Healing Israel/Palestine

Justice, Justice, Shall You Pursue: Grad Students Organize for BDS Policy at the University of California

By |

On December 4, U.C. graduate students will have the opportunity to pursue justice by exercising their vote on two related issues. The first is whether our union, Local UAW 2865, should join the global movement for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) to be enacted against Israel until that nation-state has complied with international law and respects the rights of all Palestinian people. The second measure asks each of us to personally commit to participation in the academic boycott against Israeli educational institutions. As a grad student, a labor activist, and as a Jew, I will be voting yes on both questions.

Healing Israel/Palestine

How Israel Can Regain its Lost Moral Capital: A Modest Educational Proposal

By |

The primary reason for the decline of Israel’s moral legitimacy in the West is its occupation and expansionist policies. According to The Economist, in some polls Israel is now ranked below Russia and only above North Korea, Pakistan and Iran on whether it is a good or bad influence on the world. Among young people its standing has been in steady decline, a decline that will likely increase as the memory of the Holocaust becomes more distant.

Healing Israel/Palestine

Empathy in the Holy Land

By |

I am writing after seeing a series of letters from fellow practicing physicians justifying acts of brutality during the most recent conflict in Gaza. What concerns me more than any particular political position is finding empathy in such short supply among those within the healing professions.

Education

Empathy Workshops in Oregon

By |

This weekend Rabbi Michael Lerner will be the keynote speaker for the Awards Dinner at the Peace House in Ashland, Oregon. Michael and Cat Zavis, executive director of NSP, will then co-lead two separate workshops on empathy.

Culture

6 Reasons that Debunk the Myth of Islam Promoting Hatred of Jews and Christians

By |

Some Muslims use the Quran verse, “O You who have believed! Do not take the Jews and Christians as your allies (Auliya). They are allies of one another. He among you who takes them for allies is one of them. God does not guide the oppressive folks” as a way to justify hatred towards Jews. Ro Waseem uses his knowledge of the Quran to dismantle this myth.