Dani Ishai Behan

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Sep 18, 2023, 10:39 PM

Why I (as an Indigenous MENA Minority) Dread Assassin’s Creed: Mirage

Image source: Pinterest

Assassin's Creed is a long-running action-adventure game franchise, developed primarily in Montreal by French publisher Ubisoft. Since its initial outing in 2007, the series has gone on to spawn more than 20 mainline installments and spinoffs, earning praise for...

Jul 23, 2023, 9:36 AM

Why Is Whitewashing Only OK When It Happens To Jews?

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Julius Robert Oppenheimer, otherwise known as J. Robert Oppenheimer, was a renowned theoretical physicist and “father” of the atomic bomb. Born in 1904 to a struggling family, Julius was a highly gifted student with an avid interest in chemistry,...

Mar 6, 2023, 9:36 AM

2030 US Census: Why Jews Deserve Their Own Box Under ‘Middle Eastern’

Source: Wikimedia Commons

After more than two decades of socio-political change (and pressure from the Arab-American community), the US Census Bureau appears to be well on its way to establishing a new Middle Eastern/North African category -- separate from the "White-American" category...

Feb 26, 2023, 4:19 AM

Ancient Israelite Cuisine: What Did It Look Like?

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Are Jews "appropriating" falafel? What about hummus? Or shawarma? Or other Levantine-Middle Eastern staples such as baklava and labneh? Do we have less of a right to claim these dishes than non-Jewish Levantine populations do? Because of our long exile...

Feb 24, 2023, 8:35 PM

On Gentile Privilege: A Checklist

Image source; Wikimedia Commons

This list, I feel, is long overdue. It is by no means exhaustive, but I've done my utmost to cover all relevant bases. I am certain that commenters/readers will fill in the rest. First, a few disclaimers. 1) Some of these items...

Feb 23, 2023, 6:15 AM

The Antisemitic Obscurantism of Commercial DNA Testing

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

At-home DNA testing has become increasingly commonplace over the past 20 years. To wit, anyone curious about their ancestral roots can purchase a kit online and have their results delivered to them within a month or less. For most...

Mar 14, 2022, 4:42 AM

On The Difference Between Diaspora History And Roots/Descent

Amidst the ongoing Russian occupation of Ukraine, many Jews with diaspora history in Ukraine have taken to social media to discuss their family "roots" there. Among these voices were celebrities such as Matisyahu and Mila Kunis, the latter of...

Feb 21, 2022, 2:15 PM

Can We Talk About Hollywood’s White-washing of Jews Now?

Jewish comedienne Sarah Silverman discussed the problem of casting non-Jewish actors in Jewish roles... and caught a lot of doo-doo for it!

Image source: Both images are from Wikimedia Creative Commons. I fused them together myself.

NOTE: This is Part 2 of my “Jewish Representation Matters” series. If you have not seen Part 1 or would like to revisit it, please click here. The first installment of this series covered the origins of Hollywood and the...

Feb 2, 2022, 7:48 AM

The Holocaust Absolutely Was About Race

On yesterday's episode of The View, co-host Whoopi Goldberg (who is not Jewish herself, despite the surname) caused an uproar with her comments opining that the Holocaust was "not about race", thereby invoking the popular (and demonstrably false) canard...

Oct 16, 2021, 7:00 AM

On The Theatrics Of Inversion: How Indigenous People Became ‘Settlers’

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Two days ago, activist JB Brager of the deceptively-named 'Jewish Voice for Peace' published an illustrated analysis of Zionism as an indigenous rights cause in Jewish Currents. Their picture book (a fitting medium, I suppose) is not so much an...

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About Me

Half-Irish/half-Jewish American activist, musician, and writer.