Draw the Line: Should religion play a role in American Politics?

This week's question seems particularly appropriate during the current election season. With every pundit in town probing the issue, we thought it would be interesting to see what our visitors had to say about the issue. Here is a breakdown of their responses:



Of the 85 people to respond to the question at the museum since we posed it, approximately 79% selected "No"

Here are some thoughts from our visitors:

YES
"Americans are religious people. Religion should play a role in politics after all the 1st Amendment protects freedom of (sic.) religion not freedom from religion." -G. M., Natick, MA

"Yes- if your religion is important then it should be a controlling factor in every part of your life and having a national leader with a lifestyle that upholds religions freedoms and sets an example for others to follow." -Rebecca, Rockton, Il.

NO
"Separation of church and state is a very important part of American politics... it should stay that way." - Ahava, Dover, DE

"It informs your values but should not be used as a mallet on others." -Barbara, Belleville, IL

UM
"Yes and no. It should be mostly no." -Holly, Reading, MA

"Sometimes it should, sometimes it shouldn't." -Jeremy, New York City, NY

What do you have to say about the issue? Can you highlight a specific example from the current campaigns? Let's discuss!

Looking for more information? Try these articles, which have been selected for their diversity of opinions:
Religious, and Right
Good Faith
For 3 Candidates, a Test on Religion

Hello Fall!

While it may not feel like it (thanks Philly humidity!) it's that time of year again. Classes have restarted, Back-to-school sales have ended and,for those of us still in school, the question that automatically pops out whenever you run into anyone is,
"How was your summer vacation?"

Here at the Shaping Space, Making Meaning blog we too took a summer vacation. It was lovely and relaxing and all but boy, are we happy to be back!

For us, one of the most exciting things about returning to Philly after a two month hiatus was to see the progress on the new NMAJH building. Those of you who live in here can track the changes live every time you pass by the corner of Market and 5th but for the rest of you, we encourage you to check out our Flickr site, where we are following the construction.

Another exciting change that occurred over summer is that we have new questions for our Draw the Line feature! The current exhibition features the following six questions:

1. Should religion play a role in American politics?
2. Are Jews white?
3. Is intermarriage a significant threat to the religious community?
4. Are opportunities for advancement equally available to all ethnic and religious minorities?
5. Is Israel the homeland for all Jews?
6. Does anti-Semitism exist in the United States?

We hope these questions will provide some interesting food for thought and lots of lively discussion this fall. So sharpen your (metaphorical) pencils and let the semester begin!

Are Jews White? Voices from around the Blogosphere

I have to confess, I am obsessed with The Jew and the Carrot. My favorite procrastination method (well, now that finals are over, my favorite way of spending an upsettingly large portion of my day) is to hop on my Google Reader, hoping, praying, they have another witty post about contemporary Jewish issues explored through food.

"Great! Fascinating! I'll add it to my RSS Feed!" you must be thinking. "But what does it have to do with the current featured Draw-the-Line question?" Well, because last week it featured a guestpost by Hannah Lee, author of the blogA Cultural Mix.

Lee, according to her bio on The Jew and the Carrot, is a Philadelphia-area Chinese Orthodox Jew. And she is just one of many members of the blogosphere exploring the issue of Jewish identity and ethnicity, Her blog deals with the experience of being a Chinese-born American Jew.

Another interesting voice is Hochmah and Masur blogger Ehav Ever. Ever is an American-born Israeli of mixed descent; he identifies as Senegalese, Sephardic Jewish, French and Indian. On Sunday, he wrote an interesting post about his Blog Personality, which dealt with how he identifies himself, what Jewish identity means to him, and his thoughts on race. His perspective is very thought provoking. What are your thoughts on what he has to say?

Self-labeled Jewminicana writer Aliza Hausman offers yet another perspective. The freelance writer, blogger and speaker converted to Judaism. Recently she's touched on the RCA and Current Climate Surrounding Orthodox Conversion and her Reflections on JCC Talk on Jews of Color.

So check out these various Jewish voices; I hope you find them both interesting and thought-provoking. And let us hear your voices by commenting!

Draw the Line: Are Jews White?

In light of Thursday night's upcoming pannel and discussion even at NMAJH "Jewish Peoplehood in the 21st Century and Beyond," we thought it'd be a good time to look at the Draw the Line question, "Are Jews White?"

This issue has had some interesting results, with almost a third of the visitors squarely in the "Um" category. The question is perplexing indeed, because it does not just ask one to categorize Jews by superficial skin colors, but to, in some sense, define what Jewish identity is. Are Jews a distinct ethnic group? Is it a religion? Is it a culture?

