Words of the Week

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

“We condemn unequivocally President Abbas’ recent statements rejecting the Jewish people’s connections with Israel, denying the legitimacy of a Jewish State of Israel, and promulgating conspiracy theories about the creation of the State of Israel. We condemn as well the Palestinian Central Committee’s affirmation of his views and its call to break relations with Israel. Such statements and actions undercut possibilities for a peace process that alone holds the path to a viable and independent Palestinian state. While the on-the-ground ramifications of these statements are still unclear, there is no doubt that these statements risk a new and very dangerous escalation of tensions between Israel and the Palestinians.

We continue to believe that the only future for a Jewish democratic State of Israel is to end its rule over millions of Palestinians. We urge responsible forces in the Palestinian community, Israel, the U.S. and international community, who remain committed to a two-state solution, to do everything feasible to restart movement in that direction.”

Source: Statement from URJ President Rick Jacobs.

Jewish Book Carnival: January 2018

by Erika Dreifus on
2

The My Machberet blog is proud to serve as January 2018 host for the Jewish Book Carnival, a monthly event where those who cover Jewish books online “can meet, read, and comment on each others’ posts.” Organized by the Association of Jewish Libraries, the Carnival travels around and is hosted on a different participant’s site on the 15th of each month.

Herewith, the January 2018 Jewish Book Carnival: (more…)

Words of the Week

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

“Why does no one find it remarkable that in most world cities today there are Jews but no one single Hittite even though the Hittites had a great flourishing civilization while the Jews nearby were a weak and obscure people? When one meets a Jew in New York or New Orleans or Paris or Melbourne, it is remarkable that no one considers the event remarkable. What are they doing here? But it is even more remarkable to wonder, if there are Jews here, why are there not Hittites here? Where are the Hittites? Show me one Hittite in New York City.”

Source: Walker Percy, quoted in Meir Y. Soloveichik, “The Builders and Founders of the City” (Commentary)

Pre-Shabbat Jewish Literary Links

by Erika Dreifus on
5

Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen

Every Friday My Machberet presents an array of Jewish-interest links, primarily of the literary variety.

  • Yesterday brought the sad news of the passing of Israeli author Aharon Appelfeld. I’ve referenced this major voice many times within the My Machberet blog and elsewhere. See this Twitter thread for some mentions/links.
  • Appelfeld is one of the authors included on Merri Ukraincik’s impressive post “My Year in Books 2017” (which isn’t limited to Jewish-lit titles by any means).
  • ICYMI—and I’m not sure how that’s possible because I feel as though I’m “talking” about it constantly—Adam Gopnik has written a superb piece on Romain Gary for The New Yorker (and I am currently reading one of the books that receives a great deal of attention in that piece: Miranda Richmond Mouillot’s translation [The Kites] of Gary’s Les cerfs-volants).
  • Moment magazine’s Marilyn Cooper recently interviewed Mark Helprin “about his new novel Paris in the Present Tense, being politically conservative in the Jewish community and anti-Semitism in America.” (Possibly my favorite line of Helprin’s here: “It’s not like I decided to be the anti-Woody Allen, but the self-hating Jewish man has not been my experience.”)
  • And from the National Library of Israel: an amazing opportunity for poets who write in Hebrew or Arabic. Deadline: January 31.

    • Shabbat shalom.