It is demeaning, 65 years after the fall of Nazi Germany, to acknowledge that Joseph Goebbels’s Big Lie theory — that if you repeat a falsehood aggressively, and often enough, people will believe it — still holds true.
But when I look at the persistent, illogical and hateful charges against Israel in the Arab world and the international community, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Read more at The Jewish Week.
I’m hoping that sometime in the next few weeks–perhaps during one of the three-day weekends coming up for Christmas/New Year’s–I’ll have some time to dig into what looks like an outstanding online resource. “Jews and the Americas” is an online exhibition curated by Dennis Landis, Curator of European Books at Brown University’s John Carter Brown Library.
On a somewhat related note, I’m proud to share a video of a panel presentation on “Jewish Immigration to New York.” The panel was held in conjunction with the launch of a Jewish Studies Center at Baruch College of The City University of New York. My dad, a Baruch alumnus, participated on the panel and spoke about German-Jewish immigration (his family’s background). I attended the event back in November, and I found that it provided a fascinating reminder of the diversity of “Jewish” experiences, even within a single city.
My latest book review, a discussion of Promised Lands: New Jewish American Fiction on Longing and Belonging (Brandeis University Press/University Press of New England, $26.00), edited by Derek Rubin, is now online at JewishJournal.com. As good as most of the stories in this anthology are–and they are, indeed–this was a challenging review to write. See what you think of this review, and please consider the questions that I’ve raised there about how anthologies are compiled. I’m interested in your thoughts.
As the blogger behind My Machberet, I am delighted to welcome you to the December home for the Jewish Book Carnival. Launched by Heidi Estrin and Marie Cloutier, the Carnival is a monthly event where bloggers who blog about Jewish books can meet, read, and comment on each others’ posts. The co-creators established it to build community among bloggers and blogs who feature Jewish books. The Carnival is headquartered on the Association of Jewish Libraries blog, and it runs every month on the 15th.
Without further ado, I am proud to present the December Carnival:
Shabbat shalom!