Monthly Archives: February 2022

(Re-Alignments) Glory to Ukraine (Anti-Semitism & Liberal Democracy)

Posted on February 28, 2022 by zjb

Glory to Ukraine is the old and heavy national slogan of Ukrainian independence.  It is fraught with the heavy load of ethno-nationalism and violent anti-Semitism. For a little historical background, see this item here that I found online and here … Continue reading →

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A Few Personal Reflections On Jews and Ukraine, Nostalgia and Points of Departure

Posted on February 27, 2022 by zjb

The last several days have called up close attention to Ukraine by Jews on social media platforms.  There are those who remind us about the bad historical blood between Jews and Ukraine. Others reflect back on familial roots. Others have … Continue reading →

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(Ukraine) What They’re Saying On “The Left”

Posted on February 25, 2022 by zjb

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is one more reason not to trust “the Left” on anything, including matters relating to Jewish politics and Israel. Reading Katrina vanden Heuvel op-ed here and listening to her on a long segment at the … Continue reading →

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Pharisees (Matthew)

Posted on February 23, 2022 by zjb

Cutting through the imprecation, there are at least eight things that Matthew says about the Pharisees that are maybe or probably true. –They observe Shabbat punctiliously; they do not pick grain in the fields or practice healing or exorcism on … Continue reading →

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(Apocalypse Now) Parting Ways With The Jews (Gospel of Matthew)

Posted on February 22, 2022 by zjb

[[Caravaggio, The Inspiration of Saint Matthew (1602)]] [[I am isolating in this post passages from the Gospel of Matthew that speak to a parting of the way with Judaism in the formation of a new disciple community based upon the foundation … Continue reading →

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What Trypho Said (Justin Martyr)

Posted on February 17, 2022 by zjb

Here I reconstruct and recommend the figure of Trypho, how he and Justin Martyr met purportedly during the time of the Bar Kochba Revolt, what Justin Martyr allowed him to say in Dialogue with Trypho, and how they part ways … Continue reading →

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(Technology) Slaves & Automatic Machine Gods (Aristotle)

Posted on February 16, 2022 by zjb

The question of technology (techne) runs across the entire Aristotelean corpus. Its most famous instantiation is in the Nicomachean Ethics. It’s there also in the Physics and Metaphysics. It pops up in the Politics in relation to the institution of … Continue reading →

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(Civic Judaism) You Know How The Jews Stick Together (Cicero Pro Flacco)

Posted on February 11, 2022 by zjb

The Jews of ancient Rome were probably a pretty tough group of people. More essential than belief in God, Cicero was onto something when he wrote about them, that Jews stick together. His comment in Pro Flacco is arguably anti-Jewish. … Continue reading →

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anti-Judaism & anti-Semitism (Syllabus)

Posted on February 9, 2022 by zjb

ANTI-JUDAISM & ANTI-SEMITISM REL/JSP 200 Spring 2022 T/Th 12:30-1:50 Shaffer Art Building 121 Zachary Braiterman office: HL 509 ZOOM office hours: W 11:00-12:00 or by appointment zbraiter@syr.edu Examines anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism as a social form, anti-Jewish and anti-Semitic tropes and … Continue reading →

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(Association for Jewish Studies) Antisemitism & Academic Freedom (Working Report)

Posted on February 9, 2022 by zjb

A Working Report from the AJS Task Force on Antisemitism and Academic Freedom Guidelines for Confronting Antisemitism and Protecting Academic Freedom Introduction The Association for Jewish Studies, the largest learned society and professional organization representing Jewish studies scholars worldwide, assembled … Continue reading →

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