Amy Chua’s excerpt from “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” printed last week in the Wall Street Journal, has mothers everywhere up in arms, and perhaps no one more so than Jewish mothers, who thought they had a lock on producing over achievers motivated by gigantic filial guilt trips.

Chua—” title=”writing on the Huffington Pos” target=”_blank”>writing on the Huffington Post, notes that there’s a difference between the Chinese mother’s hair-pulling and shrieking and the Jewish mother’s passive-aggressive guilt.

Chua says that Chinese moms don’t mince words when it comes to their children’s appearance either. They can say, “Hey fatty—lose some weight.”

The Jewish mom would more likely kvell over her daughter than insult her, no matter how fat she had become.

“You are too gorgeous, but maybe you want me to get you a gym membership,” a Jewish mom would say.

The f-word would never enter the conversation. While Chua describes Chinese moms in almost pathological terms, the Jewish-mom style is decidedly more passive aggressive.

“Why don’t we go study for your spelling test now?” I say to my son.

“Can you please get your math review sheets? Let’s make sure you get 100 percent on your quiz!” I say in my best bubbly, you-can-do-it voice.

We frame demands in pleasant questions. Really what we mean is, “Go study now, and I want you to get straight As and a National Merit Scholarship that gets you into Harvard.” We just message it differently.

Writing in the ” title=”David Brooks calls Chua a wimp” target=”_blank”> David Brooks calls Chua a wimp, saying she is letting her daughters off easy when it comes to training for real life skills:

Practicing a piece of music for four hours requires focused attention, but it is nowhere near as cognitively demanding as a sleepover with 14-year-old girls. Managing status rivalries, negotiating group dynamics, understanding social norms, navigating the distinction between self and group — these and other social tests impose cognitive demands that blow away any intense tutoring session or a class at Yale.

By now, you’ve probably gotten the memo:

I’m still breastfeeding M and Little Homie. 

It’s like a spread in National Geographic magazine over here – M on one tit, Little Homie on the other.  I think B may have taken a picture or two, because, hey, if Octomom can get propositioned by Vivid Entertainment, maybe I could sell these pics to Hustler.

You may assume that I’m one of those crunchy granolla mamas with the wind blowing through my

hair, all hippied out and high on my attachment parenting ethos.

I’m really not

The only reason I tandem breastfeed is because

it’s convenient. 

The women on this kibbutz are way more badass than I am.  They all lift their shirts up with reckless abandon and feed their kids, and the men don’t even bat an eye.  In fact, when I was skulking around the Kibbutz dining hall the other day looking for a potted plant to nurse behind, one of the other mamas asked me why I just don’t feed the baby at the table like everyone else.

And while I’m down with others nursing in public, I can’t bring myself to whip out my tit in Kibbutz dining hall and feed Little Homie in front of everyone.

It has nothing to do with modesty.  I’m really not a prude. But in the immortal words of Chris Rock:

“40 year old titty?  That’s your man’s titty.  20 year old titty?  COMMUNITY TITTY.”

And while I’m only 29, after two back-to-back pregnancies, serving hard-time with a Madela nursing pump when M was little, and breastfeeding for almost three years straight  it boils down to this:

My breasts look better in a bra.  Under a shirt. 

And besides the convenience of breastfeeding – tandem or otherwise –  I believed

that nursing would make my kids healthier.  

But not so.

Newsflash:  My boobies are not magical. 

There’s a rumor going ‘round these parts that I’m having an affair with the

oncall ER pediatrician at the nearby hospital.

I suppose this begs the question how did I meet an ER pediatrician in the first place.  

Well.

Ever since we landed here, our entire family has been body-slammed with disease. 

(For some serious Schadenfreude Porn, click Newsflash: My Boobies are not Magical Read More »

Tiger Mother Amy Chua writes in her book ” title=”a New York Times profile” target=”_blank”> a New York Times profile.

Initially, Ms. Chua said, she wrote large chunks about her husband and their conflicts over child rearing. But she gave him approval on every page, and when he kept insisting she was putting words in his mouth, it became easier to leave him out.

“It’s more my story,” she said. “I was the one that in a very overconfident immigrant way thought I knew exactly how to raise my kids. My husband was much more typical. He had a lot of anxiety, he didn’t think he knew all the right choices.” And, she said, “I was the one willing to put in the hours.”

Still, she said, her children got pancakes and trips to water parks because of their father, the son of parents more inclined to encourage self-discovery.

Rubenfeld is no slacker: He graduated Princeton undergraduate, Harvard Law, and spent two years studying theater at Julliard. He clerked for a Federal judge before becoming a Yale law professor.

Rubenfeld told ” title=”Read here how Jewish mothers are reacting to Chua.” target=”_blank”>Read here how Jewish mothers are reacting to Chua.

Israel’s three-year streak of reaching the five finalists lists in the Oscar race for foreign-language films ended Wednesday (1/19), when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released its shortlist of nine semi-finalists.

The Israeli film industry seemed tantalizingly close to its first Oscar win when its entries were picked among the final five in 2010 (“Ajami”), 2009 (“Waltz with Bashir”) and 2008 (“Beaufort”). However, this year’s Israeli contender, “The Human Resources Manager,” found few supporters among Academy and earlier Golden Globe voters.

The selection committee for foreign films seemed in a somber mood, shortlisting the following nine movies dealing mainly with wars, diseases and dysfunctional families.

Algeria: “Hors la Loi” (Outside the Law) – Three brothers fight French colonial rule.

Canada: “Incendies” (Scorched) – Greek tragedy set in Middle East turmoil.

Denmark: “In a Better World” – Two fathers deal with problem sons.

Greece: “Dogtooth” – Children deal with domineering father.

Japan: “Confessions” – School teacher gets even with student bullies.

Mexico: “Biutiful” – Worker faces family trouble and death.

South Africa: “Life, Above All” – Girl supports family beset by AIDS and alcoholism.

Spain: “Tambien la Lluvia” (Even the Rain) – Director films in strife-wracked Bolivia.

Sweden: “Simple Simon” – Man with Asperger’s syndrome helps depressed brother.

List of the five final nominees will be announced Jan. 25 and the winner will be crowned at the Feb. 27 award ceremonies.