I spent a bit of time this weekend responding to questions posed within a survey now being conducted by two professors at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. It was actually pretty fun to think about some of the survey items, many of which focus on the respondent’s familiarity with and use of Hebrew and Yiddish words. You can read about the survey project here, and jump right into the questions here.
Here are a few links to coverage of yesterday’s sad and solemn return of Israeli soldiers to eternal rest at home:
JTA
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Ynetnews
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Jeffrey Goldberg (1)
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Jeffrey Goldberg (2)
Photo: Honoring the remains of Ehud Goldwasser, murdered by Hezbollah. Mrs. Goldwasser is on the photo’s far left side. (IDF/BPH Images)
MAY THE SOURCE OF PEACE SEND PEACE TO ALL WHO MOURN, AND COMFORT TO ALL WHO ARE BEREAVED. AND LET US SAY, AMEN.
In my last post, I mentioned that I was leaving for vacation. What I didn’t say there was that I was on my way to France, where I participated in the Paris Writers Workshop and tried to begin transforming a failed short story into a novel.
Beyond that, I was able to stroll around my beloved Paris. Many years ago, I made my first visit to the Mémorial de la Shoah located there, and I returned to its museum last week.
This time, I went to the museum especially to see a current exhibition titled “ALYAH-BETH: L’Emigration clandestine des juifs depuis la France vers la Palestine.” As you might discern even without knowing French, this exhibition focuses on Jewish emigration from France to Palestine, particularly in the years between the end of World War II and the establishment of the State of Israel.
If you can read French, and plan on being in Paris before the exhibition closes on September 28, I highly recommend a visit. If you’re limited to a virtual tour, you can get a sense of what the exhibition offers here (but you’ll still need to read French).
It’s also worth mentioning that on the English version of the museum’s Web site, Anglophones will find the following note: “For the benefit of a growing number of English-speaking visitors, the Shoah Memorial is organizing on the second Sunday of every month, a guided tour in English, free of charge. Start of the tour at 3.00 pm in the lobby. Prior reservation is not required.”
Today’s attack in Jerusalem was nothing less than an act of terrorism. (Not that CNN.com or NPR.org were ready to concede that as I checked their sites throughout the day. Infuriating. But unfortunately, given the anti-Israel bias in so-called progressive media, not all that surprising.)
I’m not bothering to rely on CNN or NPR for news on this. I’m going instead to Ha’aretz, JTA, and Ynetnews. You should, too.
The Simon Rockower 2007 Awards for Excellence in Jewish Journalism have been announced, and you’ll find the full list of winners here. Congratulations to all the writers, editors, and publications.
Want some summer reading suggestions? The Nextbook staff has shared its own current reading. Click on each staff member’s name for detailed reflections on the chosen titles.