Editor-in-chief: David Suissa
January 26, 2022
In the tense standoff between the West and Russia over Russia’s potential invasion of Ukraine, some analysts are wondering if the concept of the “free world,” which so animated the Cold War, still means anything.
… we urgently need to restore the concept to its former place, both for its clarifying power and its moral force.
Donald Trump’s Presidency, the January 6th insurrection, and the retreat from Afghanistan were especially gratifying to [Putin]. So is the fact that the supposed beacon of what used to be called “the free world” has millions of citizens who say they believe that their current President was elevated through a rigged ballot and ought to be turned out by force.
President Biden is acting as leader of the free world, combatting Russian aggression against Ukraine… Biden is right to put thousands of American troops on alert and work with NATO nations to provide limited but critically important super-trained troops to help Ukraine defend Ukraine.
Some Jewish voices have been actively opposing proposals to increase synagogue security, arguing instead that real safety comes through acts of solidarity with other minority groups.
Also unnerving in the “safety through solidarity” camp is the implication that the Jews are not doing enough to earn safety in their communities.
… what saved the hostages in Beth Israel was a calm, kind presence and smart thinking. You might say that the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with love in his heart…
What does “safety through solidarity” even mean? Bending the knee in fealty to antisemitic domestic terrorists, and asking them to stop attacking us, pretty please?
Move over, Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox. Jews are ditching denominations. Is this a sign of a new, post-denomination ideology? Or just a sign of flagging Jewish involvement?
The group with the highest accession rate, however, is Jews with no denominational affiliation. Two-thirds (66%) of adults in this category were raised in other groups, including 13% who were raised as Conservative Jews, 14% who were raised as Reform Jews and 33% who say they were not raised as Jewish at all (though most say they had a Jewish parent).
These diverse paths encourage people to be open-minded about what Judaism can offer, explained Zeff: “In our synagogue and in our structure, there is more than one way to be Jewish, and they are all right and all valuable,” he said. “It’s the sign of the future. Young people don’t have the patience for people saying there is one right way, whether it’s religion or gender expression.”
Only about half of American Jews (52%) say that having a connection to the Jewish community is important. Only for one-fifth (20%) is it very important. Younger Jews under the age of forty, those who are more Orthodox as well as more families with young children consider the connection to the community as somewhat more important, but not much more. And the trend is a downward trend.
Tomorrow is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Shorty after that, the Winter Olympics begin in China despite the brutal genocide of Uyghur muslims happening in that country.
… is it not a sad commentary on our times that, for so many people, “never again!” has become “never mind”?
The Uyghurs are a tiny people — just like us Jews. There are an estimated 14 million Uyghurs in the world today, and about 15 million Jews worldwide — approximately the same number of Jews as there were before the Holocaust.
We only have to think: what if the international community actually managed to boycott the 1936 Olympics? Would this have any effect on the tragic events we commemorate today?
Neil Young threw down the gauntlet this week, threatening to take his music off Spotify unless the streaming giant stops hosting Joe Rogan’s controversial podcast, which Young has accused of promulgating medical misinformation.
I’m not under the delusion that Neil Young is going to change Spotify’s mind. But what if other artists follow suit? What if the choice isn’t “Neil Young or Joe Rogan” but “Music or Propaganda?”
NEIL YOUNG: I want all my music off the Spotify until they fire Joe Rogan.
Spotify: OK.
The World: Neil Who? Oh, him. Is he still alive?
politics aside, listening to Neil Young songs is objectively more pleasurable than listening to Joe Rogan ramble about eating elk for three hours.
The online VR Metaverse has the potential to change the way we organize our society. Will it be for the better or the worse?
The technologies we produce also produce us, shaping not only what culture is but how we experience it.
The metaverse as envisioned by these people, by the tech giants, is not some promising new frontier for humanity. It is another place to spend money on things, except in this place the empty promise that buying stuff will make you happy is left even more exposed by the fact that the things in question do not physically exist.
Virtual reality isn’t perfect, but it has allowed us to extend our lockdown indefinitely—until my son can be vaccinated. And also … I kind of like it?