Riding the Third Wave
This Is My Wall
The first time I saw the Kotel–the Western Wall in Jerusalem–was when I went to Israel through Taglit-Birthright in January. My trip leaders wanted to make our first encounter with this holy site special, so they had us all walk blindfolded to an overlook that would afford us a panoramic view of the Wall. When we removed the scarves over our eyes, I was in awe. The only coherent thought I had was, “This is my Wall, this is MY Wall.”
I spent the last six weeks on a Harvard Summer School program at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, so I took full advantage of my proximity to the Kotel. Because it is the last remaining part of the holy Temple, tradition holds that prayers recited there are especially potent. I never went a week without going to the Wall at least once, and there were days where I went for each of the three daily prayer services, just because I could. Even when the US State Department recommended staying away from the Kotel because of the threat of anti-Jewish violence, I went anyway.
These Pogroms Are Personal
For me, the word “pogrom” evokes black and white images of Cossacks attacking Jews living in the shtetl, scenes from movies like “Fiddler on the Roof,” back in the times of olde when Jews were unequal before the law.
Well, pogroms have happened in France several times throughout the past couple of weeks, so maybe they’re not as antiquated as I thought.
Hobby Lobby and Me
Liberals and conservatives alike have been abuzz over the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, which states that corporations can be exempted from a law to which their owners object from a religious standpoint. The case began with the Affordable Care Act mandate that their employers cover birth control. This stipulation made the evangelical Christian owners of Hobby Lobby, an arts and crafts supply store chain, feel that their right to freedom of religion had been disrespected. They took their case to court, and the justices sided with them.
As a person of faith and a feminist, I object to the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Hobby Lobby case.
Understanding Santa Barbara
A month later, America is still recovering from Elliot Rodger’s Memorial Day weekend massacre, in which he killed six people, injured thirteen others, and took his own life. Many Americans have already brushed off this shooting spree as an isolated incident, and dismissed Rodger as some crazy loner. However, it is important we not leave off on the matter so suddenly. Though his actions were extreme, Rodger’s overall attitude toward women–his feeling of entitlement to their bodies–is indicative of a strong current of misogyny on American college campuses.
Though only two women died at his hands, Rodger’s actions were driven by a rapacious sexism. “I don’t know why you girls have never been attracted to me, but I will punish you all for it,” he said in a YouTube video uploaded fewer than 24 hours before the massacre. Further investigation into his Internet history has revealed that he frequented male supremacy websites, leaving a virtual paper trail marked by prejudice. “It’s been my life struggle to get a beautiful, white girl,” Rodger posted in one online forum. He also wrote and uploaded a 140-page manifesto in which he chronicled his life-story and futile attempts to “win” a mate.