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The 'Not So Nice' Passover Haggadah

Video: The 'Not So Nice' Passover Haggadah

May 17, 2021

Fifty years after Prime Minister Golda Meir referred to the Israeli Black Panthers as "not so nice," a new generation of Mizrahi Panthers republish the Passover Haggadah the early generation wrote to express their struggle, connect their marginalization to other struggles in Palestine/Israel and globally, and name the contemporary Pharaohs.

On April 1, 2021, a panel of scholars and activists asked, "How is this Haggadah different from others? What has changed? What has not changed? How to carry into the future the emancipatory narrative of the Passover story and connect it to multiple sites of struggles?"... Read more about Video: The 'Not So Nice' Passover Haggadah

jerusalem declaration on antisemitism logo

Video: The Politics of Defining: A Roundtable Discussion about the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism

May 17, 2021

An alternative to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), the recent Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism (JDA) endorsed by scholars of antisemitism, Jewish Studies, Holocaust Studies, and Middle East Studies challenges the politicization and litigation of antisemetism by rearticulating what is and is not antisemitism.

This panel featured some of the key framers of this alternative declaration as well as other interlocutors who navigate the legal, political, and cultural terrains consolidated by IHRA and similar discourses. The panelists reflected on its strengths and weaknesses, illuminating pathways for productive reassessment. For more information on the Declaration, please visit www.jerusalemdeclaration.org.... Read more about Video: The Politics of Defining: A Roundtable Discussion about the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism

Beyond the Coup in Myanmar: Don't Ignore the Religious Dimensions by Susan Hayward, RPL Fellow

Beyond the Coup in Myanmar: Don't Ignore the Religious Dimensions by Susan Hayward, RPL Fellow

May 10, 2021

The 2007 democratic uprising in Myanmar looked a lot different from the current anti-coup resistance. Sparked by a rise in fuel prices that created further economic burden on an already struggling population, thousands of Buddhist monks and nuns across the country took to the streets in defiance of the military. In a country in which religious actors, institutions, practices, and ideas are deeply influential, the so-called Saffron Revolution, the most recent mass mobilization prior to the current one, had seismic consequences–contributing to the military’s decision to shift to quasi-democratic rule the following year.

lauren kerby

Lauren Kerby Leaving HDS

May 6, 2021

Dr. Lauren R. Kerby, the RPL’s religious literacy specialist, will be leaving HDS in early May. In her five years at HDS, including three years in her full-time role, Lauren has played a key role in the design and implementation of the Religious Literacy and Education Initiative, and more broadly within our work across professions. She has also served as a lecturer at HDS and has mentored numerous students seeking to engage the complex role of religion in public life.... Read more about Lauren Kerby Leaving HDS