October 23, 2014 Foggy Bottom Improves on Pontius Pilate A three-month-old baby run down and murdered in Jerusalem by a Hamasnik who also injured eight others at a light rail station. In the evening, Palestinian rioters showed solidarity—with the baby killer. The U.S. State Department response: both sides should “remain calm.” Our State Department makes Pontius Pilate seem, morally, like a stand-up guy. Hollywood […] Blog
October 21, 2014 It Must Be “Better Than It Sounds” In an arguable judgment, Mark Twain said of Wagnerian opera that it must “be better than it sounds.” Michael Walsh’s scabrous, repulsive defense of “The Death of Klinghoffer,” being staged by the Met, elevates moral relativism into the Sermon on the Mount while at the same time denouncing critics of caricaturish anti-Semitism for the “dehumanization” […] Blog
October 18, 2014 Welcome to the New Generation of Educated Fools According to a new YouGov poll, among Americans, 18-29, 31 percent believe Islam is more more likely to encourage violence than other religions, 9 percent consider Islam less likely. The comparable percentages for Americans, 65 or over, are 65 percent and 1 percent. Apparently the Millennials have fully digested PC pablum served up by politicians, […] Blog
October 16, 2014 ISGAP’s Impressive Upcoming Roster ISGAP Seminar Series McGill Harvard Columbia Our friends at the Institute for the Study of Global Anti-Semitism and Policy have an impressive roster of speakers coming up at McGill, Harvard, and Columbia: October 20th, 6PM, McGill University Dr. Dahn Hiuni, Independent Artist and Adjunct Professor of Art and Art Education, School of Visual Arts, New York […] Anti-Semitism Blog
October 15, 2014 Where the Hell Are the Hell’s Angels When We Need Them? Responding to reports that members of Dutch motorcycle gangs are going to Iraq to join the Peshmerga and fight ISIS/ISIL, public prosecutor spokesman Wim de Bruin has announced that “joining a foreign armed force was previously punishable, now it’s no longer forbidden. . . . You just can’t join a fight against the Netherlands.” Head […] Blog
October 13, 2014 Understanding Migration For a masterful, though I fear too optimistic, review essay about studies of migration, immigration, and rights debates, see Roger Waldinger, “Moving Right Along,” in the “American Interest,” at http://www.the-american-interest.com/articles/2014/10/12/moving-right-along/ Blog
October 12, 2014 Who Says Atheists Don’t Believe in Anything? According to recent polls, belief in extraterrestrials varies by religion–or the lack of it: • 55 percent of Atheists • 44 percent of Muslims • 37 percent of Jews • 36 percent of Hindus • 32 percent of Christians Of course, atheists also tend to believe in the rationality and perfectibility of homo sapiens–a supreme […] Blog
October 10, 2014 Have We Moved on From Civility? And if So, What is Next? Have We Moved on from Civility? October 14, 2014LDB President Kenneth L. Marcus will deliver a public lecture at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s Center for Professional and Applied Ethics on the question, “Have We Moved on From Civility? And If So, What is Next?” Read more. Anti-Semitism Blog
October 8, 2014 Triangulating Dutch Jewry’s Downfall The Hague’s Van Ostade Housing Project—once part of a traditional Jewish neighborhood—now belongs to a transformed Schilderswijk which the Dutch increasingly know as the “Sharia Triangle.” There aren’t enough Jews left to form a minyan. But Frabrice Shomberg, an artist born in England, stubbornly continues to make “kippah walks” and build a Sukkah as a […] Blog
October 3, 2014 LDB Joins Letter to College Presidents in Light of Recent Anti-Semitic Events Last week a coalition of 14 national organizations including the Brandeis Center sent a letter to the presidents of more than 2500 four-year U.S. colleges and universities, urging them to protect Jewish students in light of the alarming rise in anti-Semitism both here and around the world. The letter, authored by the Zionist Organization of […] Blog