Welcome to Volume 2 Issue 3 of Tikkun Magazine.

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Vol 2 No 3 Table of Contents

• Publisher's Page by NAN FINK

Editorial

• Surplus Powerlessness on the Left by MICHAEL LERNER
  Rabbi Lerner critiques the Left for not having seized the opportunities made available to them by the mistakes of the Right during the late 80s, and why certain attempts at doing so may have failed. He describes 'surplus powerlessness' as a "psychological condition" that is learned by internalizing certain realities.
  

• The Democrats - Blowing It Again by MICHAEL LERNER
  A continuation of the discussion of 'surplus powerlessness, and the missed opportunity of the Democrats specifically due to the contra crisis in Nicaragua.
  

• An International Conference for the Mideast by PETER GABEL
  Gabel offers a brief analysis of Shimon Peres' plan to create a Palestinian state, and explains how it can be improved.

• Gorbachev and the American Press by PETER GABEL
  Gabel briefly discusses the reasons behind the American press' continuing portrayal Gorbachev as anti-American and anti-democratic.

• Stopping AIDS Euthanasia by DAVID SCHULMAN
  Schulman argues that the Reagan administration should adopt a health care model for the AIDS community based on the one in San Francisco. Doing so, says Schulman, would decrease the instance of AIDS patients refusing health care due to its crude nature.

Articles

• Poland and the Jews by ABRAHAM BRUMBERG
  Brumberg offers a lengthy analysis of Jewish-Polish relations during the World War II era. He draws on the arguments of other writers, both past and present, discussing the problem of and reasons for pre- and post-war anti-Semitism. He also responds to Tikkun's interview with Czeslaw Milosz (Volume 2, Issue 2).
  

• The Best and the Rightest by ERIC ALTERMAN
  

Eric Alterman examines the political track record of Elliot Abrams, former Assistant Secretary of State for Latin American Affairs, and how his actions affected both the contra crisis and American political process.

• Are We Prisoners of the Past? by PAUL WACHTEL
  

A brief lesson in the psychology of personality by Paul L. Wachtel, in which he discusses several theoretical models of the origin and development of the personality.

• Wissenschaft and Values by ISMAR SCHORSCH
  

Schorsch recounts the evolution of Jewish academia in Western (mainly German) culture, which Schorsch argues contributed to the "emancipation" of the Jewish people, gained them an equal place at the dinner table that is Western society, and helped shape modern rabbinical thought.

• Reason and the Mob: The Politics of Representation by GARY PELLER
  

• Scholarship Is Not Enough by ARTHUR GREEN
  As the title suggests, Arthur Green argues that a renewal in Jewish scholarship is not enough to suffice for a renewal of Judaism, particularly in America. That is to say, anobjective study of Judaism, while it can inform religious studies, does not reinvigorate the spiritual side of Jewish studies. It is up to the rabbinical schools, says Green, to revive Judaism both historically and spiritually.
  

Special Feature: Feminist Consciousness Today

• Roundtable: The Women's Movement by JEAN BETHKE ELSHTAIN, PAULA GIDDINGS, ANN LEWIS, LETTY CHOTTIN POGREBIN, JAN ROSENBERG, SARA RUDDICK, CATHARINE STIMPSON
  Seven women discuss the Women's Movement. Drawing a distinction between reformist and liberatory views, the overriding topic is how one can "improve the conditions or lessen the oppression." What, then, is the current view informing feminism, and what can each of these views bring to the table?
  

• Recognition of Diversity by MARTHA ACKELSBERG
  Ackelsberg writes a response to the Women's Movement Roundtable. Taken from the first paragraph: "Three [aspects] which were mentioned in the roundtable need further exploration here: (1) new understandings of power and action; (2) new understanding of families; and (3) new understanding of who 'women' are."
  

• The Need For Memory by RUTH ROSEN
  Rosen recounts the events of the 1950s that led to the development of the feminist movement. Rosen also discusses the social and political implications that feminism had in the 1960s.

• Gloom on the Campus, Doom on the Coasts by JANE MANSBRIDGE
  

• In the House of the Flame Bearers by KIM CHERNIN
  Chernin examines her life, recounting the way shes was raised and the problems she faced in juggling identities as a Jew, as a woman, and as a Communist.
  

• Coming Home to Jewish Orthodoxy: Reactionary or Radical Women? by DEBRA KAUFMAN
  Debra Kaufman examines causes for and possible implications of the then-recent return of women to Jewish Orthodoxy.
  

Current Debate

• God and History by ARTHUR WASKOW and MICHAEL LERNER
  Arthur Waskow remarks briefly on how he agrees and disagrees with Tikkun's theology. Rabbi Lerner responds to Rabbi Waskow by explaining where Tikkun's ideology - an ancient framework in a modern context - comes from.
  

• The Yishuv and the Holocaust by MARIE SYRKIN and IDITH ZERTAL
  Marie Syrkin critiques Idith Zertal's article "The Poisoned Heart: the Jews of Palestine and the Holocaust", calling it revisionist and pointing out what she believes to be the weak points of Zertal's argument. Idith Zertal responds to Ms. Syrkin's criticisms, defending her position.
  

• Strategies for the Left by PRUDENCE POSNER, HARRY BOYTE, SARA EVANS
  "Prudence Posner's article...has the virtue of thoughtfully articluating many of the widespread leftist criticisms of our position that are rarely brought together. Their presentation...constitutes strong evidence of the need for basic rethinking on the left."  Boyte and Evans respond by defending their own position while critiquing Posner's ideas.
  

Poetry

• At the New Moon: Rosh Hodesh by MARGE PIERCY

• Visions of Daniel by ROBERT PINSKY

Reviews

• Nazi Feminists? by LINDA GORDON
  Gordon reviews 'Mother in the Fatherland: Women, the Family, and Nazi Politics' by Claudia Koonz. Women, Koonz says, were more than willing to participate in "the Reich's programs" because they mistakenly believed that by doing their "German duty," they were also promoting the interests of women.
  

• Abraham Cahan by PETER MELLINI
  Mellini reviews Moses Rischin's (ed.) 'Grandma Never lived in America'. Mellini claims that Rischin, having selected certain of Abraham Cahan's writing, has resurrected an important part of both turn-of-the-century immigrant experience and Judaism's major contribution to "modern English language journalism".
  

• Comics and Tragedy by GEOFFREY SUMMERFIELD
  Summerfield reviews 'Maus: A Survivor's Tale' by Art Spiegelman. Summerfield briefly discusses the history of the comic strip, concluding that 'Maus' is important to the field of comic strips because it often has an answer "when children pose their troubling questions."
  

• Sexuality and Abortion by BARBARA KATZ ROTHMAN
  Barbara Katz Rothman reviews Carol Joffe's 'The Regulation of Sexuality: Experiences of Family Planning Workers'. Joffe's book addresses the changing environment of womens sexuality and the role that counselors play in the medical and professional arena.

• Hollywood! by PETER BISKIND
  Biskind reviews 'City of Nets' by Otto Friedrich. "City of Nets is an account of Hollywood in  the forties [about] the people who made the movies....Ultimately, 'City of Nets' stand or falls on the question of how well it succeeds in fulfilling its author's goals...to combine, to interpret, to analyze, to understand" Hollywood at that time. In this, Biskind says, Friedrich does not entirely succeed, but still very much enjoyed the book for its pace and "interest in the European exile community".