Over 385 visitors who have responded to this issue. Here is what the results look like so far:

YES - 10%
NO - 62%
UM - 28%

Here are some thoughts from our visitors:

YES
"Sometimes they are and sometimes they aren't but they usually are." -Maddie, Minneapolis, MN

"I only See whit (sic.) Jews." - Frank, FL

NO
"Religion is not race. Jews come in many different shades!" Susan, Chelmsford

"In Hebrew school we even had a black Jew from Ethiopia come and talk to us about her jouney from Ethiopia to Israel. She was barely accepted in society. Before that, I would have said yes." -Adam, Syosset, NY

UM
"Sometimes no -- Ethiopia for instance -- usually yes. Does it matter except as it influences prejudice?" - Leslee, Chicago IL

"Why do we care? Color does not matter. Jews are Jews." -D. Minneapolis, MN

What are your thoughts? Please share them! And if you found this post interesting, and if you're near Philly, please come on Thursday! The event is sure to be an interesting and thought-provoking experience. It will be held at NMAJH at 6:00. There will be a discussion pannel, break out groups, and refreshments.

Looking for more information? Try these articles, which have been selected for their diversity of opinions:
Jewgenics
Growing up Latino and Jewish
Journey From a Chinese Orphanage to a Jewish Rite of Passage

What does it mean to be "Pro-Israel"?

Here is another Slate article by Shmuel Rosner which asks the question, What does it mean to be "Pro-Israel"? In light of the elections, Israel's 60th anniversary, and the founding of JStreet, this question seems particularly relavent and I think Rosner does a great job tying all the threads together.

Sunday's New York Times had an Op-Ed Piece by Jeffrey Goldberg entitled Israel's 'American Problem.' The piece takes an interesting look at how American Jewish leaders and American politicians deal with Israel. It is a nice compliment to the Rosner piece.

Draw the line: Should the U.S. always support Israel's policies?

This week we move from the realm of the home and family to an issue of national politics, Should the U.S. always support Israel's policies? This question addresses an issue that can be examined on many levels: state policy, the imperative to support other democracies, what it means for jews, and a host of other perspectives. Given the broadness of this question, I am sure your comments will be super interesting, so let's get a dialogue going! This has certainly been a contentious issue among our visitors.

Over 365 visitors who have responded to this issue. Here is what the results look like so far:





Here are some thoughts from our visitors:

YES
"Yes, we need to support our homeland. Not many other people can or will." -Anon.

"Israel is a symbol of freedom and wisdom. U.S. should support Israel if it supports freedom and equality in right [sic} for everyone." -Anton, St. Petersburg

NO
"What if they don't make sense? Of course nt. Each policy must be evaluated on its merits and then supported (or not) based on what is best for the world." -Anon.

"Israel is not the 51st state." - Alise, Philadelphia, PA

UM
"Sometimes Israel gets into a fight but most of the time its good and there's peace." -Eric, Parsippany, NJ

"I think that it matters if the U.S. is earning enough money. We can't always help epeople because we need to focus on our country too." -Sabrina, Monmouth Jct., NJ

What are your thoughts on the issue? Share your thoughts by commenting. Don't be shy! The whole point of this part of our exhibit is to begin a dialogue.

Looking for more information? Try these articles, which have been selected for their diversity of opinions:
New Coalition To Fight Any Jerusalem Division
New Jewish Lobby Seeks to REdefine Pro-Israel
Critics of Israel lobby gather
on Mearsheimer's home turf

Are you an intermarriage optimist or an intermarriage pessimist?

This interesting Slate article comes by way of the self-labeled "best Francophilic Zionism in the blogosphere," What would Phoebe Do. In light of this week's featured Draw The Line question, as well as the end of Passover, I thought this was a particularly relevant article.

Shuel Rosner discusses the topic that "the American Jewish community has been obsessed by," intermarriage with non-Jews. He distinguishes between "'intermarriage optimists' who think that the trend could help the Jewish community grow in numbers, and the 'intermarriage pessimists' who think that it will just lead to lowering the entry bar to Judaism, watering down the faith."

As this article highlights, this question is incredibly relevant to American Jews, especially around religious holidays when family's are confronted with family dinners and spiritual practices, the physical manifestation of their Judaism. This is particularly true at Passover, as Rosner notes, because, "Passover, more than any other Jewish holy day, is the one in which Jews celebrate not their religion but this strange concept of becoming a people."

Phoebe takes the intermarriage optimist route in her reaction piece, asking, "Isn't it far more plausible that intermarriage will de facto bring new members into the Jewish people than that it will bring about round-the-block lines for the mikvah (or in the gentile man's case, a more extreme initiation)?"

But the other camp, the so-called "intermarriage pessimists," have a plausible fear too -- that intermarriage results in fewer religiously active members of the Jewish community and a weaker understanding of Judaism as a whole.

This debate is highly provocative and I can't wait to hear your thoughts. I, myself, am an intermarriage optimist, but that is because I'm the product of an intermarriage between my Jewish mother and Chinese Poppi. I have pleasant memories of eating ginger carrot soup at Hannukah and looking at our Christmas tree lights with those cardboard glasses that turn all lights into Stars of Davids. That being said, I can totally see where the intermarriage pessimists are coming from -- out of the criteria listed in the Rosner article as a measure of faith, I fall squarely into the category of Hannukah-Passover Jews.