Monthly Archives: January 2015

Charlie Hebdo — Politics & (The Study of) Religion

Posted on January 14, 2015 by zjb

(Image by Adriana Varejão) To read much of the analysis generated almost instantly by the two recent massacres in Paris, at Charlie Hebdo and the kosher market Hyper Cacher, one would have to conclude that what really matters in terms … Continue reading →

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Paris Park, Prison, Mosque — Why Does This Country Create Monsters?

Posted on January 12, 2015 by zjb

Michel Foucault, of course, wrote about hospitals and prisons. This article, which you can read here in the NYT, describes the so-called Buttes-Chaumont group at the center of the current-recent mayhem in Paris. Plotting out local and international networks, the article reads like … Continue reading →

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10,000 Soldiers 600,000 French Jews

Posted on January 12, 2015 by zjb

According to the NYT this morning, which you can read here,  the French government is committing 10,000 soldiers to protect Jewish and other “sensitive” sites. A welcome gesture to be sure, but what does it mean to say about the … Continue reading →

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La représentation figurée du prophète Muhammad

Posted on January 11, 2015 by zjb

Une scène du mi‘râj, « l’ascension céleste » de Muhammad. Sur le dos de sa monture ailée, le prophète rencontre lors de sa traversée des sept ciels un ange en forme de coq. Manuscrit produit à Hérat, XVe siècle (Paris, BnF, Manuscrits … Continue reading →

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Globular Maimonides (Rehavia) (Jerusalem)

Posted on January 10, 2015 by zjb

A lot of the streets in the Rehavia neighborhood are named after Spanish Jewish philosophers. This sign indicating a street address on Ben Maimon Street caught my eye. I like its modern form. No less than negative theology, it stands out as … Continue reading →

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After Paris — Islam (& Violence)

Posted on January 9, 2015 by zjb

What’s a liberal to think about Islam and violence except to hold two thoughts together simultaneously? In other words, I don’t see how one can reduce Islam to this act of horrific violence, just as I don’t understand claims that … Continue reading →

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Green & Modern (Rehavia Garden Suburb Walk) (Richard Kaufmann)

Posted on January 7, 2015 by zjb

Eric Mendelssohn, eat your heart out. I stumbled upon this long pedestrian path on a recent walk through the Rehavia neighborhood in West Jerusalem. Built by socialist pioneers of the Gedud Ha’Ivri in the 1920s, the well heeled neighborhood was … Continue reading →

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Calatrava Bridge (Jerusalem)

Posted on January 7, 2015 by zjb

Designed by Santiago Calatrava, this pedestrian and light rail bridge creats a dramatic entrance into West Jerusalem. A big ticket item for such a modest function, it allows pedestrians to cross between the city’s central bus station to Kiryat Moshe, an unspectacular … Continue reading →

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From Hadera to Jerusalem past Baqa Gharbiya

Posted on January 5, 2015 by zjb

On the road on a rainy day between Hadera to Jerusalem, passing Baqa al-Gharbiya along the way.

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Israel Ephemera

Posted on January 2, 2015 by zjb

I used to run a tag a group of pictures as “ephemera.” I’m in Israel now, for about a week, and think it’s time to revive that tag. While they may love it, my growing sense is that colleagues in Jewish philosophy … Continue reading →

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