Vidui for Black Lives
Yesterday I was floored by the callous disregard for justice – no, I’m used to that. What I was floored by was its blatentness. To have the only charges be for the walls of the neighbors’ apartments, and none for…
Tag
Social Justice
3 Questions to Ask Yourself Now
The same opening paragraph could be written for every article this summer: We are tired, stir-crazy, afraid. The world is scary (a flimsy word to describe what it actually is). It all feels like too much, because it is too…
NCJW calls on Jewish communal leaders to be vocal about abortion access
On June 29th, the US Supreme Court voted in favor of protecting abortion access when it ruled against an attempt by the state of Louisiana to prevent doctors from providing abortion unless they had admitting privileges at hospitals within in…
These important Jewish feminist events just happened
It is rough out there, so if you’ve disengaged to some degree from social media as an act of self-preservation, that’s understandable. (But also, get back on there, radical stuff is in motion, and you are needed.) Whether or not…
Abortion access is in danger right now: Here’s what you should know and what you can do
On March 4th, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in June Medical v. Russo, an abortion rights case between abortion providers and the state of Louisiana. Here’s what you need to know: June v. Russo is identical to Whole…
Hearing the Deaf: Ableism in our communities
Ableism is a spiritual wound. Like white supremacy or misogyny, it exists in both explicit and implicit forms, and on the micro and macro level. A spiritual wound requires spiritual care, and we must not reopen the wound through spiritual…
Our Interests
“You will come around,” said a particularly dickish family friend as he dismissed my point about the importance of a social program out of hand. “You’ll grow out of this. It is against your interests.” He wasn’t the only person…
In the 2010s, joining a shul became a political act. In more ways than one.
Rabbi Michael Rothbaum is the rabbi of Congregation Beth Elohim in Acton, MA. He lives in Maynard with his husband, Yiddish singer Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell I’ve been teaching and working in synagogues since the early 1990s. My memories of…
5 Podcasts on Reproductive Rights that Will Vastly Improve Your Life in 2020
Whether you’re a casual consumer of podcasts or you break into a cold sweat at the thought of not having any at the ready, check out this roundup of podcasts and podcast episodes about abortion and reproductive rights. Each of…
Tisha B’Av #CloseTheCamps NYC Amazon action: a protest in pictures
Pictures by Gili Getz; text by Salem Pearce On Sunday, more than 1,000 Jews in New York converged on Amazon’s bookstore in Midtown Manhattan to protest the company’s role in supporting the efforts of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to…