By Symi Rom-Rymer "No other country in the world, in its official curriculum, would treat the fact of its founding as a catastrophe," categorically stated Education Minister Gideon Saar in response to a recent controversy over an unapproved Israeli textbook. The textbook in question is a history...
By Symi Rom-Rymer Lord’s Gym, Austin, Texas: Thwack. Sssssss. Clang, clang, clang. Slapslapslapslap. In a small, white shingled building hidden behind a Goodwill store, posters of famous fights and fighters frozen in position overlap on the walls. Worn boxing rings and masking tape-encased punching bags reign supreme. In this atmosphere of muscles...
By Symi Rom-Rymer When I think about sukkahs—which I admit is not that often—it is rarely in architectural or even creative terms. As a child, around late fall, they would just appear, typically made out of unbleached wood and long branches, in someone’s backyard or on...
By Symi Rom-Rymer In an East German archive, three reels of silent film lay untouched and forgotten amid the chaos of World War II and its Communist aftermath. 40 years later, on an American airbase, a British film historian came across these reels simply titled, "Das...
By Symi Rom-Rymer In a recent posting on the Washington Post's OnFaith blog, a Rabbi and law professor recount their experience on a joint US Jewish-Muslim trip to the concentration camps of Germany and Poland. According to the authors’ account, “the Muslim leaders were visibly shaken...
By Symi Rom-Rymer I think Thomas Friedman can read my mind. Just as I sat down to write this blog post, I came across a new op-ed of his that addressed my very topic. (Hat tip to Mr. Friedman) In his op-ed, Friedman takes on recent efforts...
By Symi Rom-Rymer I’ve never really thought about how expensive it is to be Jewish. I’m not talking about the cost of being culturally Jewish, but rather about the financial burden one must assume to be at least a semi-observant, synagogue-belonging Jew. One reason is because...
By Symi Rom-Rymer [vodpod id=ExternalVideo.957331&w=425&h=350&fv=embedReferer%3D%26embedPageUrl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.bbc.co.uk%252Fnews%252F10271705%26widgetRevision%3D20677_21220%26legacyPlayerRevision%3D20573_21118%26config_settings_language%3Ddefault%26config_settings_skin%3Dsilver%26companionSize%3D300x60%26companionType%3Dadi%26preroll%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fad.doubleclick.net%252Fpfadx%252Fbbccom.live.site.news%252Fnews_europe_content%253Bslot%253Dcompanion%253Bsz%253D512x288%253Bsectn%253Dnews%253Bctype%253Dcontent%253Bnews%253Deurope%253Badsense_middle%253Dadsense_middle%253Badsense_mpu%253Dadsense_mpu%253Breferrer%253Dnonbbc%253Breferrer_domain%253D%253Brsi%253DJ08781_10055%253Brsi%253DJ08781_10083%253Brsi%253DJ08781_10126%253Brsi%253DJ08781_10139%253Brsi%253DJ08781_10153%253Brsi%253DJ08781_10170%253Brsi%253DJ08781_10189%253Brsi%253DJ08781_10191%253Bheadline%253Dcaringforpoland%252527sjewishgraves%253Btile%253D3%26config%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fnews.bbc.co.uk%252Fplayer%252Femp%252Fconfig%252Fdefault.xml%253F2_26_20959_21121_1_20100621093512%26domId%3Demp-10271705-5481%26playlist%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fplaylists.bbc.co.uk%252Fnews%252F10271705%252B%252Fplaylist.sxml%26size%3DFull%26holdingImage%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fnews.bbcimg.co.uk%252Fmedia%252Fimages%252F48026000%252Fjpg%252F_48026789_jex_716990_de34-1.jpg%26config_settings_autoPlay%3Dtrue%26config_settings_showPopoutButton%3Dfalse%26config_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_pageType%3Deav1%26config_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_edition%3DUS%26fmtjDocURI%3D%252Fnews%252F10271705%26companionId%3Dbbccom_companion_10271705%26config_settings_showShareButton%3Dtrue%26config_settings_showUpdatedInFooter%3Dtrue] BBC News - Poland asks prisoners to care for Je...
By Symi Rom-Rymer When Helen Thomas declared recently that Jews have no place in Israel and should go home to Germany and Poland, she unleashed a current of outrage within the American Jewish community. How dare she suggest, they wondered, that Jews should return to the...
By Symi Rom-Rymer Can you put a price on living in a Jewish community? Larry Blumberg of Dothan, Alabama hopes you can. Blumberg, a local businessman, is offering $50,000 to any Jewish family willing to settle in Dothan and grow the local community. Like the Jewish...