Camouflage: Strangers with Secrets Meet in Post-War Germany
A Memoir: It was 1957, twelve years after the end of the war in Karlsruhe, West Germany. Most of the scars from the heavy Allied air raids had been covered … Continue reading
The Substitute
I am not a teacher. I haven’t taken a single class on education, let alone made it through the testing and observation required to be a public school teacher. I … Continue reading
Why am I moving left?
I used to be right down the middle. But America’s changed, and so have I. In my late 50s, at a time of life when most people are supposed to … Continue reading
The Problem with Jewish Exceptionalism
In answer to an old camp friend now living in Israel (and all of my Jewish relatives on Facebook) who asks me “So why, Jon, are you so anti-Israel?” I … Continue reading
Science Is Not About Certainty
A leading scientist argues that the separation of science and the humanities is relatively new—and detrimental to both. We teach our students: We say that we have some theories about … Continue reading
Lazy Eye
The author remembers life as a refugee child in New York in the 1940s. “My God, he’s cross eyed!” That was the first thing my Aunt Adele said when she saw … Continue reading
Reaping What We Have Sown in Gaza
Those who turned Gaza into an internment camp for 1.8 million people should not be surprised when they tunnel underneath the earth. I’ve already raised the white flag. I’ve stopped … Continue reading
Blue Suits And Socialism: Suggestions For A Party Platform
Last week, I went to a reception. Twenty years ago, a friend won a First Amendment case that went all the way to the Supreme Court. We joked about the … Continue reading
To Be An Advocate
To be an advocate for a community that is not your own is to be a warrior for universal human rights. It is to recognize the common humanity that binds … Continue reading
What We Learned At The Walmart Museum
We just got back from a vacation in Arkansas. It was great. It was our 4th of July trip. Bentonville, Arkansas, is lovely. As you enter town, there must be … Continue reading
Tested on Animals
“Damn it!” I gurgle with a mouth full of water, as my squinty eyes scan the label. “I hope you were tested… on animals even…so I don’t go blind from … Continue reading
Gail Langstroth: The Named, The Nameless
*** Winner of the Jeffster Award for “Best Social Justice Blog” from Deconstructing Myths *** As the ten-year anniversary of 9/11 approached, I wanted to take part in an initiative where the … Continue reading
DEEP ECOLOGY
From the age of 10 until I was 28 years old I spent none of my birthdays at home. August was always the time for travel: my 10th birthday in … Continue reading
It is not anti-Semitic to say: Not in my name
On a morgue slab in Shejaiya in the Gaza Strip a few days ago lay two anonymous children, a boy and a girl. Their bodies could not be identified because … Continue reading →