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Words of the Week: Jane Eisner

by Erika Dreifus on
1

“But divestment is not only about wielding punishment; it’s about shaping a moral conversation. Some of us feel as good about withholding our dollars as we do about spending them. The Presbyterians stressed that the vote was a statement about the occupation, not about Israel’s right to exist or, heaven forfend, their love of their Jewish brothers and sisters.

Ah, but it is. Because when they singled out only Israel’s actions, troubling though they may be, at a time when the region is aflame with tribal violence, they did hold one nation to a standard that others are not obliged or expected to meet. How is that not unfair and hypocritical? How does that not undermine Israel’s legitimacy?

As for their love for me and my Jewish brethren, it may be sincere but it’s awfully misguided. You’ll not usually find me in the Netanyahu amen corner, nor am I prone to identify anti-Semitism at every turn. But when Jewish treatment of Palestinians is judged worse than the way any other dominant group treats a minority, when it is deemed worthy of unique sanction, when other horrors around the world are ignored — how can I believe that this isn’t about the Jews? And that, my Presbyterian friends, is anti-Semitism.”

Source, Jane Eisner, “Why Presbyterian Divestment Feels Like Anti-Semitism,” in The Forward.

Call for Fiction that Engages with “the American Jewish Experience”

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

Via email:

fig tree logo“Fig Tree Books is a new publishing house currently seeking fiction manuscripts that engage with the American Jewish experience (AJE). Fig Tree Books has responded to the need for a publisher to champion emerging and unique voices and created a place where writers about the AJE can launch their work into the world with visible celebration and support. Fig Tree Books is passionate about discovering new voices as well as expanding the audience for established writers. Although a small press, FTB has the resources to offer competitive advances, a variety of publishing formats, and a comprehensive marketing plan for authors. All books will be published in print and e-format, backed by a major distributor. FTB’s mission is to add to the rich tradition of literary American fiction that appeals to a major commercial market.

The senior editor, Michelle Caplan, is actively seeking both new and establishing talent and will consider work from everyone, including those with no prior credits. She is in the process of trying to get the word out about Fig Tree Books and eager to recruit manuscripts and authors that may fit their model. She would love to provide more details about Fig Tree Books to any interested writers or agents with original materials or out-of-print classics on the AJE. You can contact her directly: MCaplan(at)FigTreeBooks(dot)net. Please take a look at their website www.FigTreeBooks.net, which will give you a good overview of who they are and their mission. You can find the link for submission guidelines on their home page.”

Paid Summer Internship at Tablet

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

“Tablet is hiring one paid, full-time summer editorial intern. If you have experience in journalism and are familiar with the landscape of American Jewish life, we’d love to hear from you.

Interns will contribute blog posts and full features as well as assist the editorial staff with research and administrative tasks. The summer internship runs from Memorial Day through Labor Day at our offices in New York City.”

More info here. Application deadline: March 21.

Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
Every Friday morning My Machberet presents an assortment of Jewish-interest links, primarily of the literary variety.

  • Superb review by Ron Radosh of a new book by John Judis, Genesis: Truman, American Jews, and the Origins of the Arab/Israeli Conflict. (You’ll recall my enthusiasm for the book that Ron Radosh co-authored with Allis Radosh covering some similar territory.)
  • This week also brought an excellent piece by another author I admire: Lucette Lagnado’s “Anti-Israel Jews & the Vassar Blues.” (And to refresh your memory, here’s my take on Lagnado’s The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit.)
  • Learn more about Fig Tree Books, a new publisher for fiction on American Jewish experience, in this Q&A with senior editor Michelle Caplan.
  • Beth Kissileff writes about “‘Ex-Frum’ vs. ‘Datlash’: Two Very Different Literary Genres.”
  • “Sotto Voce” is “a dream play in which a passionate, Jewish-Cuban young man (Saquiel) sets out to recover memories of the S.S. St. Louis which, in 1939, left Nazi Germany for Cuba filled with Jewish refugees but was turned back by Cuba, the U.S. and Canada.” And it’s in New York until March 9. (h/t @BarbaraKrasner)

    • Shabbat shalom.

    Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

    by Erika Dreifus on
    4

    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
    Every Friday morning My Machberet presents an assortment of Jewish-interest links, primarily of the literary variety.

  • In which Philip Roth rejects (again) the notion that he is an “American-Jewish writer.”
  • B’nai B’rith magazine is looking for a Deputy Editor; at the same time, B’nai B’rith International seeks a Digital Media Strategist. (Both positions are in Washington.)
  • Renee Ghert-Zand reminds us of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s notable “Jewish role” in the Australian clay animation film Mary & Max.
  • “Kaddish for the Last Survivor,” a short story by Michael A. Burstein.
  • An artful piece on “Searching for a Rabbi” by Richard Chess.

    • Shabbat shalom.