Richard D. Zelin

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Dec 29, 2024, 4:24 PM

Is This What a Revitalized American Judaism Should Be?

The dramatic and disturbing rise in antisemitism in the United States (and elsewhere) sparked largely, although not exclusively, by Israel’s justified and defensible response to Hamas’s vicious and brutal attack on October 7 has counterintuitively led to greater Jewish...

Jun 18, 2024, 5:15 PM

A Time of Concern and Hope

This past April I had the privilege to participate in a solidarity mission to Israel with ten rabbis from around the United States, along with fourteen of their respective congregants under the aegis of the American Friends of Magen...

Mar 6, 2024, 2:45 PM

‘The Zone of Interest’ and antisemitism: What’s to be done?

Ironically, despite the recent dramatic and disturbing rise in antisemitism in the United States (and elsewhere), four of the contenders for Best Picture at this coming week’s 96th Academy Awards have either a Jewish connection or theme. One of the...

Jan 30, 2024, 5:35 PM

The US Presidential Election: Are We Going to Be Ok?

With Donald Trump now on his way to winning the Republican nomination, I decided to read Margaret Atwood’s critically acclaimed The Handmaiden’s Tale, a thought-provoking dystopian novel, to gain potential insights into what another Trump administration might be like...

Jan 3, 2024, 7:04 PM

A golem for these troubling times

Protest image: Pro-Palestinian activists gather during an anti-US and anti-Israel demonstration in front of the US Consulate in Johannesburg, on November 04, 2023. (MARCO LONGARI / AFP)/ Golem image (iStock/Tatevrika) / Montage by TOI

Rising antisemitism may or may not spur US Jews to realign politically. What is certain is the need to beef up protection

Mar 16, 2023, 9:47 PM

Israel-Diaspora Relations: What’s Next?

The Netanyahu government’s judicial reform and other controversial proposals have not only ignited fierce debate about the future of Israel’s democracy, but also have sparked great concern about the future of Israel-Diaspora relations, especially with American Jews. To gain a...

Dec 25, 2022, 4:03 PM

Antisemitism and Assimilation: The Twin Challenges of Our Time

Much ink has understandably been spilled lately about the rise of antisemitism in the United States. What got me thinking much more deeply about it is a relatively little known but powerful novel, The Oppermanns, which was recently reissued...

May 2, 2021, 6:20 PM

Reflections on the Pandemic a Year Later: From Mindfulness to Worry

Looking back on the pandemic over the last year, one significant thing has changed for me: my state of mind. Instead of feeling present in the moment and mindful, as I initially did months after the onset, and being...

Jul 20, 2020, 4:56 AM

Reflections on the Pandemic: Speeding up and Slowing Down

In this past week’s double portion, Mattot-Mas’ei, the Israelites are approaching the Promised Land but they are not quite there yet; they are still in the proverbial wilderness. Like our forbearers, we too are still in the wilderness as...

Jun 6, 2018, 8:51 PM

Reflections on March of the Living: An Unforgettable Journey

In April, along with 40 other congregants, my wife and I had the good fortune to travel to Poland and Israel on this year’s Adult March of the Living trip, which was led by Rabbi Vernon Kurtz, under the...

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About Me

Richard D. Zelin, Ph.D., is a frequent contributor to various Jewish publications. He serves in a senior level Jewish communal position in the Chicago area. The views expressed are his own.