In real life, you can put things off. You can leave your colleagues unimpressed for another week, a project incomplete for a few days more. But a few days stretches into many days and another week into another month–and so on. But at camp, the project always had to be done now, and done in the most completely over-the-top way you can dream up.

“We’ve only got a week left, so this concert has to be the best one ever! Let’s get the climbing gear and go up on top of the theater, temporarily bolt expensive stage lighting to the roof and do the concert outside!”

“Instead of clearing out this garage full of crap by piling the crap into the back of the pickup truck, let’s fill the truck and this boat that we’re gonna throw away! We’ll affix wheels to the boat and attach it to the back of the truck! Quick someone stand on the back of the boat with a pirate hat! OK, let’s go!”

And so on.

Last summer wasn’t my best at Jew Camp–I don’t think it was anyone’s best. But I keep feeling the pull this summer, now that I’m away from it. Jew Camp, it seems, I wish I was with you again.

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A Political Parade

July 6th, 2010 by Hailey Dilman

I last blogged about the controversy surrounding Pride Toronto’s decision to ban the group “Queers Against Israeli Apartheid” from marching in this year’s pride parade.  Since then, the controversy has done anything but slow down.  After the decision, QuAIA accused the city of censoring their freedom of speech, and organized resistance in an attempt to overturn the decision.  Their efforts garnered widespread support, and drew condemnation from within the LGBT community against Pride.  On June 23rd, under pressure from the LGBT community, Pride Toronto decided to remove the ban against QuAIA.  The group celebrated the decision as a victory for free speech, and promised to be the “loudest and largest part of Pride this year”.

Toronto's 30th Pride Parade

Toronto's 30th Pride Parade

In my last blog I confided my joy in QuAIA’s being banned from the parade.  I believed that QuAIA was spreading hate and ignorance about Israel, and I worried about the bystanders who would be unfairly swayed.   My statements were criticized: my fear, which led me to support censorship, was accused of being unfounded because the media and public are not as “susceptible and defenseless” as I believed they were.  Instead, my critics said, I should have trusted that the media and my fellow citizens would have the ability to think critically.  Sure enough, my worries were unfounded.  What followed from QuAIA’s ban, and then removal of that ban, was an attack from the media against QuAIA, rather than support for them.   Mainstream media (Toronto’s most popular newspapers, the Toronto Star and the National Post) did not sympathize with QuAIA, but rather attempted to expose their hypocrisy.   Journalists questioned the morality of QuAIA singling out Israel in their campaign for human rights.  They pointed out the horrible conditions homosexuals endure in all Middle Eastern countries, as well as the supposed apartheid in Lebanon. The conclusion they drew was that because QuAIA singles out Israel, “an oasis for homosexuality”, they clearly have some anti-Jewish state issues and are not interested in regular, healthy criticism of Israel’s government and politics. This perceived negative attitude had everyone worried.  Justine Apple, who is the executive director of Kulanu Toronto–a Jewish LGBT social and educational group–said that QuAIA’s participation in the parade will create a “toxic and fearful environment”.

Within the Jewish community, the attitude towards QuAIA is negative: many are up in arms and on the defensive.  Their strategy has been to flatter Israel by promoting its democracy and support for homosexuality.  They portray QuAIA as an antisemitic group out to demonize Israel.

With this thick air of controversy surrounding the parade, I decided to go and check it out for myself.  Notwithstanding QuAIA, I was very excited for the parade: this is after all a celebration of Toronto’s LGBT community!   When I arrived at the parade, I wanted to talk to members of both QuAIA and Kulanu.  Upon finding Kulanu, I was immediately taken aback.

A rally for Israel or Toronto's Pride Parade?

A rally for Israel or Toronto's Pride Parade?

Their group looked more like a rally in support of Israel than a Jewish LGBT group.  Speaking with Len Rudner of Kulanu, he expressed to me that despite what it looked like, Kulanu was marching in support and in celebration of Toronto’s Jewish LGBT community.  When questioned about the staggering amount of Israel flags and signs promoting Israel’s support for it’s LGBT community, he said that the group is also speaking up for Israel’s LGBT community.  They are walking with a positive voice of inclusiveness.  However, I think that Kulanu’s mission was hijacked by Jews acting in defense of Israel reacting to QuAIA’s participation in the parade.  The presence of the controversial Jewish Defense League, who marched with the group, gave me this hunch.

