The art of the debacle. Seniors duped. Incompetence decoded. AntiSemitic posters. Intermarriage. Free to Be, You & Me
LETTY COTTIN POGREBIN NEWSLETTER #41 3/29/17
This week's gleanings reflect celebration and despair, progress and disappointment, hope and fear, in almost, but not quite, equal measures.
POLITICS
A couple of old friends share a laugh:
Watching the news can ruin your day . Research shows that watching 3 minutes of the news can make you miserable for six to eight hours afterward & adversely affect your work.
Gullible seniors duped again:
Your dollars can speak for you even if you don't live in Georgia you can help elect Jon Ossoff on April 18, the first chance we have this year to send a Democrat to Congress. Can you send just $10 or $20?
Civil rights icon, Rep. John Lewis (left) endorses Democratic candidate, Jon Ossoff
WOMEN AND MEN
Please stop calling Ivanka Trump a feminist and quit dumping on liberal feminism, says The Nation columnist Katha Pollitt, one of America's most fearless political analysts.
"The global gender pay gap will not close for 70 years unless [government] efforts accelerate, according to the International Labor Organization." Here's today's Times story on Iceland's efforts to bridge the gap.
Why do so many incompetent men become leaders? Columbia Prof. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic says "the real gender issue isn’t a lack of qualified women, but a surplus of unqualified men...the lack of career obstacles for incompetent men, and the fact that we tend to equate leadership with the very psychological features that make the average man a more inept leader than the average woman."
More women are running for office. Besides spurring street actions and vociferous protests at town meetings, the Republicans' reactionary politics and complicity with POTUS' distressing behavior have inspired many women to enter local political races all over the country.
ANTI-SEMITISM & ISLAMOPHOBIA
Anti-Muslim hate groups have tripled since "the launch in mid-2015 of Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Though the Syrian refugee crisis & terrorist attacks from Paris to Orlando may have fueled some increase in Islamophobia, Trump's repeated invocation of the threat of "radical Islamic terrorism" and move as president to ban immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries has clearly fanned the flames." This according to a recent SPLC report.
Twitter has the most antiSemitic content of all social media, survey finds. "Nearly two-thirds of the 382,000 posts deemed antiSemitic in the study appeared on Twitter, followed by 11 percent posted on Facebook, 6 percent on Instagram and 2 percent on YouTube. The posts were in various languages.
Dozens of antiSemitic posters recently appeared on the campus of the University of Illinois Chicago. Rather than further disseminate these images (which would only please their perpetrators), I won't reproduce them on this page but if you've never seen samples of the neoNazi propaganda circulating these days, you may access the posters in this news story which also includes statements by UIC Chancellor Michael D. Amiridis' & representatives of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Eva Zeltzer
Eva Zeltser, a communications student and president of a Jewish organization at UIC, wrote on her FB page in response to those who trivialized the impact of the posters: "My heart is broken. While I try to abstain from writing personal narratives on Facebook, enough is enough. If you are against hate crimes against one group, you should be against these acts of violence for ALL groups....these posters are actively posted to catalyze anti-Semitism and increase hate toward Jews. If anyone tries to deny the anti-Semitism throughout college campuses around the US, you are not only kidding yourself, but you're actively ignoring religious intolerance and discrimination."
JEWISH LIFE
Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl
Looking ahead. Eloquent statement by Rabbi Angela Buchdahl of Central Synagogue, one of America's largest Reform congregations, on her decision to henceforth officiate at interfaith weddings, if....
Looking back. A remarkable database of Jewish memory, Centropa, is dedicated to preserving and disseminating 20th century Jewish family stories and photos from Central & Eastern Europe & the Balkans.
FILMS
The documentary, "City of Joy" tells the story of the first class of women at Congo's revolutionary leadership center and that of the center's founders. City of Joy a project of Eve Ensler's VDay, provides a safe space for survivors of rape and violence to heal & become voices for change. Screening schedule here.
Sarasota Film Festival offers a strong line-up under the rubric, "Women in Activism." Included in its roster is the inspiring doc by Lilly Rivlin entitled, Heather Booth: Changing the World, about an indefatigable progressive activist. Bonus: Stanley Tucci, Rosanna Arquette, Diane Lane, documentarian Rory Kennedy and actor-filmmaker Aisha Tyler will appear in person. 3/31-4/9. More info here.
