I just left Hebrew College at half-past midnight, and despite needing to be back there in about eight hours for work, I’m so excited about what was taking place I need to share it with you all here.
I was motivated to show up at my place of employment on a Saturday night to hear one of my favorite authors, Etgar Keret, read some stories and speak. That program in itself was pretty terrific, drawing a crowd of about 150 or so people, ranging in age from high school students to senior citizens. But that’s not what I’m so excited about right now.
Let me back up. In the week leading up to tonight’s program, I found myself thinking about Keret’s work a lot. Most of his stories are so short, they can sneak up on you, stun you, and conclude before you’ve really had time to process what they’re saying. But this week I had a big “aha!” moment when I figured out why they resonate for me. Many of Keret’s stories deal with individuals who get whatever it is they wanted, only to find out that what they wanted isn’t what they thought it was. So for example, there’s the boy who wants a doll, but gets a piggy bank instead (so he can save up for a doll), but he ends up loving the pig as a doll and refusing to crack it open to spend the money. Or there’s the man whose girlfriend has a secret: at night she turns into a fat, hairy, foul-mouthed man. So, the protagonist makes the best of it and has great sex in the afternoon and a hell of a drinking buddy at night. And so on… What I realized about this theme is that it sums up my relationship to the modern state of Israel. Israel sure hasn’t turned out how I (or, I’d assume, anyone) imagined it would. But I make the best of it. That doesn’t mean I don’t wish she didn’t turn into a fat, hairy, foul-mouthed man — or that I don’t hope the man at least will lose some weight and learn some manners — but that doesn’t undo the positives either. If my facebook page had a spot for relationship to Israel, you know it would say “it’s complicated.”
But I was telling you about the very exciting part of the night. That came afterward, when I was part of an interview conducted by the Jewish Conversation Project under the auspices of Makom. I had never heard about Makom until their logo showed up on the flier for tonight’s program, but it apparently has been around since 2004, when the Jewish Agency decided they wanted to adopt a new approach towards Israel education in the United States.
So, according to the fellow representing Makom tonight, that approach now is to encourage Federations to back off from the “Israel right or wrong” approach in favor of “engaging with Israel.” To put it in layman’s terms, people in the young adult age demographic don’t like being talked down to, and the Jewish establishment is alienating us but narrowly defining the conversations around Israel. The Jewish Agency thinks that maybe we’d be better off encountering a broad range of realities about Israel and having the opportunity to form and share and reform our opinions. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Where does the Jewish Conversation Project come in? They’re working with Makom to develop a documentary film of real, live American young adults talking about our relationships to Israel and what we think of the Israel programming we’ve seen. Let me tell you, there was no mincing of words tonight. We were upfront about what we love about Israel, what troubles us about Israel, and why we’re tired of flag-waving, falafel-eating keg parties and political rallies as the only programming available. Makom intends to use the film to show Federations what we think, straight from the horses’ mouths.
Tonight was the first set of interviews in a process that will stretch across the country and last through the summer. I’m really interested in seeing the final product, and even more interested in how Federations will react. And I’m thankful that the Jewish Agency understands that open, honest, in-depth engagement with Israel, warts-and-all, is ultimately good for the Jewish people.
Haaretz has a disturbing story on the moral erosion in the fashion of young soldiers and delves into the psychology that inspires such imagery.
A particular quote that I feel sums up the complexity of the matter, especially considering many of these young people are barely adults making life and death decisions, was this:
“As a sniper, you get a lot of extreme situations. You suddenly see a small boy who picks up a weapon and it’s up to you to decide whether to shoot. These shirts are half-facetious, bordering on the truth, and they reflect the extreme situations you might encounter. The one who-honest-to-God sees the target with his own eyes – that’s the sniper.”
Now I’ve never been a soldier, and I do not desire to be. So I do not know what decision making like that entails, but I’ll tell you what I do know… slogans like “We came, we saw, we destroyed!” – alongside images of weapons, an angry soldier and a Palestinian village with a ruined mosque in the center or like “If you believe it can be fixed, then believe it can be destroyed!” well, I know those are just plain gross.
I understand that these things are “half-facetious” but they’re still half serious! Serious or not, humor like this says something quite loud about the culture that produces it. This reflects belligerence and racism in the worst regard. I do not know Israel well enough to know if this is truly indicative of its culture, but I do know Judaism, and to the Jewish culture that I know this just doesn’t seem okay.
