Hello and welcome to the second issue of the Verb – a fortnightly digest of news and views from around the world. We’ve already had requests in for our special student comment feature – if you’ve got something to say, please do be in touch.
Your comments are welcome at the bottom of this page, you can also @reply to our Twitter account TheVerbUJS and comment on the UJS’ Facebook group.
In this week’s issue:
Middle East
A hugely controversial article published in the New York Review of Books notes the ‘Failure of the American Jewish Establishment’. The author, Peter Beinart, Associate Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York, posits that the mainstream Jewish community’s insistence on blind support for the Israeli government and suppressing any criticism of its actions has not only alienated traditional liberal supporters, but has had a devastating effect on Jewish students who feel alienated from the modern State of Israel.
The Verb asks: Do British Jews feel the same way about their American counterparts? Is debate alive and well amongst Jewish students and within the Jewish community?
A somewhat pessimistic article from George Grant, the global security and terrorism director at The Henry Jackson Society, appeared in the Guardian on September 21 outlining why the current peace talks are doomed to failure. It has garnered 275 comments on Comment is Free at the time of writing.
The Verb asks: is Abbas really the biggest obstacle to peace? Can he not take some credit for the success story of Ramallah? Or is it thanks to Salam Fayyad, the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority?
Religious affairs
With the festival of Succot around the corner, Reboot, the Jewish organisation which calls itself the ‘catalyst to catalysts’ in order to help everybody think about ways to connect with their Jewish identity, has been holding a succah building competition in Union Square in New York. These booths are no ordinary collections of wonky walls and rusty nails, however. 600 entries from 43 countries around the world have been battling it out to be crowned succah champion. To vote, read the New York magazine article or click here to go straight to the voting page.
Jews in the news
Simon Amstell’s hit sitcom, Grandma's House has just come to an end on BBC2. Catch clips and information while you can on the BBC’s website or find it on YouTube.
The Verb says: Amstell isn’t going to win an Oscar any time soon (“Act?” says his mother in episode two, “I didn’t know you could act!” “Nor did we,” say the viewers), but it’s watchable, funny and poignant, a sort of Jewish Royle Family.
And finally...
Jewish students can now attend their J-Soc bar crawl or Booze for Jews safe in the knowledge that what they are doing has deep religious roots going back thousands of years. It seems that the ancient Israelites were in fact beer drinkers, and that even God might have enjoyed a few, according to a new article by Professor Michael M. Homan at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans.
