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EDITORIALS
The Jewish Vote 2012
MICHAEL LERNER
Jewish Republicans predicted that Obama’s disagreements with Israeli policies would cost him heavily, but in fact most Jews did not cast their vote primarily on Israel-related issues: most Jews identified the economy and health care as their primary concerns in exit polls.
Faulty Wisdom in Spielberg’s Lincoln
MICHAEL LERNER
Rabbi Lerner reflects on Spielberg’s newest drama Lincoln and some of the key historical aspects the film left out, including the works of the African American community in the struggle for freedom.
More Wars for the Middle East?
MICHAEL LERNER
“I pray,” says Rabbi Lerner, “that voices of sanity will prevail and that, instead of trying to take out Iranian nukes, Israel will concentrate on outstretching its hands in generosity toward the Palestinian people, thereby neutralizing the one card Arab and Muslim extremists have continually used in the past decades to show that the real enemy is not poverty and ignorance, but Israel and the United States.”
Rabbis Get Boxed In: Criticism of Israel at a High Price
MICHAEL LERNER
Despite initially applauding the UN admitting Palestine as an “observer state,” many rabbis are forced to recant their approval of the UN resolution due to hostility from the conservative voices in the Jewish community.
POLITICS & SOCIETY
Envisioning a Thoughtful and Caring Child Welfare System
SIDNEY GOLDBERG
Let’s build a foster care system that nurtures each child’s creativity, capacity for joy, and emotional wellness. Here’s how.
Her Books: Moving My Mother’s Library to Al-Quds
DEBORAH KAUFMAN
What do you do with your parents’ possessions? What do you do with their cherished collections of a lifetime?
A Spiritual Way of Seeing
PETER GABEL
Most of the theories we use to understand social reality overlook the power of humanity’s desire for community and connection. We need a new narrative behind our efforts to heal the world.
The Mondragón Cooperatives: An Inspiring Economic Hybrid
GEORGIA KELLY
Sixty years ago, the Basque region was the poorest area of Spain. Today, thanks to local cooperatives, it is the richest–and the wealth is shared.
How Ancient Religions Can Help Us Transcend the Civilization of Greedy Money
ULRICH DUCHROW
We are facing a global crisis created by capitalism. The world’s religions–having emerged in response to the growing power of money in the Axial Age–can help us face it.
RETHINKING RELIGION
Reimagining Judaism: The Great Teshuvah
RAE ABILEAH
It’s time to usher in a new paradigm–one of turning and returning to the earth, to each other, and to integrity.
What’s Next in Faith-Based Community Organizing: A Rolling Jubilee
DONNA SCHAPER
Does life in our debt-driven political economy make your faith feel fraudulent? Debt cancellation is the biblical norm. We need a jubilee to release us from our shame.
We Are All Victims of War: Veteran Liberation Theology
EVAN KNAPPENBERGER
To form a powerful anti-war movement, we need to bridge the gap between U.S. veterans and pacifists. Collaborating on a veteran liberation theology is one place to start.
CULTURE
ART
A Visual Critique of Racism: African American Art from Southern California
by Paul von Blum
BOOKS
The Criminal Caste
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander | Review by Ben Bloch
Physics Through a Jewish Lens?
Einstein’s Jewish Science: Physics At The Intersection of Politics And Religion by Steven Gimbel | Review by Donald Goldsmith
Does Zionism Have a Future?
The Making and Unmaking of a Zionist: A Personal and Political Journey by Antony Lerman | Review by Svi Shapiro
POETRY
Blossom Road by Lindsay Bernal
TIKKUN RECOMMENDS
India: A Sacred Geography by Diana L. Eck
Karl Marx: A Nineteenth-Century Life by Jonathan Sperber
Four Views on Jewish Spirituality by Bradley Shavit, Sheldon Lewis, Rami Shapiro and Reuven Firestone