Posts Tagged‘Jewish-American history’

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New Glimpses into Jewish-American History

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

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.

Happy Birthday, Jewish Quarterly Review

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

From the new National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia: “The Jewish Quarterly Review is holding a conference, ‘Journals & Jewish Intellectual Life: The Jewish Quarterly Review at 100’  in honor of its 100th anniversary Sunday, Dec. 12, at the Museum.  The conference is free and open to the public.  Space is limited and registration is required.  For more information or to register, visit http://www.cjs.upenn.edu/public/jqr100/index.html.

Elena Kagan: "I am Jewish. The State of Israel has meant a lot to me…."

by Erika Dreifus on
2

Everyone (including my beloved Goldblog) seems to be getting some good laughs from Elena Kagan’s Chinese-food-on-Christmas comment during yesterday’s segment of her confirmation hearings for a Supreme Court justiceship. But honestly, I was much more moved–and impressed–by her comments about Israel earlier in the day.

Responding to questions from Senator Grassley about her admiration for former Israeli Supreme Court Justice Aharon Barak, Kagan referred to Israel as “a nation threatened from its very beginning,” a nation that, despite all the challenges it faced from the start, had managed to establish a government featuring respect for the rule of law and an independent judiciary.

It’s no secret, Kagan continued, that “I am Jewish. The State of Israel has meant a lot to me and my family, and I admire Justice Barak for what he has done for the State of Israel….”

It’s so simple, in a way: “I am Jewish. The State of Israel has meant a lot to me….”

I wish that these statements were getting as much good-natured attention as the Chinese food comment. But I guess I should be glad that at least, Kagan’s evident affection for Israel isn’t being used against her (yet).

(You can watch and listen to Kagan offer these comments in this video–tune in around the 27-minute mark.)

One Week After Memorial Day: Remembering Jewish Military Chaplains

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

As I mentioned last week, on Memorial Day, I attended a very moving ceremony at a local synagogue. And among the participants were several Jewish military chaplains.

I have to admit that this was hard for me. The last time I’d been in a temple to honor a Jewish military chaplain, I was attending the funeral of my family’s beloved Rabbi Barry H. Greene. Military chaplaincy was among Rabbi Greene’s many causes. He was himself a proud military chaplain; his coffin (it still feels terrible to write those two words) was flag-draped, and the director of the Jewish Chaplains Council spoke at the funeral.

It was in Rabbi Greene’s memory that I began contributing to the Jewish Welfare Board (JWB) Jewish Chaplains Council. Last Chanukah, instead of buying gifts for all of my adult family members (the kids still got their packages to tear open), I wrote a check to support the Council’s Torahs for the Troops project, which, happily, is now very much under way, with a first Torah recently completed and brought to the Persian Gulf.

Now there’s another project I want to support. When I returned home from the Memorial Day ceremony, I picked up the summer edition of Reform Judaism magazine. A letter to the editor described an effort to raise funds for a memorial to Jewish chaplains in Arlington Cemetery. That letter is not available online, but I’ve found some articles that describe it further.

For instance, the Jewish Journal reported earlier this spring:

“Of the 311 Jewish chaplains who served during World War II, eight rabbis died. Two rabbis lost their lives in the Vietnam War. No Jewish chaplains are known to have died while serving during the World War I or the Korean War, although research is still being done to confirm that.

Sol Moglen, an activist in New York who is leading the effort….has already raised $17,000 of the $30,000 needed to build the memorial, a granite slab that will be erected on Chaplains Hill at Arlington, where memorials for Protestant and Catholic clergy already stand.”

I’m going to contact the JWB and contribute to this very worthy project. Perhaps you will, too?

A Jewish Perspective on Memorial Day

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

Friday’s 10 Minutes of Torah offering looked ahead to today, Memorial Day in the United States. It provided some terrific background on the history of Jewish military service in the United States, and important information on ways to support Jewish (and non-Jewish) military personnel and their families. Please take some time today to read the post, reprinted on the RJ.org blog, and, if possible, do something to honor these heroes. (I’ll be attended a Memorial Day Ceremony at a local synagogue later today and bringing along an item for a care package bound for an active service member.)