I’m extremely proud to announce that all three arms of the Reconstructionist movement have released a joint statement condemning the recent passage of gay marriage bans across the country. Read all about it in this JTA article. It was particularly gratifying to read this acknowledgment in the piece:
The Reconstructionist movement, the smallest of American Jewish [...]
Archive for the ‘Current Events’ Category
Recons Slam Gay Marriage Ban
Posted in Civil Rights, Current Events, GLBT Issues, Reconstructionism, Religion on November 19, 2008 | 9 Comments »
One Glorious Night in Grant Park
Posted in Current Events, Elections 2008, Politics on November 5, 2008 | 5 Comments »
I was blessed enough to attend the Obama victory fete in Grant Park last night. When we got word that the election was called for Obama, we made our way through the crowd, past the stunned, weeping and jubilant. We were palpably aware that the entire world had their eyes on our little patch of [...]
Wearing Purple on Election Day
Posted in Civil Rights, Current Events, Elections 2008, Judaism, Politics, Religion on November 4, 2008 | 1 Comment »
As I searched my mind and soul for what to say on this historic election day, I received these beautiful thoughts via e-mail from my friend and congregant Lesley Williams:
I wore purple to the election booth today, not red or blue. Today we make history, no matter what color your state or your skin. Today [...]
Liberation in the Maldives!
Posted in Asia, Current Events, Human Rights, Politics on October 29, 2008 | No Comments »
In the midst of a largely trivial news barrage, I’m betting this one will pass under our country’s media radar:
The South Asian country of the Maldives has held their first multi-party election and has elected political activist (and former Amnesty International prisoner of conscience) Mohamed Nasheed (right) to be their new president. This effectively ends [...]
Go Rabbis for Obama!
Posted in Current Events, Elections 2008, High Holidays, Politics, Religion on September 18, 2008 | 3 Comments »
Big, big kudos to Chicago-area rabbis Steve Bob and Sam Gordon for organizing Rabbis for Obama! As of this writing over 400 rabbis (and counting) have signed up to show their support. And this just in: yesterday 900 rabbis joined Obama for a conference call in which he answered questions and spoke eloquently about a [...]
Basketball Diplomacy
Posted in Current Events, Iran, Israel, News, Politics, Politics/Middle East on August 11, 2008 | 1 Comment »
For me, the first truly inspiring news from the Beijing Summer Olympics had nothing to do with athletic achievement. It occurred when David Blatt, the Israeli coach of the Russian basketball team made a point of shaking the hands with and embracing the captain of the Iranian team after a game.
The American-born Blatt [...]
Death of a Palestinian Poet
Posted in Art, Current Events, Israel, Palestine, Politics on August 10, 2008 | 4 Comments »
Just read of the death of the prominent Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish in Houston following heart surgery. An incalculable loss for the Palestinian people and the world.
Speaking as an American Jew, Darwish’s poetry gave me an invaluable entry point into the Palestinian cultural soul. I do believe that in addition to his importance as [...]
Israel’s Arabic Purge?
Posted in Civil Rights, Current Events, Israel, Politics, Zionism on June 16, 2008 | 1 Comment »
This, from a recent article in the Forward:
In a move that is being condemned for its effect on the already fragile relations between Israel and its Arab minority, right-wing lawmakers are trying to strip Arabic of its status alongside Hebrew as an official language of the state.
Since the establishment of Israel in 1948, Hebrew and [...]
Shande on Michigan Ave.
Posted in Current Events, Judaism, Labor, News, Religion on June 13, 2008 | 4 Comments »
I spent my afternoon yesterday with 1,000 other demonstrators in front of the Congress Park Hotel on Chicago’s Michigan Ave. - the site of the longest ongoing labor strike in the country. Marking the fifth anniversary of the strike, it was certainly the largest labor demonstration this city has seen in some time.
Some shameful stats: [...]
Deportation Day
Posted in Current Events, Immigration, Interfaith, Religion on May 30, 2008 | 2 Comments »
I spent my morning with nuns from the Sisters of Mercy and other Catholic immigration activists in front of the Broadview detention center - a nondescript facility in a west suburb of Chicago where undocumented immigrants are processed before they are deported. The Sisters have been gathering here every Friday at 7:15 am (Friday is [...]
