“Reason to Worry”: An Anti-Semitism Scholar Opens Up on Trump, Misogyny and the Future of Anti-Judaism
David Nirenberg, historian of Judaism, spoke with RD about Twitter, Trump, and the parallels between anti-Semitism and misogyny.
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When Rabbis Seized Control of the Synagogue: The Role of Authority in American Judaism
In this RD10Q, historian Zev Eleff uncovers the little-known story of how American Jews became a clergy-led community.
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Six Overlooked Gems from the Future of World Religions Report
The Leftovers: Hot HBO Drama or Hot New Religious Trend?
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Jews and Muslims Join Forces for Academic Freedom
My university is not a battleground.
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The Collapse of the American Jewish Center
The polarization of American Jews has increased with each large-scale eruption of fighting between Israel and Palestinians. With each escalation there has been a shift of pro-two-state solution activists to the left; at the same time, though, the right becomes strengthened and entrenched.
Read MoreIsrael’s New President and Intolerant Judaism
Israel’s new president, Likud’s Reuven Rivlin, elected by the Knesset on Tuesday, once called Reform Judaism “idol…
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When Children’s Literature is Not Defined by “Innocence”
I wanted to think about how we mediate the past for children—and how we tell stories about children who lived in the past. Writing about religion, memory, and children’s literature became my way of doing that.
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Multifaith Weight Loss: The Problem of Fat, the Promise of Peace
When things go well, feelings of “joy” and being “moved” abound, much like the Slim Peace participants claim of their experience. It is unclear whether such events actually change how these Jews and Muslims perceive each other, or if they only change how Jews and Muslims view themselves.
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“Hey You! Anti-Semite!”: A Jewish Krewe does Mardi Gras
Krewe du Jieux parades through the French Quarter every year, tossing bagels and handing out “Jew eggs,” small plastic eggs containing a yarmulke-wearing baby.
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Apocalypse Now and Then: Our Global Death Wish
What ought we do about millennial thinking in our day? If the combined 1300 pages of these two books have taught me anything, it’s that we can’t make it just go away. There is something fascinating, and perverse, in the human psyche that seems to yearn for this world to be other than how it is, even if that means destroying it.
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