Mr. Steinhardt, stop the insanity!

$38,000. That's the cost of Jewish dayschool for four kids, for one (obviously well off) blogger.

Holy

fucking

shit.

My readers probably know by now that I have no truck with Birthright. I think it's a perverse expression of the American Jewish sickness to define the patrimony of young Jews as a free vacation.



Isn't it possible that there's such a huge disconnect between American Jews and their Jewish identity because they don't know sweet fuck all about anything Jewish?

I'm not saying that what you learn in Modern Orthodox dayschool is the only way to be Jewish. Khas v'sholem.

Indeed, the kind of agenda I believe in (one that integrates modern and not-so-modern Eastern European Jewish culture as an indivisible part of Jewish life) isn't exactly identical with the MO program.

Nonetheless, baseline Jewish education, text and literacy based (Hebrew, Aramaic and Yiddish), in my opinion, will be the difference between Jewish continuity and our continued slide into the muck of fuzzy, assimilated oblivion.

And comprehensive Jewish educational infrastructure, available to everyone, not just the rich, is one of the only ways to make that happen.

Jewish learning, tradition, culture and text is every Jew's birthright. And with a wave of his magic money wand, Mr. Steinhardt could make that available to every Jewish family.

Am I obtuse? Why isn't this happening??

My first article for the Forward!

Hey everyone, I know I've been kinda layin' low, silently drifting below the blog radar. I'm going to blame it on the metamorphosis I've been undergoing as I transform into a FORWARD PUBLISHED AUTHOR. Woo. You can see my article about Daniel Kahn and the Painted Bird's Partisans and Parasites here.

The CD is AMAZING and you need to get your cursor over to CDbaby right fast and buy a copy.

Yiddish Film Tonight!! Tevye at the Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring

No wonder they went out of business

*A feller in yiddish is a disease or defect.

Fifth Avenue entrance NYPL

I asked the guard why there was a Zohar at the security desk. He didn't know, and then asked me if I wanted it. Now, I'm willing to believe a lot of weird shit, up to and including the viability of Bigfoot as a boyfriend. (I know, just because he's on Jdate doesn't mean we'll click.)





I'll take Bigfoot, but I'll have to pass on the Zohar.

Turn up the Jewish Music and turn off Paul Lester

Mark Rubin has a hilarious take down of Jewish Chronicle music 'critic' Paul Lester here. Mark does a great job taking the piss out of Lester, who insists that Jewish music, like klezmer, is so over and we should all be listening to the Ramones. (Cuz the Ramones are so up to the fucking minute.)

I can't really add to Mark's analysis of this fool. Lester complains about how bad jewish music is, and how we all need to get over our obsession with it, but he doesn't name one of the offending bands supposedly drowning us in whiny violins and clarinets. The funniest part of the piece is that Lester is scolding his audience for its bad taste and lack of pride- but his entire concept of modern Jewish culture is American! Don't listen to faux roots music (whatever that might be) listen to authentic Jewish music- from America! What about Marc Bolan and umm, Helen Shapiro? Christ dude, why don't you get some pride?

Diaspora Nationalism and the New Left

As you may have noticed, I have entered into a strange dialogue with an as yet unknown neighborhood socialist. He (I'm assuming) has been postering the area for events at CUNY, many of which are anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian solidarity. I've been taking pictures of them and posting them. For me it's an opportunity to reflect on a number of things: my personal relationship to radicalism, the state of the New Left, the tenor of anti-Semitism among radicals, and the way my reactions to the above differ (or not) from those of my friends.

What's interesting is that my posting of the flyers also allows me to see the range of opinions out there among those I would call Diaspora Nationalists and makes me wonder what we have in common, if anything, aside from a distaste for nationalism and a love of Yiddish.

Those posts have already opened up a dialog among us and I'd like to see it continue. I don't want to attract crazies (well, maybe the crazy is already here but....) but I encourage those of you who have been reading and not commenting (or commenting) to take the opportunity to share your thoughts about a Diaspora Nationalist analysis of Zionism and New Left politics.

I see the New Left obsession with Israel to be just that- an obsession, and one that colors the whole movement as reactionary. Where is the positive and the affirmative? What would happen if we had a one state solution tomorrow and Jewish Israel ceased to be. How different would the world be? And if you're critical of religious-ethno nationalism (thanks, Shayn) why is Palestinian ethno-nationalism preferable?

Anycritiques, I want you to know that when I say "it's complicated" I don't say that as an apologist or as a cop-out. I'm sickened to listen to Lieberman on the radio spouting his terrifying, quasi-fascist rhetoric. But, I say "it's complicated" because it's fucking complicated, y'all! And I don't think there's a "solution" in just saying fuck Israel, Israel should just roll over. I think saying "it's complicated" is an actual analysis of a situation that is woefully misunderstood. This is not big bad Israel vs. helpless Palestinians when the Palestinians have been manipulated, tragically, and continually, up to this day, by their so-called friends in the region. The Palestinian people elected a government of thugs who call for the destruction of Israel in their charter.

So... maybe this is crazy, but I'm genuinely interested in what you have to say. I'm not interested in being bullied or threatened. We'll see how this goes...