Words of the Week, III

Gary Rosenblatt, “The Editor’s Desk: 10 Lessons from the Gaza War” (The Jewish Week):
“One can only imagine, with horror, the result if Israel did not have the Iron Dome and if thousands of Hamas rockets had found their targets: Israeli civilians. Would the nations of the world have been more sympathetic then to Israel’s plight? Maybe, but it is better to have their anger than their pity.”

Ilana Curiel, “Hamas keeps up rocket pressure on Israel; man seriously hurt along Gaza border” (Ynetnews.com):
“In Eshkol, a man in his 30s sustained serious chest wounds when he was hit by rocket shrapnel. The man, who was at the kibbutz children’s house with his wife, pushed one of the nursery teachers and a child into the safe room, saving their lives. Three-year-old children live in the children’s house that was hit.”

Alexander Joffe and Asaf Romirowsky, “Stop Giving Money to the U.N.’s Relief Agency for Palestinians” (The New Republic):
“As it is, UNRWA is effectively a branch of Hamas.”

James Kirchick, “Excluded, for Zionism, at New York’s Inclusive LGBT Synagogue” (Tablet; I’ve opted for the article title that shows up at the top of the webpage, rather than the clickbait title you’ll see as you scroll down):
“Yet having finally won the acceptance from mainstream Judaism that had so long eluded them, some gay Jews now feel excluded at CBST because of their Zionism.”

Wednesday’s WiP: “After the MFA”

so14_cover“There are several valuable lessons I’ve learned from my experience—none of which I understood before or even upon finishing my MFA—that I believe every writer considering a graduate degree in writing (or those who have recently received one) should know.”

Read the rest of my article/essay, just posted on the Poets & Writers site to accompany the September/October MFA issue.

Tevye in Amherst: A Glimpse into the Great Jewish Books Program

I have known Hannah Elbaum literally since before she was born. Hannah’s mom and I have been fast friends since our freshman year in college; I was a bridesmaid in Hannah’s parents’ wedding; and I was among the first to hear that Hannah was on the way (and to meet newborn Hannah in the hospital).

So you can imagine how I began kvelling when I heard that Hannah had been accepted to the 2014 Great Jewish Books Summer Program for high school students at the National Yiddish Book Center. I asked Hannah if she would be kind enough to write up a guest post about her experience, in part because I wish I could attend the program myself. How I would love to spend an entire week in beautiful Amherst, Massachusetts, reading, discussing, and arguing about Jewish literature! When Hannah agreed to contribute her insights, I suggested that she might share with us a typical day in the program. She complied, and I’m delighted to present this glimpse into what was apparently a vibrant and memorable week.

Hannah Elbaum is a high school senior, eagerly awaiting the next chapter in her life. She was a Diller Teen Fellow of 2012-2013, and a Rising Voices Fellow of 2013-2014. Currently, she is the president of the senior youth group at Temple Beth Elohim in Wellesley, Massachusetts, where she has held a variety of leadership roles and is an active participant in the North American Federation of Temple Youth-Northeast Region.

Please welcome Hannah Elbaum! (more…)

Words of the Week, II

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, “The Hate that Starts with Jews Never Ends There”:
“The new antisemitism is different from the old. In the past Jews were hated for their religion, then for their race. Today they are hated for their nation state. But it was not long before I saw how seamlessly the old and new hatreds meshed.”

Ambassador Ron Prosor (via his Facebook page):
“This morning during a press stakeout I held at the UN, I talked about the word ‘disproportionate’. I can tell you that the only ‘disproportionate’ thing is the accusations being made against Israel by the UN and others.”

Liel Leibovitz, “Ctrl-F-Genocide” (Tablet):
“What followed was one of the finest pieces of contemporary theater I’ve read in years, equally remarkable for Harris’s level-headed and intelligent replies as it is for Sullivan’s rants, defying logic and morality in a wild effort to portray the Jewish State as a genocidal demon.” (more…)