fbpx
ADVERTISE
pick up locations
donate

Jewish Journal

Connect. Inform. Inspire.

Category

January 12, 2011

What’s the Big Idea?

Julie Gruenbaum Fax January 12, 2011

The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles is convinced that someone out there has an idea that can transform Jewish life, and it is willing to pay for it. This week, Federation launched “The Next Big Jewish Idea,” part of its centennial celebration for 2011. “There have been a lot of great Jewish ideas that have transformed Jewish life. There has been everything from the blue-and-white tzedakah box to Hadassah to Birthright Israel, and these have all become firmly entrenched in our Jewish life,” said Scott Minkow, Federation’s vice president of partnerships and innovation. “So our thinking is the next idea is out there. What is next?”

Capturing Life: The Tree in Photographs

Naomi Pfefferman January 12, 2011

On car trips as a young girl, Francoise Reynaud traveled through the French countryside, captivated whenever she saw a single tree alone at the side of the road or in the middle of a field.

The Billboard Debate on the Middle East

Jonah Lowenfeld January 12, 2011

“Be on our side,” the clutter-free advertisement reads. “We are the side of peace and justice.” It shows two men smiling. One is Palestinian, the other is Israeli, and each is accompanied by a smiling young girl. The ad, which first appeared in three Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) stations on Dec. 5, is not in the least bit edgy — until you get to the tag line: “End U.S. military aid to Israel.” Paid for by Northern California Friends of Sabeel, American Muslims for Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, the ads made an earlier run on the platforms of the Chicago Transit Authority in October 2010, and they represent a new, cuddlier look for a familiar message. “Visually, it felt like ads that you see for children’s hospitals,” Matthew G. Jarvis, assistant professor of political science at California State University, Fullerton, wrote in an e-mail after seeing the ad. Jarvis, who studies political behavior and public opinion, felt that the jump from families, peace and justice to the end of U.S. military aid to Israel was too abrupt. “It’s happy, then wrenching,” he wrote.

Dear Britain: Rein in Fox News

Jewish Journal January 12, 2011

I know many Jews who, in European terminology, would be classified as “center left.” They believe that the domestic and foreign policies of the Republican Party bode poorly for America. They abhor Sarah Palin and fear the Tea Party and what they consider to be its rather simplistic worldview. Irrespective of where they live, their daily paper is The New York Times.

Can Gov. Brown Fix California?

Raphael J. Sonenshein January 12, 2011

Watching Jerry Brown’s low-key but curiously dramatic press conference on the state budget Jan. 10 reminded me that the central task of Democrats, once they are in power, is to prove that government can work. Without that, all great ideas about equality and justice go nowhere. A Democratic leader has to be able to sell his or her own base on the idea that government can’t do everything in order to have a chance to prove to the rest of the electorate that it can actually do quite a lot. Today, with hatred of government running rampant and some being goaded into violence by reckless and irresponsible public figures, governing with reason is a hard but critical task. Furthermore, the federal government has largely abandoned the states to their own devices during this economic downturn. We’re basically on our own.

Why do Jewish?

David Suissa January 12, 2011

Can Orthodox Jews learn something fundamental from unaffiliated Jews? That is, can Jews who practice Torah rituals learn something from Jews who practice virtually none? This question was on my mind recently as I attended two events representing the polar opposites of Jewish life.

The Precious Center

Rob Eshman January 12, 2011

Jared Lee Loughner is crazy. That, more than any other single fact, is to blame for why he walked up to a gathering outside a Tucson Safeway last Saturday and tried to kill Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, murdering six other people in the rampage.

New Articles

More news and opinions than at a
Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

Jewish Journal

Connect. Inform. Inspire.
© Copyright 2024 Tribe Media Corp • Powered by Lightdrop

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.