Shabos Zmiros is my weekly attempt to bring a little song into the space between the week and Shabat.
SXSW–South By Southwest, for the uninitiated–is currently underway in my hometown of Austin, Texas. It’s one of the largest music, film and multimedia conferences in the country. The sheer scale of the music festival never ceases to amaze me: hundreds of bands at hundreds of venues across the city.
And reprsenting the Jewish people, Shemspeed is there to showcase some of the NY area’s talented yids.
Here are their videos from Wednesday and Thursday, the first two nights of music at Southby.
Many of you have already had a chance to see a video from the recent: “Why We Need a Liberal Israel Lobby” at the 92Y in New York. The following is a letter written by an attendee at Monday night’s program to Rabbi Steve Gutow, one of the panelists and current executive director of the JCPA. We have also emailed this letter directly to Rabbi Gutow and have invited him to respond. He has been informed that we encourage his response as part of an open conversation and would welcome a full response to be posted on our blog.
Dear Rabbi Gutow,
I was fortunate to attend the panel discussion “Why We Need a Liberal Israel Lobby” at the 92nd St. Y this past Monday evening. While I very much enjoyed the conversation, and I thought your presence on the panel really improved the discussion in a number of ways, I have to say I was generally dismayed by your positions. Your point of view was, if not entirely divorced from reality, heavily influenced by the position you hold in the Jewish American establishment, what your co-panelist Eric Alterman jokingly referred to as “the Official Jews,” and you spent as much time trying to establish your bona fides as a “liberal” as you did trying to dismiss the notion that there was any lack of liberalism in the American public discourse with regards to Israel policy.
Let me be clear: I am not trying to accuse you of insufficient liberalism. I believe that your work on promoting social justice, working towards racial equity and tolerance, assuaging the devastating effects of poverty and defending civil liberties are genuine and valuable. What I am accusing you of is avoiding the basic premise that makes a panel like Monday’s and an organization like JStreet both possible and necessary: that the overwhelming majority of American Jews are not affiliated with a synagogue or Jewish organization, as such the views expressed by the leadership of synagogues and Jewish organizations vary significantly from the views of American Jews as a whole, and that on questions regarding Israel, it is very difficult to publicly express views that do not hew to a very narrow orthodoxy within the context of the synagogue-and-organization-based Jewish community. More »
Sigh. Israel’s claim and that of her cheif apologists is that the Israeli Defense Forces are the “most moral army in the world.” To any critical thinker, it’s a preposterous assertion that is obviously PR sloganeering. Are there Moral Army Olympics? Who won the bronze? My politically incorrect mind has created a whole range of competitions. But morbid jokes aside, time and again the IDF proves itself to be at least quite normal and sometimes shockingly brutal.
So I’ve been patiently waiting for the stories of soldier misconduct to percolate up. Breaking the Silence has been glumly foretelling a rash of stories to come. And, against my hopes, the stories emerged:
[Update: The Israeli spokeswoman bubbles in this audio clip of a BBC interview, by admitting they received a letter notifying them of the problem two weeks ago but only launching the investigation "10 hours ago," presumably after seeing it in Haaretz. It's a painful interview to listen to.]
The stories involve sharpshooters gunning down a woman with children, knowingly and under orders. Defacating on the posessions of Gazan families, grafitting on the walls, and hiding civilian captives from the Red Cross. Ordering opening fire on homes before giving warning to the occupants, over the objections of foot soldiers. More »
So, if kosher salt is what you use to kasher meat, then, what is Christian salt for – to convert the heathen unbelievers?
“Retired barber Joe Godlewski says that when television chefs recommended kosher salt in recipes, he wondered, “What the heck’s the matter with Christian salt?”
By next week, his trademarked Blessed Christians Salt will be available from seasonings manufacturer Ingredients Corporation of America. It’s sea salt that’s been blessed by an Episcopal priest.”
The Episcopal priest should really have known better, don’t you think? Isn’t that like that joke about the rabbi giving brit milah to the exhaust pipe of a car?
UPdate: Atheist Nexus provides Atheist Salt in response!