Elle Flanders of Queers Against Israeli Apartheid, points to this decision by Kulanu (allowing the JDL to march with them) as an action of divisiveness. She claims that Kulanu is not provoking conversation but  defending Israel at all costs.  She believes they are simply crying wolf on antisemitism instead of creating debate and conversation on the issues.  To Flanders, it is so important for QuAIA to march in the parade because to her, to be queer is to be a human rights activist.  She argues that the

QuAIA

QuAIA

struggle against oppression is a political struggle that the Pride Parade has been dealing with ever since it began, 30 years ago.  Just because the LGBT community in Toronto has been afforded rights, doesn’t mean they are going to stop fighting for basic human rights for people, everywhere in the world, wherever that may be.  Yael, a Jewish Israeli now living in Toronto, who marched with QuAIA, insists that there is no democracy in occupation and therefore no democracy for the Palestinians.  This issue is therefore correlated to gay issues because as the LGBT community had to fight for their democratic rights in the past, now privileged with these rights, they must fight for those without them.  Just as the Jews fought in the civil rights movements in America, one formerly oppressed group has a sort of obligation to fight for all those oppressed.

Is QuAIA a hate group? Are they discriminatory, as they have been again and again accused?  Flanders argues vehemently against this statement.  QuAIA is standing in solidarity with Palestinians, fighting for their rights as humans.  She claims the group does not hate Jews (many members are Jews and Israelis).  Yet, for me there is still something incredibly uncomfortable in their name; when I asked Flanders whythey chose the negative name,  she responded that sometimes you can’t just be in solidarity with something, you have to take a stand, make a statement, stir controversy. Sex sells, right?!

QuAIA

QuAIA

To me the name doesn’t stand for a criticism of Israel’s government and politics; it criticizes Israel right down to its core- right to its legitimacy.  An Apartheid state suggests illegitimacy and therefore to be anti-Israeli apartheid suggests an attack against the state itself; not Israeli policies.  While I’m the first to say that criticism against Israel’s government is not only warranted but essential for its own survival and upkeep of its democratic values, I think that QuAIA takes it one step too far by fumbling over the line of criticism into the realm of state permissibility.  An apartheid state needs to be dismantled but Israel needs to end its occupation of the West Bank.

As the march began, the crowd was impressed by QuAIA, with its cute and catchy slogans like, “hey hey! ho ho! Israeli apartheid’s got to go!” and how it walked beside the reactionary group “free speech”. (Free speech was a group created in May as a reaction against Pride’s original ban against QuAIA: the group does not necessarily politically agree or disagree with QuAIA but supports their right to free speech)  While Kulanu got the occasional cheer, the Israeli music that was played did not connect to most of the non-Jewish, non-Israeli crowd.  Their group looked more like a poster for Israel than an expression of pride for Toronto’s Jewish LGBT community.

Kulanu

Kulanu

At the end of the day, the controversy that had been following the parade for months now did not signify the end of the world.  The crowd did not turn into bloodthirsty antisemitic Israel-hating people poisoned with QuAIA rhetoric.  So by the time both groups had proudly marched by me, I just began to feel fed up.  QuAIA does have some legitimate points, but they take it too far for me. Yet at the same time, so did Kulanu.  The issue may have been pushed to the front pages of Toronto’s newspapers, but all that was said was a bunch of nothing.  No intellectual conversation was forged, no debates began and no understandings were made, and the issue of the parade, gay pride, was pushed to the side.

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Posted in Israel | 12 Comments »

I am Wonder Woman, Hear Me Roar

July 6th, 2010 by Elle Weiss
The old and new Wonder Woman

The old and new Wonder Woman

Being a comic book nerd is hard enough when people think you have no social life. But is it un-American? Phyllis Chesler seems to think so.

In her latest article, Chesler cites how Wonder Woman’s new costume shows American submission to the evils of globalization. Chesler says Wonder Woman’s getup is “non-American, and therefore anti-American” because it is no longer red, white and blue; for her, this is a sign that “many Americans are ashamed of their own country.”

Is she reading the same comic book as me?

Chesler claims to be a feminist and writes that Wonder Woman “ fought evil in fabulous female form” that was “half-naked, dressed in a low cut bodice, high, sexy boots, and a short ice-skater’s skirt.” This is a great example to set for my niece: ff you want to fight evil, make sure to bring the stripper boots. Wonder Woman’s original costume made her into a sex symbol–but as long as the costume was red, white and blue, Chesler had no problem. Welcome to America, people, where the women are beautiful and wear nothing.

She adds that “Wonder Woman was conceived as a counter to the bloody ‘masculinity’ of most American comic books,” and rhapsodizes on how the series shows women as “natural leaders who could rule the world.” But in the comic, Wonder Woman was shoe-horned into being the Chick for two more popular male characters. In some continuities, she ends up de-powered and running a flower shop. Behold your feminist goddess.

