“For many Jewish students, Zionism is an integral part of their identity and their ethnic and ancestral heritage. These students have the right to openly express identification with Israel. The university will safeguard the abilities of these students, as well as all students, to participate in university-sponsored activities free from discrimination and harassment.
(more…)“We need a press to shine a light on issues from a Jewish perspective and to cover what cannot and will not be covered by the mainstream press. We need reporters experienced in covering the Jewish terrain who understand its nuances and can reveal a full, accurate picture of the Jewish world.”
(more…)“A senior Israeli diplomat once told me that Zionism was his religion. It is the sort of comment that would instantly be misconstrued as amounting to worship of settlements or prayers at the altar of Bibi. But I immediately understood what he meant. He was immersed in the story of Zionism, believed with perfect conviction in its justness and necessity, was inspired by it, and compelled to act civically, positively and humanely by his interpretation of its teachings. He wished to convey the wondrous stories of Zionism to his children – Weizmann’s experiments with acetone, Herzl’s awakening at the Dreyfus Trial, the raid on Entebbe, the capture of Eichmann, the magical moment on 29 November, 1947 when Jews worldwide realised they would get their state. This diplomat wanted his children to imbibe these stories as he had, so that they too would grow up connected to their Jewishness, know who they are, remain strong in the face of aggressors, and proud in the knowledge that they belong to a people of vision and fortitude.”
Source: Alex Ryvchin, “The Poverty of ‘Anti-Zionism’ and the Renewal of Zionism” (Fathom)
“In the last decade or so, we saw a lot more focus on Jewish diversity, interest and representation of the Sephardic and Mizrahi experiences. We also saw much more interest in Jewish LGBTQ+ experiences. We’ll also hopefully soon see more representations of Jews of color. That’s what I’m optimistic about and interested to see in the next few years.”
Source: Josh Lambert, interviewed by Judy Bolton-Fasman for JewishBoston.com.
“There’s a whole world of tragedies, ironies, hypocrisies so foul and blatant they really don’t need spelling out, and, potentially, lessons in this story — about what genuine coexistence between Israel and the Palestinians could achieve, about failed leadership, about what ultimately matters most to us all.”
Source: David Horovitz, “Treating Saeb Erekat” (Times of Israel)
“So thoroughly disrespecting one side to entirely adopt the narrative and claims of the other side is wrong when it happens to Palestinians, but trying to balance it out by doing it to Israelis does not help Palestinians. It does not bring the conflict any closer to being resolved. It does not convince Israelis to take any further uncomfortable risks, or to try to understand or empathize with the Palestinian side. Call Ocasio-Cortez whatever you like – heroic, principled, a totem for justice, or any other over the top plaudits that you can dream up. Just don’t call her a peacemaker, where she stands in direct and stark contrast to the man that she could not bring herself to praise or emulate.”
Source: Michael Koplow, “Scraping the Bottom of the Progressive Barrel”