Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel » Josefin Dolsten

The violent rhetoric of Israel Apartheid Week

Josefin Dolsten — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 02:24:37 +0000

Two weeks ago the Pro-Palestine group at Cornell organized Israel Apartheid week. This is an event that happens at college campuses all over the US, and I can’t speak for what happens at other colleges, but the way the week was advertised and executed at Cornell spoke to the larger issue with campus pro-Palestine advocacy: [...]

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Hypocrisy at the Kotel

Josefin Dolsten — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 01:56:52 +0000

A couple of days ago, Jewish women were detained and arrested for praying openly. This did not happen in Iran or Egypt, but in Israel. The women were arrested because others were offended as they raised their voices in ancient Jewish prayers. They were arrested because they wore religious garbs that some believe should only [...]

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No more hummus for Palestinian activists

Josefin Dolsten — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 02:08:21 +0000

Some gems I learned today at an event by Cornell’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter: No matter how delicious it is, Palestinian activists must boycott Sabra hummus. There is no anti-Semitism in Gaza, and Jews have been living there safely for decades. Israel’s founders were not Holocaust survivors, but rather part of a “Jewish [...]

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The only Jew in the school

Josefin Dolsten — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 06:58:57 +0000

I previously wrote about my experience at college, where I found myself deeply involved in the Jewish community rather than in a more diverse one. The more I think about my response to becoming involved in this community in college, the more see it as a contrast to my upbringing. I grew up in a town [...]

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To remain Jewish, segregate?

Josefin Dolsten — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 05:25:27 +0000

Diversity is one of those buzzwords colleges love to brag about in brochures and on tours. So I was pretty excited about attending Cornell University, which I had been told was “the most diverse Ivy League college.” As a high school senior, I dreamed about the time when group of friends would resemble the characters [...]

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Yom Kippur, college-style

Josefin Dolsten — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 20:49:06 +0000

Jewish Holidays at college never happen quite the way you expect them to. You are supposed to pray with people you have never prayed with before, and who are all expecting different styles of service. At my college, classes are not even canceled for Yom Kippur, so students have to make the choice between attending [...]

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Why don’t I look Jewish to you?

Josefin Dolsten — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 02:55:27 +0000

I get told a lot that I “don’t look Jewish.” At first when people would tell me this, I would laugh it off, wondering why anyone would say such a thing. But the more it happened, the more it started to bother me. If I don’t look Jewish, then who does? Once I asked a [...]

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Obama’s ‘sweet nothings’

Josefin Dolsten — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 03:04:03 +0000

Yesterday in The New York Times, Israeli-American Haim Saban wrote that he will be voting for Obama in the upcoming election not in spite of, but because he is a strong supporter of Israel. He concluded his article by writing, “I’ll take another four years of Mr. Obama’s steadfast support over Mr. Romney’s sweet nothings.” [...]

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The next step after banning circumcision

Josefin Dolsten — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 01:13:02 +0000

An argument that has often been cited as a justification for the banning of circumcision in Europe is that parents must not impose their own religious beliefs in a manner that it may hurt their children. To be helpful to European lawmakers I am proposing some laws that could help European countries further prevent the [...]

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A moment of silence for the Sikhs

Josefin Dolsten — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 15:12:44 +0000

Forty years ago, 11 Jewish athletes were murdered because of their religion. This past couple of weeks, I followed with horror and disgust as the International Olympic Committee denied a request to honor these athletes. The decision was fuel for plenty of anger in Jewish circles. Anti-Semites, Nazis, stupid Brits, were terms I heard thrown [...]

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Can religious Judaism and egalitarianism coexist?

Josefin Dolsten — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 20:46:25 +0000

It is quite a paradox that the same movement that turned me away from religious Judaism is now slowly reeling me back in. Let’s start from the beginning. I grew up in a town where the only synagogue was Orthodox. While my family only attended services occasionally, there was always the discomfort of my mom [...]

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Jerusalem of Gold, Jerusalem of Stone

Josefin Dolsten — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 15:45:57 +0000

Jerusalem is a city that evokes a different image in everyone’s mind. The Peruvian cabdriver on the way to the airport said he had always dreamed of going there, as had his entire village, but it was too expensive. For him and his family Jerusalem was the Holy City that they would see in their dreams, [...]

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When to wear your Star of David

Josefin Dolsten — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 21:59:39 +0000

The ritual was familiar. As we boarded an airplane, we would take off our Stars of David. It was just a thing people did; I don’t think it was unique to my family. My parents were only being rational. They had seen Leon Klinghoffer being thrown off a boat by PLO terrorists and Jewish passengers [...]

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The failure of interfaith relations

Josefin Dolsten — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 21:00:25 +0000

Last week I was sitting in the painting class I am taking in New York City when a girl stumbled in, looking confused. Having been new to the class the day before, I figured I would help her out. We started talking and she seemed nice enough. Then she said she came from Kuwait. Nervously, [...]

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Is Orthodoxy the future for American Jews?

Josefin Dolsten — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 15:15:05 +0000

The New York Celebrate Israel Parade was easy to spot. With Israeli flags blowing in the wind and an excess of Jewfros, I couldn’t have missed it. As I got closer to the meeting spot, I found myself surrounded by kippa-wearing guys and girls with knee-length denim skirts. The crowd appeared to be very Modern [...]

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