What was the most important thing to happen in the world in the last 50 years or so? There’s a case to be made that it was the Iranian revolution of 1979, a violent and unexpected swerve from which the world has yet to recover.

It is hard to remember back when Iran was America’s closest ally in the Middle East (and the US government was helping Iran build nuclear reactors for the peaceful use of atomic energy.) But the change of Iran from US’s fast friend to its fierce foe set in motion a chain of events that include the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the rise of Al Queda, the rise of Hizbullah, the Iran-Iraq War, the first Gulf War, 9/11, the US Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Arab Spring and its failures, the collapse of Syria, the war in Yemen, and a major reason for the lack of progress in Israel Palestinian peace efforts, and starting with the election of Ronald Reagan, a major boon to the success of right-wing politicians worldwide. read more

This year we add to our Seder Harriet Tubman who joins the six women who shaped the history of the Exodus. The women belong at the Passover table because all seven emerge as consequential political catalysts. All are remarkably brave, amitzot, all are women who at great risk take bold actions in the political/religious arena of their time and speak directly to contemporary concerns of justice.

Tubman joins six agentive women in the Exodus story who are connected across ethnic and class differences. read more

You may remember that back in the ’70s and ’80s, we added a fourth matzah to the three required for the Seder and called it the Matzah of Hope. It was a symbol of the three million Soviet Jews who had no freedom to be Jews. Some twenty or thirty years later, our united voices had changed the situation. I propose that this year we once again add a fourth matzah to our Seder table and read the following. What do you think? Maybe together we can change the situation for the Agunot, women anchored to men who neither want them as wives nor are willing to free them to lead their own lives. read more

I always look forward to the plagues. That part of the Haggadah recited in a singsong ritualistic manner is accompanied by the small thrill of putting my finger into the wine cup and marking my plate. It carries with it a memory that despite the power and might and Technicolor special effects accompanying our redemption, we need to be mindful that the Egyptians suffered. In the exquisite theatre of the Seder, every participant has an active role in this custom. To make out seders lively and fun for the children, we often decorate our table with frogs and beasts and lice- a real table top menagerie. read more

When you murder 149 people, and yourself as well, should this be considered suicide? If there have been more important news stories this week (Yemen, Iran, Syria, and Indianapolis) the story that has garnered the most attention is the horrific and deliberate crash of a Lufthansa jet in the French Alps by the plane’s co-pilot. I will confess to a grim fascination in following the story, in large part because of a family tragedy, suicide is a deeply personal and emotional subject for me.

Suicide remains the least discussed major cause of death in the United States, with annually, about twice as many deaths from suicide as from homicide. The vast, vast majority of suicides, over 97%, only involve self-murder, but unless someone is famous, the only types of suicide that make the news are so-called murder-suicides, like the Lufthansa incident. I have never liked the term “murder-suicide.” They are really just homicides in which the perpetrator is determined to suffer no consequences for his action (this is overwhelmingly a crime committed by males.) I don’t know what term could replace it, “homicide–self-murder” perhaps, but it is so unlike other suicides it deserves its own category. I can’t see how anyone could kill 149 strangers and condemn them to horrifying deaths without an all-consuming rage against others. Suicidal rage is typically only directed at oneself. I don’t know what to call what happened on the jetliner, but to me, it isn’t suicide, its just mass murder. read more

March 30, 2015 ­­– As part of Open Hillel’s national tour, three Jewish veterans of the Civil Rights movement spoke in Ann Arbor this evening in the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. Over one hundred people attended the event, which was co-sponsored by the University of Michigan student group Jews Allied for Social Justice, Jewish Voice for Peace at the University of Michigan, University of Michigan Community Action Social Change, and University of Michigan Organizational Studies. read more

JP: Two weeks ago you went to Israel to vote and now that you are back in the United States could you share with us some of your encounters in Israel that you find meaningful and would give our readers information that they would not necessarily get from the media.

Michael Argaman: I participated in an event that I think exemplifies what Israelis do on the ground, in various civic activities on a regular basis and not just in the heat of election time. I am talking here about Israeli and Palestinian civilians who don’t give up on the idea of a peace agreement. There are obviously a number of organizations like Combatants for Peace and Women Wage Peace, which are involved in making an Israeli Palestinian agreement part of the public discourse. The group that I would like to mention is one that would seem the least likely, bereaved family members; this group has been tirelessly active for a number of years. read more

March 22, 2015 — Nearly one hundred Rabbis, professors, Jewish professionals, and Jewish leaders from around the country are calling upon Hillel International to stop driving away its students.

The Jewish leaders’ statement came after Hillel International threatened to sue Swarthmore College over Swarthmore Hillel’s planned Israel-Palestine programming.  Rather than bow to legal pressure and censor their programming, Swarthmore Hillel’s student board voted to change their name.  They made this decision following a two-hour discussion open to all members of the Jewish community on campus. read more