The Dossier
Essays
Commentary
Reviews
I Will Remember: The Music of the Holocaust
At the end Viktor Ullmann's The Emperor of Atlantis, Kaiser Uberall accepts his fate: he will be sacrificed to restore the balance of life and death that his own arrogance and brutality so tragically upset. It is one of the most powerful moments in 20th century opera....
Reflections on Police Violence
“Is this the Revolution?” I asked, half in jest, half in hope. Demonstrators protesting the murder...
Building a Better Biden
Now that Bernie Sanders has dropped out of the Democratic primary and endorsed Joe Biden, the...
Endless Sunday: Coronavirus and the End of Place
Every day is Sunday. The parking lot at the busiest commuter station in Mass Bay Transit...
Ecstasies of the Viral Apocalypse
“Just purchased 4 rolls of toilet paper, kinda feel like Indiana Jones.” My friend had just...
Bernie Sanders: The Jew Who Came to Dinner
Elizabeth Warren has faced entrenched sexism at every turn in her personal, professional, and...
Exploiting the Holocaust For Shits n’Giggles
The opening scene of Hunters, the new series from Amazon Prime starring Al Pacino and Logan Lerman...
Politics In a Dark Place
If the war between the supporters of Democratic Party candidates Elizabeth Warren and Bernie...
This Year Will Be Better… Right?
Do you remember when 2016 was “the worst year ever,” and we looked forward to the possibilities...
Confronting the Star Wars Myth
I had come to a multiplex in the Boston suburbs on Christmas morning expecting to enjoy a movie...
Navigating the Festival of Lights
“And now, Matthew will come up and tell us about Chanukah,” Miss Shultz said. “It’s the Jewish...
The Unbearable Surreality of Being Jewish in America
Wednesday, December 11 – or 13 Kislev in the Jewish calendar – felt unbearably surreal. I felt as...
Magical Thinking and the Conservative Mind
Candice Keller and Ron Hood had a moment in the media spotlight last week when they introduced...
Healthcare Choice: A Modest Proposal
Good sense seems to be breaking out all over in the race for the Democratic Party presidential...
Autumn Leaves
I feel closer to my father in early November than at any other time of the year. It was always...
American Militarism
The honor guard marched onto the field as patriotic music blared from the minor-league ballpark’s...
We Are Still Here
We woke on the morning of Yom Kippur to the news from Halle. I felt queasy, but not surprised. My...
Americans in Paris
Lies, Damn Lies, and BDS
If you spend enough time in the Jewish social media universe, you start to see the same questions...
Personal Sins and Private Failings: Reflections on Complicity
I have been remembering high school this week, in the wake of the revelations of Canadian Prime...
A Cheese Sandwich and Glass of Milk: Canada Goes to the Polls
And they’re off! The Canadian election began this morning at about 10:00, when Prime Minister...
The Myth of the 99 Percent
I. Zuccotti Park It started with a blinding light that flooded the encampment at Zuccotti Park at...
Santiago Calatrava’s Space of Alienation
The Oculus at World Trade Center in New York is a genuine, honest-to-god tourist attraction, at...
Mass Demonstrations in America: The Curious Ignorance of Scott Gilmore
O ye wha are sae guid yoursel', Sae pious and sae holy, Ye've nought to do but mark and tell Your...
The Death of Toni Morrison and the Decline of America
Toni Morrison has died. This is inexpressibly sad news, though perhaps not entirely unexpected....
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