Added bonus! a Christian response:”Some folks will buy anything if Jesus is slapped on it”
Catching up with my “post these links to Jewschool” file… A play about Jewish youth that’s really about the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict, a conference about GLBT Jewish youth, and movies, some of which are about Jewish GLBT people, including youth, and one of which is about the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict… So you see, it all fits together…
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The New York Theatre Workshop will be presenting staged readings of Caryl Churchill’s Seven Jewish Children. This is the 10-minute play that has been garnering some controversy around its debut in England. Critics have called it anti-Semitic. Supporters praise its ability to articulate moral outrage. Now New Yorkers will be able to see for themselves, which is precisely the point, according to NYTW’s press release:
As there has been a great deal of public discussion expressed about the play based either on reading it, or merely hearsay, it is our intent to put the play where it belongs—on a stage and in the mouths of actors—so our community can encounter the play firsthand and in a conducive environment for thoughtful and respectful discussion and consideration.
Each reading will include a moderated discussion including speakers from “both sides” of the conflict, to be followed by a second reading of the play.
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Keshet has extended the registration deadline for their Training Institute for Jewish Educators and Youth Professionals, which will be held May 31st to June 3 at the Pearlstone Retreat Center in Maryland. If you work with Jewish youth and are interested in helping to create a more inclusive environment for LGBT kids, here’s your chance to learn techniques and hobnob with other folks trying to do the same thing. More information here.
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Films That Change The World is bringing back the Purim to Passover project, which aims to create 250 community screenings of the films Trembling Before G-d/Trembling on the Road, Hineini: Coming Out in a Jewish High School, and Encounter Point in the coming month. (What better way to celebrate Birkat HaChammah than with a brunch and a film?) Last year I saw Trembling on the Road at one of these events, and even though it was essentially a bunch of people I already knew sitting in our friend Steven’s living room, it felt good to be part of something bigger. This year I’m thinking about screening Encounter Point if I can find a free moment between now and Pesach. Can you host a screening too? Sign up here.
Video of Monday’s talk at the 92nd St Y featuring Jeremy Ben-Ami, Rabbi Steve Gutow, Eric Alterman, Michelle Goldberg and Jane Eisner. (More info and bios here).
Last week a new show premiered on NBC called Kings. No one watched it. Except me, apparently. You should too. Here’s why. (And here’s the episode, embedded from Hulu, to boot!)
The show is set to a tone of magical realism, in the fictional modern-day kingdom of Gilboa (the name of the place when King Saul committed suicide was Gilboa). Following a Unification War (the unification of the Twelve Tribes of Israel), two leaders, Reverend Ephram Samuel (the Propjet Samuel) and King Silas Benjamin (King Saul, who was from the Tribe of Benjamin) forge the new Kingdom of Gilboa, establishing a gleaming Manhattan-like capital city called Shiloh (the name of the central Israelite religious site in the pre-Jersualem period).
After a brief period of peace, a war breaks out with the northern state of Gath (the name of one of the five main Phillistine cities, the Phillistines being King Saul’s main adversary). David Sheppard (King David was born a sheppard) enlists in the army, where he encounters Gath’s new line seemingly invincible tanks, the Goliath tanks (Goliath being the giant Phillistine that David faced in order to become a national hero). The army, led by King Silas and General Abner (Avner being King Saul’s cousin and leader of the Israelite army), seems poised for defeat.
The platoon that Silas’ son, Jack (playing the role of Ish-Boshet, the son of Saul that David must face to become king) is in is taken hostage. David mounts an ill-advised one-man rescue attempt, in the process become the first Gilboan to destroy a Goliath tank.
Et cetera.
Beyond the straight biblical allegory, the story also features the fascinating political machinations of King Silas, the intriguing, but mysterious character of Reverend Samuel–who does not always approve of Silas’ actions, the growing love story between David and the King’s daughter Michelle (Saul’s daughter was Michal), and the non-biblical (as far as I can tell) story of the powerful coporation the footed the bill for the rebuilding of Gilboa. David, of course, is a prodigee piano player as well (while the biblical David was known not only for the Psalms, but for his gift for the lyre).
David is quickly swept up into the national politics of Gilboa, a new national hero and media darling.
Not to mention some pretty good writing and a beautifully-designed show. So watch it, yids.
Well, Waltz With Bashir did not win an Oscar this year, but Rafael, the Israeli defense manufacturer, managed to win an Iron Eagle from Wired Magazine for the “most atrocious defense video of all time.”
