Gary Rosenblatt's Feed

At Least The NY Times Public Editor Does Right By The Jewish Media

Adam Dickter — Fri, 25 May 2012 15:21:59 +0000

Gary Rosenblatt

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Adam Dickter

After years of seeing our reporting poached by The New York Times, it was a pleasant surprise to see the public editor, Arthur Brisbane, devote his Sunday column this week to that very topic.

Arthur Brisbane Carol Ryan Charles J. Hynes Hella Winston

Ruth’s Conversion Would Be Rejected Today

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 22 May 2012 21:47:00 +0000

Gary Rosenblatt

Editor And Publisher

At a time when we are keenly aware of the deep divisions within the Jewish community on issues from religious practice to the policies of the State of Israel, along comes the festival of Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, with the most unifying theme in Jewish life: the giving of the Torah, the central, foundational text of our history and people, at Mount Sinai.

Ruth Shavuot The Book of Ruth

Closer To Home: Of Baseball, Faith And Family

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:03:00 +0000

Gary Rosenblatt

Editor And Publisher

When I was growing up, baseball was all about fathers and sons.

I am grateful that my Dad transmitted his love of the game to my older brother and me, and am reminded of it each spring, when the promise of a new season still fills me with childlike excitement.

Baseball Brooklyn Dodgers Fathers and sons New York Yankees Orioles Sandy Koufax

On Mother’s Day, Our Women Of Valor

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 08 May 2012 22:37:00 +0000

Gary Rosenblatt

Editor And Publisher

Rare is the Jewish woman who is not praised as an Ayshet Chayil, a woman of valor, though too often it comes at her funeral, when she is not around to hear the rabbi intone from the Book of Proverbs.

“A woman of valor, who can find? Her worth is far beyond rubies…”

Ayshet Chayil Mother's Day Women of Valor

Are We Overly Invested In Bricks And Mortar?

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 01 May 2012 23:49:33 +0000

Gary Rosenblatt

Editor And Publisher

Nasty battle in Chicago between federation and a campus Hillel underscores widening clash in ideology.

The ugly public battle between the University of Chicago Hillel and its parent organization, the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, merits attention because it transcends the immediate issues of funding, independence, governance and power. (See Editorial, “Showdown At Chicago Hillel,” April 27.)

The conflict speaks to a wider struggle between younger and older approaches to sustaining meaningful Jewish organizations, and to the future of innovation in communal life.

The Ever-Dying Art Of Jewish Humor

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 23:33:00 +0000

Gary Rosenblatt

Editor And Publisher

OK, so there are these three guys in the hospital, and they’re very bad off, and the doctor is making the rounds. He goes over to the first patient, a Catholic, and explains that there’s nothing more he can do medically for him and asks him his last wish.

“I’d like to see a priest and make a confession,” the man says.

The doctor says fine, and moves on to the next patient, a Protestant. And when the doctor asks him his last wish, the poor guy says, “I’d like to see my family and say good-bye.”

bill novak Eric Spiegelman Humor Jewish humor Jewish Jokes Moshe Waldoks old jews telling jokes Sam Hoffman

Changing Up The Bar And Bat Mitzvah Experience

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 22:06:00 +0000

Gary Rosenblatt

Editor And Publisher

Did you chant a Haftorah at your bar or bat mitzvah?

Do you remember what it was about?

Have you chanted any others since then?

Rabbi Joy Levitt, executive director of the JCC in Manhattan, believes that the heavy emphasis on teaching youngsters to chant a Haftorah on their special days is a sign of “wasted training and the wrong message” for bar and bat mitzvah youngsters.

“We’re not preparing them for Jewish life” with such rituals, she says. “On the contrary, we’ve sabotaged their Jewish life.”

Bar Mitzvahs Bat Mitzvahs Jewish life

New Approaches To Strengthening Old Ties

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 20:27:00 +0000

Gary Rosenblatt

Editor And Publisher

Israelis who leave their native country to settle in the diaspora have long been known as yordim, those who go down. It is a disparaging term, and one in contrast to those diaspora Jews who make aliyah, or ascend, to live in Israel.

The two concepts – going up to or down from Israel -- are anchored in a moral equation that harks back to classical Zionism, which negated the diaspora and insisted that Jewish survival depends on the imperative of aliyah.

aliyah Diaspora Jewish People Policy Institute

NY Times Editor Not Convinced Iran Working To Build A Bomb

Gary Rosenblatt — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 16:03:00 +0000

Gary Rosenblatt

posted by:

Gary Rosenblatt

I’ve been concerned of late by the New York Times’ coverage of the tensions among Israel, Iran and the U.S. So many of the reports leave the impression – an unfair one, I think -- that Israel is chafing at the bit to strike Iran’s nuclear sites, and what a bad idea that is.

International Atomic Energy Agency Iran Iran nuclear program jill abramson New York Times Politico

Can Obama Be Trusted To Save Israel?

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 21:16:00 +0000

Gary Rosenblatt

Editor And Publisher

Let me make clear at the outset: I don’t know what Israel plans to do about the Iran nuclear threat, and I don’t have any new advice for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about what actions he should or should not take as he and his government face an impossible dilemma.

But I do know that the mainstream press (and especially The New York Times) has had a steady drumbeat of reports these last few weeks characterizing Israel unfairly in the delicate diplomatic dance of Jerusalem, Washington and Tehran.

Israel Obama