Monthly Archives: November 2015

Vladimir Putin (What Bernard Lewis Got Right)

Posted on November 30, 2015 by zjb

Say what you want about Bernard Lewis, but check out these concluding words to his much and in so many ways justifiably maligned What Went Wrong: The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East.  They are quite prescient, … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged | 1 Comment

Catastrophe Affect & Human Values (Responding to the Middle East Today)

Posted on November 30, 2015 by zjb

I’m not sure about these confessional remarks. On the one hand, the thoughts reflected here cut what is probably too wide a swath through a highly reified and mediated conceptualizations of “Islam” and “the Middle East,” while reflecting my own … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Thanksgiving Invitation (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Posted on November 26, 2015 by zjb

Ellen instructs him to say that dinner’s as usual at three o’clock. It doesn’t get more Americana than a Thanksgiving invitation from Ralph Waldo Emerson. I found this little thing at the Twitter feed of the Morgan Library and Museum.

Posted in uncategorized | 1 Comment

Allegory of the Planets and Continents

Posted on November 25, 2015 by zjb

Framed by a narrow mass of terrestrial along the edge and then flying figures in the middle, the bright void straight up there in the center of the picture is full of light. That’s god Apollo with the yellow nimbus … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Leave a comment

Jews, 1931: Wittgenstein’s Marginalia on Jews, Jewishness, and “Reproductive” Jewish Thought

Posted on November 24, 2015 by zjb

On Wittgenstein & Jewish Thought by Menachem Feuer.

Posted in uncategorized | 1 Comment

“Put A Bullet Between His Eyes”

Posted on November 24, 2015 by zjb

Claiming to have forced Prime Minister Netanyahu to walk back this or that moderate expression in a recent fence-mending trip to the United States, Education Minister Naftali Bennet said in a closed party forum that “he put a bullet between … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged | 7 Comments

American Anthropologists Boycott Israeli Colleagues (Bold & Toothless)

Posted on November 22, 2015 by zjb

One can understand which way the wind is blowing, with Israel veering towards the fascist rightwing in order to explain why the American Anthropological Association (AAA) just passed overwhelmingly a resolution boycotting their colleagues at Israeli universities. But the decision … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Morality, Religion, Politics (Congressman Jerrold Nadler on Iran Deal, Israel, & Syrian Refugees)

Posted on November 21, 2015 by zjb

It was very moving to hear Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) before a full house this Shabbat at Ansche Chesed explaining his vote in favor of the Iran Deal, his thoughts about Israel and Palestine, and his support for Syrian refugees. Delivered from … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Campus BDS is Going to Go After Jewish Studies

Posted on November 20, 2015 by zjb

Will there be a “safe place” on campus for Jewish Studies? Or will it be impossible to teach and to take without fear of disruption or recrimination university courses about Israeli history and culture or courses that touch upon connections, … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

(Dualities & Interconnections) Hummingbird & Passionflowers

Posted on November 19, 2015 by zjb

Hummingbird and Passionflowers Martin Johnson Heade (1819–1904) ca. 1875–85 From the Met’s Twitter feed: From 1880 to 1904, Heade, an ardent devotee of natural history, contributed over one hundred letters and articles on hummingbirds and related topics to “Forest and … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | 1 Comment