Rafael actually defended the video saying:
Rafael is constantly trying to demonstrate innovation and creativity not only in the field of defense technology,… In every international fair we launch a film that corresponds with the local culture. In Brazil, for example, our clip revolved around soccer. Over the past few years, we have won first prize for design and production almost annually.
Birkat ha-chamah (the once-in-28-years blessing on the sun) is just a few weeks away! See this post for a refresher on why it’s every 28 years. The blessing will be said on Wednesday, April 8, at sunrise. (Yes, due to a freak collision between the lunar and solar calendars, that’s Erev Pesach.)
There’s a lot going on in preparation for this historic occasion. COEJL is leading the charge to make birkat ha-chamah an opportunity to raise awareness about solar energy, and has set up a website, blessthesun.org, filled with links to various birkat ha-chamah resources. The Conservative movement has published Masechet Ha-chamah, “the tractate of the sun”, a collection of rabbinic texts related to the sun (suitable for a siyyum for the Fast of the Firstborn) compiled by Abe Friedman, along with a study guide by Jill Levy.
Where will you be on the morning of April 8? There is an event listing starting to form, though it’s limited so far: there are five events listed for that morning, in New York (burning chameitz with the concentrated light of the sun!), Winston-Salem NC, Cleveland, Wyncote PA, and Tzfat. If something is going on in your community, whether it’s an all-out sun festival or whether you’re just saying the berachah at the end of morning minyan, please add it to the list. (This is a wiki, which any registered user can edit.) This would be particularly useful because, due to Pesach travel, many people will be away from their homes on that morning, and therefore many potential participants in your event (who are visiting your city from elsewhere) won’t know about it if you only announce it on local lists.
If your city isn’t listed there and you haven’t heard about anything going on, it’s also possible that no one has organized anything yet. (I imagine that many communities have decided to sit this one out due to Pesach craziness. This might also be an issue in 28 years, when birkat hachamah is on the morning after Pesach ends, for those who observe 8 days. May we all merit to see April 8, 2065, the next time birkat hachamah will be a safe distance from Pesach.) This means that you are authorized and encouraged to organize something yourself, and then let everyone know about it! If your community is already doing something for the Fast of the Firstborn and/or the burning of chameitz, then piggybacking on that might make things easier, or if you know a beautiful place to watch the sunrise, that’s great too! Please keep everyone updated.
Dear Almighty, why didn’t You bless Your more literal followers a better Hypocrisy Detector? The statements from Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, overseer of the Western Wall/Kotel plaza area, are making my head spin. Check this:
“My position is that it is not fitting to enter the Western Wall area with religious symbols, including a cross…I feel the same way about a Jew putting on a tallit and phylacteries and going into a church.”
He means the Pope can’t wear a cross while visiting the Kotel. Then he says:
“For the past 42 years, no one has ever been prevented from praying at the Western Wall and, God willing, no one ever will…A solution needs to be reached that provides adequate security for the pope without infringing on the right of everyone to pray. The Western Wall belongs to everyone.”
Um, nooooooo, not quite rabbi-man: Women? Reform or Conservative Jews? The former Palestinian residents of the plaza area? Moshiach wannabes? Filed under “You Can’t Make This S[tuff] Up” and posted here for no reason other than an excuse to slap your forehead.
Well, well, well, the laity (and rabbis, and cantors) appear to finally have had enough. Last week, a collection of about 50 rabbis, cantors and synagogue lay leaders calling itself “Hayom: Coalition for the Transformation of Conservative Judaism,” wrote a letter to United Synagogue in reaction to Ray Goldstein’s (the president of the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism) decision to keep the selection of a new United Synagogue executive strictly an internal process- unlike JTS, which during their search invited representatives of the movement’s other organizations to sit on the search committee.
This wasn’t just a fringe group, it includes rabbis like Rabbis David Wolpe of Los Angeles and Gordon Tucker of New York. The letter is a result of general dissatisfaction within the movement – ongoing complaints from congregations, clergy and lay leaders are often aired internally in groups that have been in discussion for years, such as the listserves Torat-Chayim and Shefa, where many active Conservative Jews have gathered to discuss their commitment to the Conservative movement, but also their dissatisfaction at its failure to set high standards for adherence to halakhah, to innovate in moving forward (including adopting technology), to be more inclusive while maintaining standards,and transparency in leadership. More »
Curious to hear an insider perspective on the Union for Reform Judaism‘s new resturcture, I got in touch with a friend on the URJ Board of Trustees. He sent me the following in his e-mail response.
