Justice in the City http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/ en webmaster@jewishjournal.com Copyright 2012 Thu, 24 May 2012 00:16:56 +0000 The “Jewish” Vote http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/item/the_jewish_vote_20120523/ http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/item/the_jewish_vote_20120523/#When:00:16:56Z Thu, 24 May 2012 00:16:56 +0000 A Lack of Imagination is Dangerous: On Israel, Iran and ♥ http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/item/a_lack_of_imagination_is_dangerous_on_israel_iran_and_20120331/ http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/item/a_lack_of_imagination_is_dangerous_on_israel_iran_and_20120331/#When:04:16:38Z press. Two Israelis, Roni Edry and Michal Tamir added a poster to their Facebook profile with this statement in bold colors: “Iranians, we will never bomb your country. We ♥ you.” Within days there were tens of thousands of “likes” on Facebook, messages from around the world, a new Facebook page and even hundreds of positive responses from Iran.

What to make of all this? All the messages seem rather sappy and simplistic. “We ♥ you” is not a foreign policy. It is not a negotiating position. It is not even an obvious claim on justice or morality. ]]> Sun, 01 Apr 2012 04:16:38 +0000 On Immigration and Holiness http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/item/on_immigration_and_holiness_20120304/ http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/item/on_immigration_and_holiness_20120304/#When:07:59:41Z Sun, 04 Mar 2012 07:59:41 +0000 Purim, Persia and … Ahmadinejad ? http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/item/purim_persia_and_ahmadinejad_20120229/ http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/item/purim_persia_and_ahmadinejad_20120229/#When:22:32:17Z There is however a different reading of the Book of Esther which offers the Purim narrative as a darker story which poses a different set of questions. The key to the story is a statement by a Rabbi who lived centuries after the story might have happened, in the place that it was supposed to have happened—Persia.]]> Wed, 29 Feb 2012 22:32:17 +0000 Justice in the City: The Book is Here http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/item/justice_in_the_city_the_book_is_here_20120208/ http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/item/justice_in_the_city_the_book_is_here_20120208/#When:16:21:42Z Mobile Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:21:42 +0000 The Police Commissioner and the Policies of Paranoia http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/item/the_police_commissioner_and_the_policies_of_paranoia_201201251/ http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/item/the_police_commissioner_and_the_policies_of_paranoia_201201251/#When:01:09:29Z Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:09:29 +0000 The “Citizens United” decision and the image of God http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/item/the_citizens_united_decision_and_the_image_of_god_20120102/ http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/item/the_citizens_united_decision_and_the_image_of_god_20120102/#When:22:16:20Z America is a Christian country so we should be able to hate anybody we want and celebrate Christmas” kind of conversation. Rather a conversation about the roots of democracy and the relationship of democracy to the authoritarian reigns—political or religious, monarchic or ecclesiastic, and usually an admixture of the two—which preceded democracy. The move to democratic politics, according to many thinkers, retained the theological structures, if not the faith of their predecessors. In a way, democracy is a kind of secular mysticism. It is grounded in the belief that, according to the ancient maxim, vox populi vox dei, “the voice of the people is the voice of God.” That is, authority is grounded in the decisions of the people as a whole, which carries an authority beyond that of any individual, and does not rest in any token, singular, individual whether king or cleric.]]> Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:16:20 +0000 Violence, Nonviolence, Occupy LA and the Law http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/item/violence_nonviolence_occupy_la_and_the_law_20111201/ http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/item/violence_nonviolence_occupy_la_and_the_law_20111201/#When:23:40:55Z
Akiva responded with a longish parable whose essence was: what can the Romans do to me? They can put me in jail and/or they can kill me. However, if I am not studying Torah it is as if I am dead already. I will not imprison myself. If the Romans want to imprison me that is a choice that they will make and be responsible for.
]]> Thu, 01 Dec 2011 23:40:55 +0000 On the culture of Greed http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/item/on_the_culture_of_greed_20111111/ http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/item/on_the_culture_of_greed_20111111/#When:17:26:32Z LA Times reported:
[An] examination of state, federal and local expenditures for capital cases, conducted over three years by a senior federal judge and a law professor, estimated that the additional costs of capital trials, enhanced security on death row and legal representation for the condemned adds $184 million to the budget each year.

However, sitting in that room, engaging in that conversation, I suddenly got very depressed. I realized how we had all been impacted by the culture of greed that has overwhelmed our country.]]> Nation/World, Opinion, Politics, Religion Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:26:32 +0000 Occupy the Language http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/item/occupy_the_language_201110281/ http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/item/occupy_the_language_201110281/#When:16:37:30Z I would suggest that what is going on, intentionally and unintentionally, is a massive project of rethinking the language, of redefining central terms of our vocabulary. This is a somewhat glacial enterprise which is also, at times baffling. Its been done before. ]]> Fri, 28 Oct 2011 16:37:30 +0000 Sukkah or Sodom http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/item/sukkah_or_sodom_20111019/ http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/item/sukkah_or_sodom_20111019/#When:23:07:41Z Opinion, Religion, Photos Wed, 19 Oct 2011 23:07:41 +0000 Introduction: Justice in the City http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/item/introduction_justice_in_the_city_20111019/ http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/item/introduction_justice_in_the_city_20111019/#When:22:08:25Z Wed, 19 Oct 2011 22:08:25 +0000 About http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/item/about/ http://www.jewishjournal.com/justice_in_the_city/item/about/#When:21:18:32Z Justice in the City: An Argument from the Sources of Rabbinic Judaism is a professor, a social justice activist, a rabbi and a lecturer.]]> Sat, 01 Oct 2011 21:18:32 +0000