‘Independence Day’ Revisited: A Jewish Reflection on Modern Challenges, by Mark Charendoff (eJewish Philanthropy)
“I hadn’t thought about the film until recently as July Fourth approached this summer. For the first time, the film seems very Jewish to me. An unanticipated attack shocks us and reveals a vulnerability that we didn’t know we had. The overwhelming scope of global antisemitism can be dispiriting; each day seems to reveal a […]
The End of History and the Donning of the Kittel, by Mark Charendoff (eJewish Philanthropy)
“The Israelites of the Exodus were embarking on a new chapter — writing, for the first time, the next page in their history. They were actors, not subjects. The world held potential and hope. It was a fresh beginning. Maybe we have the same fresh beginning in front of us. Perhaps history doesn’t proceed in […]
The Golden Age of American Jews is Ending, by Franklin Foer (The Atlantic)
“Though right- and left-wing anti-Semitism may have emerged in different ways, for different reasons, both are essentially attacks on an ideal that once dominated American politics, an ideal that American Jews championed and, in an important sense, co-authored…a distinct strain of liberalism that combined robust civil liberties, the protection of minority rights, and an ethos […]
The Jewish Mainstream, by Adina Poupko (SAPIR)
“While we are at such a momentous and perilous time in Jewish history, we need to direct much more of our communal attention — expressed in organizational activities, public discourse, and funding — to the Jewish mainstream. American Jewry remains solidly supportive of Israel, as do most Americans. We need to draw strength from this, feel pride in it, […]
Podcast: The Nightingale of Iran
“It was a golden age for Jews in Iran. In the 1950s, a religious Jew – Younes Dardashti – became a national celebrity, singing at the Shah’s palace and on the radio. In the 1960s, his son Farid became a teen idol on TV. They were beloved by Iranian Muslims. But at the height of […]
How Can I Help to Destroy Hamas Today? by Mark Charendoff (eJewish Philanthropy)
“If you are an ally of Israel there are really only two questions that ought to animate you right now. The first is, ‘How can I provide assistance to those in Israel who need it?’… The second question is, ‘How can I help to destroy Hamas today?’…How can I show my support to President Biden […]
The Role and Relevance of Museums Today: From the Universal to the Particular, by James S. Snyder (SAPIR)
“Museums can be universal and all-embracing or, like Jewish museums, particular in their focus. Each has the potential to place the material heritage of individual cultures into a broader context, producing powerfully illustrative stories of communal connection with special meaning in their own time as well as for us today.” Related Grantee: SAPIR: Ideas for […]
Censorship is Not a Jewish Value, by James Kirchik (SAPIR)
“Resisting the temptation to respond to words and ideas we hate with hatred of our own, whether in the form of a raised fist or through the ink of a red pen, is a burden of chosen-ness, of being a light unto the nations. However difficult, it is the right — and dare I say, the Jewish — thing […]
A Light Unto the Nations (SAPIR)
“Whether as a nation that dwells apart or a nation on a mission, Jews generally share the conviction that Israel should stand for certain ethical principles — and be judged according to them. For this issue of Sapir, we asked 13 diverse thinkers and doers to offer a brief comment about what the phrase ‘a light unto […]
Maimonides Fund to create new SAPIR Institute, Hires Chanan Weissman and Zackary Wainer
Maimonides Fund is pleased to announce two exciting new additions to its New York-based programming staff. Chanan Weissman will join as Director of the new SAPIR Institute, and Zackary Wainer will serve as Director of Special Initiatives.