The Union is required by its constitution to operate on a balanced budget, and given current income projections, downsizing was a mandatory, not an option. But even if the dollars were flowing in, we have been delivering service to our constituencies on mid-20th-century models.
The Board meeting yesterday at which the restructuring was approved was the first salvo in the new era — I was one of some 4 dozen Board members who participated without being in Jersey City, where the corporeal meeting took place. The missing piece of the virtual Board meeting was webcams, but that will come — not only to URJ Board meetings, but to serving congregations.
If the folks in Austin need a consultation on, say a worship issue, a worship specialist can meet with the Board in a matter of days by webinar/conferenvce call. There will be more specialists, less bureaucracy, faster and more expert service. [emphasis mine]
I had assumed that the restructure was a knee-jerk reaction to new money troubles. According to another source, MUM dues (the annual dues paid by URJ member communities) are down 20% this year. Some congregations in the Union are hurting so bad for money that they may have to pull out of the Union because they can’t afford their MUM dues.
But this trustee seems to suggest that the restructure has been in the works for a long while. I’m skeptical about the closing of all but four super-regional offices (Atlanta, Chicago, LA, and NYC). It seems benficial to have the small regional offices where, as Cheers says, “Everybody knows your name.” What are the chances that the head of a super-region based in Atlanta will know the name of the Reform Rabbi in Plano, Texas, a suburb in North Dallas?
However, as this trustee points out, there will be better use of techonology to fill in the personnel gaps. That sounds good, right?
He goes on:
On my list of Words I Live By, one favorite maxim is that the only person who enjoys change is a wet baby. The URJ Board was somewhat resistant to the inevitability of progress as long as the diaper was dry. I suspect that at least a dozen of my friends will get laid off this week. It appears, by the way, that NFTY and the camp system will be least affected. But aside from the human turmoil, I think this will be good for the Jews.
I suspect that many people I know will get laid of this week as well. The youth division, with it’s well-funded camps and high school programs and under-funded college departement will remain mostly unaffected. The youth division is the URJ’s sacred cow, after all.
I fear, however, that with this loss of regional personnel, we will lose some of the personability. But that is always the fear when we replace people with technology, I suppose. And as a big proponent of things like blogs and video and terms like New Media, I should probably sit down and shut up and just be glad that the Union even has a blog!
But yes, trusted trustee, as you say, I think this will be good for the Jews.
More on Wednesday, as we hear about the coming layoffs, I suppose.
The family’s objects are surprisingly measured. They point out that the University is going forward on a certain path despite ongoing deliberation in the courts about whether that path is legal. Although the family is clear that, in their view, “the museum is not closing. The art is not for sale,” at the very least, they are demanding that the museum stays open and fully staffed until the Attorney General (“or any court”) makes a ruling. They point out that they endowed three funds specifically set up for the ongoing operation of the museum. This isn’t simply rebudgeting on the part of the university, this is a massive repurposing of money that had a clear and distinct purpose.
I’m of two minds on this particular showdown. On the one hand, I believe wholeheartedly in the importance of the arts, and in particular the importance of the arts in academia. On the other hand, if the university is really fighting for its life, President Reinharz needs to be the mama bear who will do anything for her cubs. Ultimately, though, the Rose family is right in criticizing the university for moving forward without seeking the permission of the proper channels.
With so many members of the family alive and objecting, I’d imagine Reinharz will have a difficult time convincing the AG to unlock these funds. But whether he likes it or not, that’s part of the bargain in accepting targeted donations.
1. There’s been an additional Congregational Support Center added to the plan. This one will be somewhere in Canada.
2. The fates of specific programs are mentioned, although where their staff will be located and so on is not outlined:
A Center for Congregational Consultation will serve as the primary arena for consulting, training and delivering resources to enhance and strengthen congregations, congregational leaders and individual Reform Jews. The Center will be responsible for an expanded array of training opportunities, including existing programs such as Mifgash Musicale, the Scheidt Seminar for incoming congregational presidents, and the Rabbi Alexander Schindler Outreach Fellows.
