Monthly Archives: April 2009
Cheating is for Winners: Meet Shaindy.Com
When the Shaindy.com epidemic broke out, The Jew Spot had to get in on it. Lucky for us, founder of Shaindy not only gave us an interview, but VIP access. Little did we know we’d find ourselves in a website … Read More
See-Thru Credit Cards
Several years ago, an acquaintance stole my identity and opened several credit cards in my name. I learned of the theft only when she ceased to be able to pay even the minimum amount due, and I became the unhappy … Read More
Solitary Pleasures
The woman in the black &white photograph was leaning forward, smiling, as if offering to the camera, or the photographer, the whole of who she was, the whole of who she thought she was, or wanted you to think she … Read More
Palestinian “Happiness”
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been a focus of media coverage throughout the world for decades. Yet, despite (or perhaps because of) widespread media attention in America, Americans often view this conflict from a distance, isolated from the painful reality by … Read More
Climbing from the Gutter
When I was a kid, one of my favorite books was “Tintin in Tibet”, a rollicking tale of how the tufted one treks through the Himalayas in order to rescue his pal Chang, the sole survivor of a plane crash. … Read More
All Jewish, All the Time
Four years ago, when Coleman was born, I sometimes attended a mothers’ group in my neighborhood, an obscure corner of the Lower East Side tucked away beneath the Williamsburg Bridge. Like many new mothers in neighborhoods across the country, I … Read More
Tzedakah, Philanthropy, and Tax Breaks
The always-provocative Peter Singer has a fascinating column in this week’s Forward in which he argues that charitable giving that benefits the poor should be eligible for tax breaks, but that giving to philanthropies that do not work on poverty … Read More
A Religion of Loneliness
“My roots are cut off like stumps, and sometimes I feel the pain inside the wounds.” These are the words of Laish, the child-narrator of the novel by the same name, written by Aharon Appelfeld and newly translated by Aloma … Read More