Social Media for Social Justice
- The ever-thoughtful Renee Ghert-Zand recognized many of her own complicated feelings about Judaism in Terry Gross’s recent interview with Judith Shulevitz on NPR’s Fresh Air. [Truth, Praise, and Help]
- It’s worth reading Rebecca Newberger Goldstein’s review of Shulevitz’s new book, The Sabbath World: Glimpes of a Different Order of Time in the New York Times. Goldstein writes that “it is with an abiding sense of relief that I no longer observe it — an attitude that would seem to make me an unsympathetic reader of The Sabbath World,” but she proves far from unsympathetic, praising Shulevitz for writing “a book of richness and depth.” If you want a taste of The Sabbath World, the first chapter is on the Times website.
- Jewish Funds for Justice made a great use of social media when it staged a cyber-protest this week. For 24-hours, a “Twitterstorm” flooded Glenn Beck with 1,500 haiku in defense of social justice – Tweeted one-by-one, minute-by-minute. The media noticed; even Beck did himself. Here’s a sampling of how much 140 characters can say. [jspot]
- From Israel, Haviva Ner-David, one of the first women to be privately ordained an Orthodox rabbi, argues persuasively that Maharat Sara Hurwitz’s willingness to give up the title of “Rabba” (the female version of “Rabbi” chosen by the Academy of the Hebrew Language) “perpetuates sexual discrimination.” [ZEEK]
- We second Elana Sztokman’s recommendation to read the “Haaretz” interview with Marcia Freedman (“The American Jewish Woman Who Brought Feminism to Israel”). When she was elected to the Knesset in 1976, Freedman's appearance in trousers was seen as a scandal. Now living in Berkeley, the 71-year-old Freedman observes that a lot of Israeli feminists’ “energy is [now] invested in the women's peace movement.” [Elana Sztokman]
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