Gabrielle Birkner
By Gabrielle Birkner
-
Culture The Women Who Transformed Jewish Education
The story of the development, and the 20th century transformation, of Jewish education in America often centers on two educators: Samson Benderly and Mordecai Kaplan. Frequently absent from the narrative, however, are the female educators who inspired, or were inspired by, Benderly’s and Kaplan’s work. “The Women Who Reconstructed American Jewish Education, 1910-1965” (Brandeis University…
-
The Schmooze Slate Columnist: Comparing Islamic Center to Auschwitz Convent Is Tantamount to Holocaust Denial
Taking on conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and other voices on the right, Slate blogger Tom Scocca makes a reasoned case against comparing the Islamic center planned for Ground Zero to the now-shuttered Catholic convent near the Auschwitz death camp. He writes: The Auschwitz convent is a recurring theme in the…
-
Life On Dr. Laura’s Tirade — and Her Defection From Orthodoxy
Dr. Laura Schlessinger, the heavy-handed conservative radio host, is in the news for using the n-word 11 times during her Tuesday show. Schlessinger told an African-American woman, who is married to a white man and who called in for advice about dealing with her in-laws’ racist remarks, that if she doesn’t have a sense of…
-
Life Digest: National Survey on Agunot; New Ruling on Parental Leave
The Sisterhood Digest: A group of Israeli women recently smuggled 12 Palestinian women and four children into Israel for a day of leisure. The women dined out in Jaffa and swam in the Mediterranean before the Palestinian women returned to the West Bank via Jerusalem. Among the excursion organizers was the Israeli writer Ilana Hammerman,…
-
Culture Accessibility vs. Expertise: Direct-to-Consumer Testing Sparks Debate
Drugstores stock tests that gauge blood sugar levels, predict ovulation, ascertain pregnancy and determine whether illegal drugs are in the bloodstream. And back in May, the Walgreens pharmacy chain announced that it would offer testing kits of another kind: ones intended to detect genetic diseases. Within days of Walgreens’ announcement, however, the retailer tabled its…
-
Life Paul Rudd Was My Bat Mitzvah DJ
Before Paul Rudd broke into television and movies, the “Dinner for Schmucks” star was working the bar and bat mitzvah circuit in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley. He emceed my bat mitzvah party, back in 1992 — months before landing a recurring role on the NBC drama “Sisters.” (“Clueless” was still a few years off.) The…
-
The Schmooze Chelsea’s Ketubah (and Her Dress)
Check out Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky’s ketubah, the groom’s tallis — and, of course, the bride’s dress.
-
The Schmooze Meet the Rabbi Who Officiated at Chelsea’s Wedding
The New York Times is reporting that Rabbi James Ponet officiated, alongside Reverend William Shillady, at the Saturday evening wedding of Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky. Ponet is Yale’s Jewish chaplain and heads the university’s Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale. Read his bio here. At Yale, he’s taught a seminar on “The…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Music For Bob Dylan’s biographer, ‘A Complete Unknown’ is a dream come true — even if it’s mostly fiction
- 2
Culture They were a kosher bakery success story — 80 years later, people are still trying to make a buck off their babka
- 3
News RFK Jr. wants fluoride out of drinking water. Israel has a decade of lessons to offer.
- 4
Film & TV Why ‘The Brutalist’ resonated so deeply with me
In Case You Missed It
-
Culture The crucial Bob Dylan question that ‘A Complete Unknown’ fails to answer
-
Opinion My favorite Jewish Christmas tradition: do a mitzvah for children in need
-
Fast Forward US ambassador to Israel calls Gaza famine warning ‘inaccurate,’ prompting review
-
News RFK Jr. wants fluoride out of drinking water. Israel has a decade of lessons to offer.
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
