Center for Theology and Social Analysis--Weblog

Why Go to Palestine/8

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 02:27:28 GMT

I�m going because in a dream Rachel Corrie whispered in my ear and said, �Come, follow me.� I�m going to behold the dignity of Umm Mahmoud. I�m going to experience the varieties and vagaries of insomnia in Rafah. *** When I am with Palestinian friends I tend to be somewhat less horrified than when I am trying to act in a role of human rights observer, documenter, or direct-action resister. They are a good example of how to be in it for the long...

Power versus Conscience

Wed, 30 May 2007 00:14:50 GMT

I�ve been reading Ali Abunimah�s book, One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse. He quotes an Israeli Arnon Soffer who in 2004 bluntly stated in an interview: �We will tell the Palestinians that if a single missile is fired over the fence, we will fire ten in response�.when 2.5 million people live in a closed-off Gaza, it�s going to be a human catastrophe. Those people will become even bigger animals than they are today, with the aid of an...

"Something Is Building Inside of Me"

Thu, 05 Apr 2007 03:13:18 GMT

One of the reasons I do the student profile at the beginning of Social Justice class is so I can get some clues, hints, and guesses about the people I am going to be learning with for 16 weeks. Sometimes, it�s illuminating to me to learn what a particular student reads, which musical artists she likes, or how he defines his religion or ethnicity. So I was a little intrigued in late August of last year when I saw that I had one Tina Azzam in class. I�d had her brother, Mark, in my class...

Magan Wiles, Outrider

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 12:18:18 GMT

This week at Saint Louis University, it was Palestine Awareness Week, thanks to the creative and tireless labors of SLU Solidarity with Palestine. This evening was the first performance of Magan Wiles� a beautiful resistance: confessions of a human rights hoosier in palestine. Joined by Sara Wall, Magan used photos, recitation, music, chant, anecdote, and dialogue to tell of her three months last year in Palestine. I hope she does it again, but in all likelihood, the...

Hoping On

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 03:50:03 GMT

I'm one of the fortunate ones who receive a weekly "Sunday Letter" from Edna Pauly. Edna's weekly communications come through sleet, rain, or snow, and she doesn't lay expectations on me about responding. In fact, during 2006 I realized that I looked forward to Edna's letters, but almost never mentioned this to her and never took the bait when she asked for reader response. But in weeks that were bad for me, it was a shelter in the storm to know that Edna's unconditional love...

Calling Power to Account

Tue, 23 Jan 2007 01:46:13 GMT

Some years back, I met a wonderful woman in Waco, Texas: Keren Batiyov. At the time, she was one of the few people I'vdmet who had actually read my book on Elie Wiesel, and she offered an appreciative response. A faithful Jew, she worked with ISM in the fall of 2004 and plans on returning this summer. She recently sent this apt letter to the editor of the Washington Post... Dear Editor: Deborah Lipstadt's op-ed piece villifying former President Jimmy Carter and his new...

Angry

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 03:22:13 GMT
Kristen shared the following message to her 9:30 am Social Justice class at Saint Louis University this past December. For some reason, today has been a really difficult day. I just feel so disillusioned right now with my country, with the world, with my part in this world. I�m just so angry right now. I�m angry that it�s election day and I live in a country that�s so freaking fucked up that all we care about is being the best and stepping all over whoever is in the way in...

Sayings of the Fathers

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 05:24:15 GMT
Recently, I've been studying the classic work of Judaism, Sayings of the Fathers, in a 1945 translation by Rabbi Joseph Hertz. The work includes some of the great epigrammatic wisdom from the early period of the Common Era. Here�s how one scholar, Gorfinkle, described it ��By this excellent practice, a whole body of moral dicta�each one summing up with remarkable conciseness a life�s experience and philosophy, each one breathing the spirit of piety, saintliness, justice...

Just Like Me and Megan

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 04:47:20 GMT
Tonight, Megan Heeney and I spoke on Social Justice with 115 SLU students who are Resident Advisors in the various dorms. Were were invited by the ever vivacious Mollie Mohan to join the students this evening as part of the Res Life�s Winter Workshop, the theme of which is �Making a Difference�Every Day!!� It was a pleasure to chat with former students like John Carroll, Samantha Howard, Megan Kinney, Nani Makia, Kelly Hartman, and Sara Bronder. Megan H spoke for the second time in her...

Letter to Social Justice Class

Sun, 07 Jan 2007 04:54:18 GMT
It�s obvious: the great blessing for teachers is to meet students who give the class their all. One of these is Patti Silverman, who graced my Tuesday-Thursday 11 am Social Justice class in fall 2006. For her insertion, she worked at Karen House on Fridays. At the end of the semester, I invited students to share a message with their classmates. Here�s what Patti had to say� Tomorrow is the last day of Social Justice class and I am almost at a loss for words. How do I even begin to...