Manya Brachear Pashman, at The Blogs

Manya Brachear Pashman

Co-host, People of the Pod

Jan 28, 2022, 6:11 PM

Grappling with My Purpose After Colleyville

It’s been more than a week since four hostages were taken at a synagogue in Texas, just two hours from where I spent part of my childhood and adolescence. Hours after the news broke, my mother texted. “Are you watching?”...

Jul 27, 2021, 6:39 PM

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Ben and Jerry’s not-so-sweet surrender

Ben & Jerrys 'Pecan Resist' ice-cream launched October 2018. (Ben & Jerrys)

The ice cream company caved to the activists who embrace BDS because they oppose the settlements, but BDS wants more: to eliminate Israel

Jul 18, 2021, 4:24 PM

Who Am I To Teach a Course on Judaism?

As we observe Tisha B’av, the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, Jewish tradition calls on us to fast and reflect on the destruction of the Holy Temples in Jerusalem, but also the Holocaust, pogroms, terrorist attacks, and the...

Jul 9, 2021, 7:31 PM

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Max Solomon Lewis: May his memory be a revolution

Max Lewis, left, and Ilan Naibryf both served as leaders in the University of Chicago Jewish community. Lewis died after being hit by a stray bullet and Naibryf is missing in the building collapse in Surfside, Florida. (Courtesy of University of Chicago Chabad/ via JTA)

The college student joins scores of sons and daughters across the US killed by gun violence. When will it end?

Jul 8, 2021, 5:50 PM

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Elie Wiesel’s head is now in a cathedral. Should it be?

The installed bust of Elie Wiesel on the Human Rights Porch in the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. (Courtesy National Cathedral)

Given Christian complicity in the Holocaust, the bust's installation at the iconic church raised questions. That might just be the whole point.

May 17, 2021, 11:50 PM

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Do I tell my American child about violence in Israel?

Illustrative: Children like to make informed decisions. (iStock)

Kids don’t appreciate it when grown-ups try to shield them from the facts. They like to make informed decisions.

May 1, 2021, 9:47 AM

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What’s ‘Jewing down’? What’s a globalist?

Not everyone knows antisemitism when they hear it, especially the more banal terms. Luckily, there's a quiz for that.

Apr 19, 2021, 5:25 PM

A woman up against a wall

If the Western Wall is truly Judaism’s holiest site, all Jews should feel more welcome there.

Apr 9, 2021, 4:24 PM

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A legacy language

Visitors at the Yiddish Museum, at Tel Aviv's Central bus station on January 28, 2018. Photo by Miriam Alster/FLASH90

My Yiddish diction is a shanda. But what's more important than perfect pronunciation is that it never be silenced

Apr 2, 2021, 3:11 PM

Vaccine Passport Would Offer Ticket to Freedom and Yoga

Comparing programs like Israel’s Green Pass to Nazi Germany’s treatment of Jews is offensive false equivalence

About Me

Manya Brachear Pashman is co-host of People of the Pod, an American Jewish Committee podcast about global affairs through a Jewish lens. She covered religion for the Chicago Tribune between 2003 and 2018.

Contact Me