Heather Booth plays guitar for Fannie Lou Hamer & others, Mississippi Freedom Summer. 1964. [photo by Wallace Roberts],
ISRAEL/PALESTINE
Below is more input from readers reflecting on their relationship to Israel & their reactions to the Knesset's new law barring entry to those who criticize Israel's encroaching settlements: (map above)
Rabbi Rachel Mivka, Chair, Jewish Studies and Director, Center for Jewish, Christian and Islamic Studies, at Chicago Theological Seminary:
"I fell in love with the land and the people when I spent six months in Israel as a high school exchange student. People I met there spoke about the future with great passion, spirited debate and hope that this still young nation could live up to the values articulated in its Declaration of Independence. My Israeli family was like that, cousins who had helped to found a kibbutz near Haifa and already outnumbered the small remnant we had in the U.S. And that was the image my father [Abner J. Mikva, 1926-2016, Member of Congress, Federal judge, White House counsel] carried with him throughout his life. It was Israel that made me want to be a rabbi. Every couple of years, I bring students from the progressive Protestant seminary where I work for a two-week study tour. Many of them, conjuring a David and Goliath framework, presume Israel is the oppressive giant whose claims in the land are illegitimate. I bring them there in order to complicate the narrative. Yes, we meet with various organizations that problematize the occupation and explore a range of non-violent methods for social change. But we also put a human face on the Jews who make Israel their home and courageously work for justice for all the peoples of the land. We change hearts and minds. "I am also on record, with pain constricting my throat, questioning if it is possible that a boycott of the settlements may be the only way to persuade Israel to end 50 years of occupation and injustice. Next time I come with my students, will I be allowed in? I can’t imagine being stopped at the border for expressing my opinion. But if I am, I fear that there will be twenty more American religious leaders who will oppose Israel. And I will weep for Zion, for she has lost her way." (More here.)
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Alison Pepper, National Early Childhood Education Consultant :
"Since the restrictions on entry to Israel were announced, I have been deeply distressed. As a young woman, I spent almost 10 years living in Israel, was a founder of kibbutz Ketura in the Arava, taught kindergarten in Jerusalem and became a citizen of Israel. I also befriended many Palestinians during my years there and became "woke" to the discrimination in the Jewish State more than 3 decades ago. I love the place, still have many friends and memories of my life there and have visited many times since I left. At the same time, I have spoken out, signed letters and been active in organizations that strive to preserve democracy in Israel. Is this now going to prevent me from returning to what is truly my second homeland? It breaks my hearts if it is so. "
EVENTS IN NYC
An Interfaith March for Justice & Religious Tolerance will start from the Jewish Theological Seminary (3080 Bway @122 St) at noon & end at the National Black Theater (5th Ave @125 St.). Multiple institutions are jointly sponsoring this march before Passover & Easter to affirm"the dignity of all people." Wed. 4/5 @12 noon.
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society will honor my long-time publishing colleague, Esther Margolis and writers Mary Higgins Clark and Gretchen Rubin with its Books for a Better Life Award April 17, 5:30-8:30 @ The Times Center, 242 W. 41 St,
Artist Faith Ringgold, right, & her daughter, writer Michele Wallace, center.
"We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965-85," will showcase "the political, social, cultural and aesthetic priorities of women of color during the emergence of second-wave feminism." It's part of A Year of Yes: Reimagining Feminism at the Brooklyn Museum, a series of 10 exhibitions celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. 4/21- 9/17. @Brooklyn Museum,
As a founding member of the Ms. Foundation for Women and the Free To Be Foundation, I'm pleased to invite you to the annual MFW gala, otherwise known as "The Gloria Awards." This year our honorees include Hillary Clinton, the four co-chairs of the Women's March, three other grassroots women activists, plus the high school girl who won the Peggy Charren/Free to Be, You and Me award. Wed, 5/ 3, 6 PM at Capitale more info here.
45 years ago, Marlo Thomas created the enduring family entertainment, "Free To Be, You and Me." This photo, taken in Central Park for the original record album cover, shows Marlo with my son David (right), then 4, and twin daughters, Robin & Abigail, then 7 (both smiling, left). Free to Be, in all its incarnations. has delighted three generations and it's still selling!
Enjoy the rest of your week!
