May 2021 Virtual Display #2: Jewish American Heritage Month
May is Jewish American Heritage Month! This month we recognize and celebrate the contributions and achievements of Jewish Americans. Check out the official website, run by the Library of Congress, for more resources.
Follow the links below to check out some ebooks, videos, articles, and other digital resources. To access ebooks click the link next to “Get It Now At:” and sign in with your lab username and password. Some may have a link at the top of the page that says “Check for full text” instead. Non-Clark Libraries resources do not require a Clark Labs account.
Ebooks
Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible by Gregg Drinkwater, Joshua Lesser, & David Schneer
Beyond Jewish Identity: Rethinking Concepts and Imagining Alternatives by Ari Kelman & Jon Levisohn
How Jewish is Jewish History? By Murray Jay Rosman
Autobiographical Jews: Essays in Jewish Self-Fashioning by Michael Stanislawski
The Quest for Jewish Belief and Identity in the Graphic Novel by Stephen Ely Tabachnick
Outside Resources
Articles
Gender-Neutral Hebrew Is the Latest Move Towards Queer-Inclusive Judaism
“Last year, then-University of Colorado-Boulder student Lior Gross was excited to continue their Hebrew studies. But there was one big problem for Gross, who uses they/them pronouns, and instructor Eyal Rivlin: No gender-neutral grammatical structure existed in Hebrew that Gross and others could use to identify themselves. So they made one.”
I Grew Up Jewish, But That’s Not How the World Sees Me
“Reconciling my Jewish, Asian, and American identities has been a difficult and ongoing task. However, I now wholeheartedly identify as Asian, despite the despicable racism in this country, not because of it. It is an honor just to be an Asian Jewish American.”
“The Israeli Government’s Violence Doesn’t Represent My Judaism” on Teen Vogue
“I have learned the importance of resilience, the pursuit of liberation, the abhorrence of oppression, and the sacred task of improving the world through my Judaism. Israel’s current far-right government does not represent the Judaism of this generation, and we have the ability to change the narrative in demanding actualized change in support of Palestine. We cannot settle for lip service from our own legislators. We must condemn the denigration of our religion in the name of illusive safety and hold Israel’s leaders accountable.”
Jewish Americans in 2020 | Pew Research Center
“Jewish identity in the United States, 2020What does it mean to be Jewish in America? A new Pew Research Center survey finds that many Jewish Americans participate, at least occasionally, both in some traditional religious practices – like going to a synagogue or fasting on Yom Kippur – and in some Jewish cultural activities, like making potato latkes, watching Israeli movies or reading Jewish news online. Among young Jewish adults, however, two sharply divergent expressions of Jewishness appear to be gaining ground – one involving religion deeply enmeshed in every aspect of life, and the other involving little or no religion at all.”
Queer Orthodox Jews Want More Than Tolerance
“According to Rabbi Atwood, the Orthodox community has come a long way on acknowledging the existence of the queer community. Now, he says, queer Orthodox jews want more, and the community is starting to listen.”
Websites
Alma – Jewish, feminist, and full of chutzpah, HeyAlma.com
Jews of Color Initiative, thejoci.org
Featured Image Photo Credit: insightintodiversity.com