For me, Wonder Woman was the girl who got to look pretty next to the real heroes, Batman and Superman. I never wanted to dress like her or be her, because she seemed so ridiculous. It’s neither empowering nor liberating to force women to dress a certain way for men, be it modestly or immodestly. Freedom is about loving your body and dressing in a way that makes you feel comfortable, not about submitting to chauvinist societal norms.

DC Comics has decided to re-brand Wonder Woman as a more universal symbol. That makes her anti-American? As forward-thinking people, we should be dancing on the rooftops to see a woman being de-sexualized and commanding respect. Wonder Woman doesn’t look like she’s fighting crime in a bathing suit anymore, there to make men star at her body. She looks like a sleek, sexy, crime fighter who is fantastic, practical and less silly. She may not wear the American flag, but she represents the best of America: strong, intelligent women who fight for justice. She can finally be my hero. For a formerly Orthodox girl who dreamed of flying, this represents a turning point. You can be modest and still save the world.

One thing Wonder Woman wouldn’t like is criticizing women for “slumming” in foreign dress, calling it “their native, imprisoning clothing,” as Chesler writes. Respect for other cultures has always been a heroic virtue. Yes, many women wear more modest clothes when entering a more religious environment, but many non-Jewish men (including Superman in one memorable comic) wear yarmulkes in traditional Jewish homes. It’s called mutual respect. Comic books emphasize these universal values, and Ms. Chesler does a disservice to the genre by politicizing it.

I will end with a review from “The Simpsons’” Comic Book Guy himself:

“Worst. Article. Ever!”

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Posted in Culture | 3 Comments »

Note to the US: British colonialism sucked

July 1st, 2010 by Ben Sales

People love to show how intellectual they are nowadays by drawing historical parallels between the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other seemingly similar past events. Thus, Iraq is Vietnam; no, wait, Iraq is the Tripoli Wars; no, wait, Iraq is the Gulf War gone bad…

No, wait, says Christopher Dickey, Iraq and Afghanistan should be British colonialism. I’ll say that again, so it’s clear: Dickey is advocating the revival of British colonial practices in the Middle East.

His argument is that the British made efforts to understand the local population, which led to a stable society in the places they ruled. The basis for his argument? A fictional character in Rudyard Kipling’s “Kim” who seemed like he was a good viceroy in India.

I’m not sure where this idea came from, but it’s bad history. I hope with all my heart that the US does not do what Dickey suggests, because it would be a terrible idea. Here’s why:

If we base our research on facts rather than a 19th-century novel, it is clear the British colonialism was a ruthlessly horrible political, social and economic force. The Brits drew borders with little regard for ethnic populations, so in the post-colonial period we ended up with conflict zones like Israel/Palestine, India/Pakistan and, yes, Iraq–where three ethnic groups now need to try to form a government because someone drew a big polygon around them a while ago.

Nor were the Brits particularly good at managing these ethnic conflicts once they arose. Millions of people died because of interethnic violence in India and Pakistan, and those battles have also kept rolling in Israel, Iraq and other places where the Brits set up their enlightened colonial administrations.

They also didn’t care about the local population much. British colonists in Africa put many locals under harsh conditions to mine for diamonds, and similar economic exploits happened in India and China. The American colonists of the 17th and 18th centuries put forth a great effort to kill off the indigenous population. In fact, many of the social and economic ills present in today’s post-British colonial societies are a direct result of that colonization.

The British were brutal imperialists. They cared neither for the welfare nor for the advancement of the people they were colonizing. While some “enlightened” Brits in the 19th century spoke of the “White man’s burden,” to civilize and Christianize the backwards locals,  this was by no means the main purpose of colonization. The Brits colonized the world to extract economic resources and gain naval strongholds across the globe, not to altruistically serve the natives. And even if the primary goal were to have been “civilization,” would that have justified the colonial program? Since when is it a British right to take over a territory and impose western cultural and social standards there?

Please, US, do not do this. Do not treat Iraq and Afghanistan as colonies. And furthermore, instead of spending your time trying to analogize historical situations, why don’t we try to understand what’s going on now on its own terms? Historical analogies are important insofar as they help us figure out what’s going on, but they only work up to a point. Iraq isn’t Tripoli; Iraq is Iraq. We need to understand, in the end, that each diplomatic and military situation is unique, and that each deserves a unique solution–and definitely not one based in a history of violence and persecution.

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Some People Just Shouldn’t Talk

June 30th, 2010 by Carly Silver

Louis Farrakhan is ridiculous. Let me begin by putting that out there. I first came into contact with Minister Farrakhan when I was about 12, when hip-hop stars Ja Rule and 50 Cent sat down for a special “mediation” with him on MTV. Rule and 50 were interviewed separately about their “beef” with one another, with Farrakhan left to try to get these rappers to see reason. Sitting on my family room couch, I was watching the special when my mom walked in, saw the TV, and demanded I change the channel. Perplexed, I asked her why. She responded by explaining that, while Farrakhan appeared to be doing good here, he was actually an anti-Semitic racist.

