Draw the Line

Where does history stop and the present begin? This is one of the more difficult questions that come up in any discussion of modern history, and it is certainly an issue here. So to address those issues of contemporary American Jewish life, Shaping Space, Making Meaning has included a section titled "Draw the Line," which is an interactive forum for contemporary issues.

This part of the exhibit poses six controversial questions about Jewish life in America today and asks visitors to share their thoughts. The questions are:
1. Should religious tradition be changed to fit contemporary American life?
2. Is intermarriage a significant threat to religious communities?
3. Are Jews white?
4. Is personal heritage more important than fitting into mainstream society?
5. Should the US always support Israel's policies?
6. Does anti-Semitism exist in the United States?

Visitors are given the opportunity to read a variety of opinion articles, reflect, and post their opinion and comments on the exhibition wall. The designers came up with a way to visually represent public opinions. There are three categories of response cards for visitors to choose from (Yes, No, and Um). Visitors pick cards, write comments if they wish, and hang them on the wall. The result? Every day we get a bar graph representing their thoughts.

While we're all big fans of the physical exhibition, this blog is about opening up the forum to a wider audience, to people who unfortunately can't stop by and give their opinion in person. So we thought that each week we'd take a look at how people are responding to a specific question, and share a couple of their thoughts. You can comment with your own opinion. There is no such thing as a right or wrong answer; indeed what makes this aspect of the exhibit interesting is the diversity of opinions. So please, tell us what you think!