The Union will continue in its mission to advance Reform Judaism and connect the various aspects of the Reform movement by providing core services that no one congregation can do alone. These include: The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, URJ Camps and Israel programs, NFTY (North American Federation of Temple Youth), Reform Judaism magazine, The North American Biennial, and education about and support for Israel and world Jewry. To promote interaction among congregations, the Union will form affinity groups around an array of topics and commonalities.
3. There is a recognition that it’s not only the Union that is suffering from the economy, but also individual congregations. In response, there will be some dues cuts:
The Board also adopted a proposal to provide immediate and practical financial relief to its member congregations during these challenging economic times. The plan will reduce dues paid by congregations to the Union over a three year period – 5% in the current year, 20% for the next fiscal year and 10% for the year after. The Union believes that it is essential in these difficult times to maintain the cohesiveness of the Reform Jewish Movement and that of the Union and its congregations. To that end, the Union has adopted a three year reduction in the dues to be paid to the Union to aid them in these demanding times.
I think this will be the big story to talk about for a while. I know it took me a couple of hours of trying before the URJ website traffic let up enough for me to even see the press release. This is a ballsy move on the part of the Union. If it succeeds, it will be looked at as the new model for synagogue support that could guarantee the survival of the movements — all the movements — for another generation. If not, the entire Jewish community will find that there will be a lot of work to do to ensure that we don’t lose a generation of Jews for lack of programming or support.
I’m not a member of the Reform Movement, or even of a synagogue at the moment, but I will be rooting for them.
I work in the Jewish community, at a school in Boston, Massachusetts that has a robust relationship with a sister school in our sister city of Haifa, Israel. Every year, we host a delegation of tenth-graders who spend a week-and-a-half living with our students, learning about what it’s like to be a Jew in the diaspora. While most of the visit takes place during one of our students’ school vacation week, the Israelis usually arrive a few days before school gets out in the states. During these first few days, we (the administrators of the Boston) school spend our days showing the Israeli students and their teachers around town. Our time is split between Jewish sites, from the Federation to the old neighborhoods, and more touristy fare.
A couple of years ago, when it fell to me to plan the tourism segments of the week, someone suggested to me that I take the group to the Mapparium. I have lived in Boston nearly my entire life but had never heard of the Mapparium, much less visited, but it sounded fine, so I booked tickets. When we visited, we had extra time on our hands, so we were also able to work in a tour of the Christian Science Monitor newsroom. I didn’t really know anything about the paper beforehand, but having worked in journalism for a time, I was really struck by the core values of the CSM. In the words of Mary Baker Eddy, the paper’s aim was “to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” Or, in the words of the paper’s current administration, “our aim is to embrace the human family, shedding light and understanding with the conviction that truth is the beginning to solutions.” More »
Let me back up. In the week leading up to tonight’s program, I found myself thinking about Keret’s work a lot. Most of his stories are so short, they can sneak up on you, stun you, and conclude before you’ve really had time to process what they’re saying. But this week I had a big “aha!” moment when I figured out why they resonate for me. Many of Keret’s stories deal with individuals who get whatever it is they wanted, only to find out that what they wanted isn’t what they thought it was. So for example, there’s the boy who wants a doll, but gets a piggy bank instead (so he can save up for a doll), but he ends up loving the pig as a doll and refusing to crack it open to spend the money. Or there’s the man whose girlfriend has a secret: at night she turns into a fat, hairy, foul-mouthed man. So, the protagonist makes the best of it and has great sex in the afternoon and a hell of a drinking buddy at night. And so on… What I realized about this theme is that it sums up my relationship to the modern state of Israel. Israel sure hasn’t turned out how I (or, I’d assume, anyone) imagined it would. But I make the best of it. That doesn’t mean I don’t wish she didn’t turn into a fat, hairy, foul-mouthed man — or that I don’t hope the man at least will lose some weight and learn some manners — but that doesn’t undo the positives either. If my facebook page had a spot for relationship to Israel, you know it would say “it’s complicated.”
But I was telling you about the very exciting part of the night. That came afterward, when I was part of an interview conducted by the Jewish Conversation Project under the auspices of Makom. I had never heard about Makom until their logo showed up on the flier for tonight’s program, but it apparently has been around since 2004, when the Jewish Agency decided they wanted to adopt a new approach towards Israel education in the United States.
Haaretz has a disturbing 
The New York Theatre Workshop will be 
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