When Iraq Expelled Its Jews to Israel – The Inside Story

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On November 29, 1947, the UN voted 33 yes, 13 no, with 10 abstentions, to create two states: one Palestinian Arab, the other Jewish. Once the UN vote registered, a new anti-Jewish campaign exploded in Iraq. This time, it was not just pogroms but systematic pauperization, taking a cue from the confiscatory techniques developed by the Nazis who had now infested the government. Jews were charged with trumped-up offenses and fined exorbitant amounts. All the while, mob chants of “death to the Jews” became ever more commonplace.

Thinking Past Hitler: Israel and Diasporism

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The Israeli answer to that was take in as many as possible of the affected populations. Jews who had resided, in some cases for millennia, in places such as Yemen or Iraq suddenly needed to be airlifted out. If the intention of Hitler’s Final Solution was to rid Europe of Jews, the birth of Israel extended the debacle to otherwise mostly untouched Jewish communities in the Mideast.

Trump and the Truth About Bullying

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Powerful nations have always bullied weaker ones. The Roman and British Empires were paradigms of military bullying. Much like these earlier imperial powers, the US as global superpower has policed and bullied its client states and its enemies. It harshly bullies recruits, starting in boot camp, and spreads bullying values in military sponsored-programs in schools, sports, and communities.

More Blood Flowing, Will It Ever End?

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As I enter Shabbat with a heavy heart, I hold in my heart the memories of Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, their family members and all who loved them, the Black women and men who are reminded once again of their own fragility in a country that is supposedly free, and of all the lives throughout the world who are killed and whose true stories we are unable to see.

rEVOLution: The NSP Newsletter, July 2016

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Wow, what a month it’s been! As you may be aware, Rabbi Lerner was invited to speak at Muhammed Ali’s memorial, and boy did he speak! As can be expected from Rabbi Lerner, he spoke prophetic truth to those in power, many of whom were in the audience at the memorial. Many people who saw his talk commented that this was the first time in their lives they have seen someone speak such truth on tv. It was certainly a powerful moment.

May/June 1993 Full Table of Contents

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Letters

Publisher’s Page

Editorials 

Articles

Clint Eastwood: Unforgiven BY HARRY BROD

Fear and Violence in Israel BY STAN COHEN

How To Build Utopia in Only Minutes a Day in the Privacy of Your Own Home BY DON FUTTERMAN

A Tainted Legacy: Remembering the Warsaw Ghetto BY LAWRENCE L. LANGER

Philip Roth Symposium REACTIONS FROM SIDRA DEKOVEN EZRAHI, DANIEL LAZARE, DAPHNE MERKIN, MORRIS DICKSTEIN, AND ANITA NORICH

A No-Nonsense Look at Anti-Semitism BY GARY E. RUBIN

Burning in Hell, Conservative Movement Style BY JUDITH PLASKOW

The Therapeutic Function of Shiva BY JOYCE SLOCHOWER

Truth or Consequences: The “Liberators” Controversy BY LETTY COTTIN POGREBIN

Becoming Brothers BY ARTHUR WASKOW

Roundtable: Twentysomethings

Insecurity and Islam by GEORGE PERKOVICH

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Reviews

James Miller’s The Passion of Michel Foucault BY FRANK BROWNING

Theda Skocpol’s Protecting Soldiers and Mothers BY NELSON LICHTENSTEIN

Sikkum (short reviews of Jewish books)

Poetry

Lost Continent BY NATAN ZACH

 

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Brussels and the Body Politic

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For many years there has been concern that a terrorist strike on the networks of social connectivity, most commonly understood to include things like power grids, communications networks, and the like, could cause considerable damage to our information-based society. In many ways this concern is warranted, although the primary targets are not those infrastructural networks under corporate control, but rather much more informal networks of face-to-face community formation.

A Call for Love in the Face of Hatred: Rabbi Lerner’s talk at Muhammad Ali’s Memorial

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A transcript of Rabbi Lerner’s speech is below. To see him speak and to hear about his experiences, please see our post here. Master of compassion, God of compassion, send your blessings to Muhammad Ali, send your blessings to all who mourn for him, and send your blessings for all the millions and millions of people who mourn for him all over this planet. I come here speaking as a representative of American Jews — and to say that American Jews played an important role in solidarity with African-American struggles in this country and that we today stand in solidarity with the Islamic community in country and all around the world. [applause]

We will not tolerate politicians or anyone else putting down Muslims and blaming Muslims for a few people [applause].We know what it’s like to be demeaned.

Join the Struggle

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We invite you to be part of the struggle to create a world of love, kindness, generosity, environmental sanity and sustainability, nonviolence, peace, social and economic justice, and awe and wonder at the grandeur of the universe–the Caring Society: Caring for Each Other and Caring for the Earth. That’s what our interfaith and secular-humanist and atheist-welcoming NSP–Network of Spiritual Progressives is all about.

Grieving the Orlando Massacre

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True solidarity needs to go beyond standing with the victims of hate crimes, homophobia, Islamophobia, racism, anti-Semitism, sexism, xenophobia and all the other variants of hatred. True solidarity should lead us to the imperative to develop strategies to heal the distortions and pains that lead people into communities of hate.

Are Holy Books the Word of God?

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Well, of course they are. Everything comes from God, and since all are manifestations of the Source, everything is the word of God, including you, a lion, a gazelle, the ego. There is a beautiful quote from the New Testament: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. But we cannot fathom the word of God while it is has been tampered with by the ego. Only the few who have surrendered the “i” with “I” can experience the essence of the word beyond what has been transcribed. Otherwise, we begin to follow an entire book robotically, ignoring the essence within us beyond the duality of good and evil.

Articles

Building a Progressive Spiritual Movement

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Thousands of activist groups work to save the environment, address the needs of the homeless and hungry, ensure we have a safe and adequate supply of food and water, and fight racism and economic injustice. Many are making valiant efforts. Yet we continue to see the devastation and destruction of our environment, an increasing divide between the haves and the have-nots, and deepening racial tensions.