Years later, that incident still sticks in my head: a naïve child, thinking what she sees is what she gets, and the reality coming smack dab in the middle. Over the years, I’ve retained my interest in hip-hop and have heard Farrakhan’s name come up more than once: he’s the leader of the infamous Nation of Islam movement, which has close ties to numerous artists. I’ve tried to turn the other cheek, not paying attention to artists’ personal lives, just their music. When Farrakhan gets on his high horse and proclaims that all Jews are enemies to African-Americans, though, that sort of remark is something I can’t ignore.

First, Farrakhan claims that Jews have ties to the Jim Crow laws and slavery. Last time I checked, weren’t most slave-owners in the centuries before civil rights white Christian people? Unfortunately, I’m sure some Jews did own slaves, but, then again, so did many other groups of people. I don’t see what makes the Jews any more culpable for slavery than the people who started the slave trade, who were, yes, white Christians. That’s not to say white Christians should be proclaimed the enemy of the African-American race, but Farrakhan should get his facts right.

Moreover, many Jews during the Civil War were attempting to help free slaves. Thousands of years ago, the Bible says we were ourselves slaves in Egypt. We, too, have been oppressed as a people. Therefore, the connection between Jews and African-Americans feels almost natural. It’s people helping people, not one race trying to one-up another. Last time I checked, it wasn’t a competition to see who could call each other the most names or something of that sort: freeing people from oppression, no matter whom they are, is a matter of humanity. Jews also fought for the Civil Rights movement, along with African-Americans. Even the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded by a coalition of forward-thinking African-Americans and Jews. Example after example shows that Jews were committed not to keeping African-Americans down, but to helping them attain their basic human rights.

Farrakhan needs to screw his head on properly. If he wants to help people, instead of keeping them down, he shouldn’t condemn Jews, who have most often been the allies of African-Americans, not their enemies, as he claims. I think he’s just looking for a scapegoat. Unfortunately, as it has been so often in the past, that dubious distinction falls on the Jews.

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Posted in Culture | 34 Comments »

Take a Stand

June 24th, 2010 by Carly Silver

A Jewish dance troupe in Germany is attacked by young boys throwing stones. Welsh men bandy racial slurs about and tell the Jews to “go home.” Helen Thomas barks out a similar request. What is all of this hatred doing in today’s world? It’s time to take a stand and nip this racism in the bud before it gets worse.

Anti-Semitism is on the rise, ladies and gentleman, and we’re its last defenses. As the young Jewish people of today, we’re the statesmen, the lawmakers, the important people of tomorrow, the ones who have a say in how our countries are run. If anyone can convince a young person of something, chances are it’s another young person, a peer, a friend. Take a stand on anti-Semitism.

If you hear our people being denigrated, say something. There’s an old saying that, if you stand by and do nothing while people are murdered, it’s as bad as if you were the murderer yourself. Every time we give someone a free pass for saying something derogatory about Jews—whether it’s that we’re money-grubbers or that we don’t belong in Israel—you must speak up. If you don’t, you’re just as bad as the person spewing hatred.

Don’t get violent, though it’s tempting to give into emotions when such a sensitive topic is raised. Use your library voice, a calm, firm tone, to educate your peers. Say, “Hey, that’s offensive. I object to you saying that,” or something to that effect. Seeing a real, live person affected by their words—the Jew of their insult materializing in front of them, that the object of their offensive speech is not just some phantom, but someone who can is genuinely hurt—might make a world of difference. For those of you who think this idea is a bunch of nonsense, it might well be, but you never know until you try.

Participate in a multi-ethnic community project. Get together with a local Muslim group or other people that feel similarly appalled and do some sort of project to help your community—just be sure to do it together. Maybe your synagogue and a local mosque could help build a community center that both organizations could use equally. Make sure to involve the young ones, too. Putting in hard work together for a mutually beneficial goal shows current and future leaders that there aren’t that many differences between the two groups, after all.

Educate one another. Work together with local religious and community leaders to promote tolerance. Show everyone all the good that Jews have done for the world and the atrocities and unfairness they have suffered in the past. Let other cultures show how their people have been unfairly treated, too. If we have a common past of oppression and hatred of racism, it’d be that much easier to realize that what we have in common is so much more than what we divides us.
Call it cliché, but something needs to be done. I refuse to sit by and let our people, our heritage, be destroyed again. I won’t stay quiet, and neither should you. Speak up, act out, and promote justice wherever you go.

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Posted in Religion, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

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