Monthly Archives: December 2016

A Hanukah Apocalypse (Gal Cohen)

Posted on December 30, 2016 by zjb

Untitled, 2016, by Gal Cohen (oil on wood, 30×35 cm) The facelessness of the figures draw out the difference between inside and outside, the gentle pink in contrast to the orange burning outside the window. The city’s on fire.

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(Mystical Politics) No Lines (Israel, Jerusalem, Settlements)

Posted on December 28, 2016 by zjb

Unerringly consistent, Prime Minister Netanyahu, in his response to the UN Security Council resolution, changed the subject from settlements, about which there is no consensus in Israel or in the Jewish world, to Jerusalem, about which there is. That is … Continue reading →

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חנוכה שמח

Posted on December 27, 2016 by zjb

Detail of a man lighting the Hanukkah lamp, from Decisions of Isaiah of Trani the Younger (Pisqei Rabbi Yeshayah Aharon), Italy (Bologna), 1374. For more, see here

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Physical Torture & Psychological Stress (Christianity in Valentin de Boulogne)

Posted on December 26, 2016 by zjb

More than the secular genre scenes of Roman low life, the biblical paintings are almost all over the top at the big  Valentin de Boulogne: Beyond Caravaggio show still on view at the Met. A successor of Caravaggio and himself quite the … Continue reading →

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(UN Votes Against Settlements) Obama, Israel, and the Middle East

Posted on December 25, 2016 by zjb

I wrote this to my dear cousin Zvi on FB, but will share and expand here. I’ve never argued against the claim that Obama’s Middle East policy was the dismal failure that it has been. Based on American “leading from … Continue reading →

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The New Jewish Wars (Israel + Trump)

Posted on December 21, 2016 by zjb

The new Jewish wars are about to get worse. Rising to the surface already since the first Lebanon War in the early 1980s, American Jews were, for the most part, able to elide the differences between them regarding Israel and … Continue reading →

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Five Tips for Jewish Resistance (Bradley Burston)

Posted on December 18, 2016 by zjb

All kinds of red lines got crossed this November and all kinds of lines are going to cross-over and cross-hatch in the years to come, changing forever the contours of Jewish community life. This includes the way in which American … Continue reading →

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The Sweater Party (AJS 2016)

Posted on December 18, 2016 by zjb

  Mixing scholars at their most incredible best, young and old, there is no more important body of the Association for Jewish Studies than that feminist institution –The Sweater Party. This year, as if at some kabbalistic site, they’re holding … Continue reading →

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Petition Opposing Trump Choice for Ambassador to Israel

Posted on December 17, 2016 by zjb

Please consider signing this New Israel Fund petition, which you can find here, against David Friedman as Trump’s very bad choice for Ambassador to Israel. When you fill out the information, a copy goes to your Senator who will be … Continue reading →

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(Simulated) Trump Food (Vanity Fair)

Posted on December 16, 2016 by zjb

Not a single thing looks even remotely appetizing. The pictures really matter from Tina Nguyen’s review of the Trump Grille that appeared in Vanity Fair, which you should read and can find here, no doubt intended as an allegory. This … Continue reading →

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