For Eddie: I Am Keeping My Promise
Twenty-two years ago, I made a promise that has shaped my life and my work ever since. My beloved partner Eddie, a talented musician, was dying of AIDS.
Read MoreGender and Justice in the Torah and Around the World
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Meena Seshu Discusses India, Sex Work and Human Rights
American Jewish World Service (AJWS) recently hosted Meena Seshu for a visit to our headquarters in New York City. Meena is the secretary general of SANGRAM, an AJWS grantee in India that educates and empowers sex workers to overcome their most challenging health and human rights issues. While she was here, Meena stopped by The …
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Supreme Court Ruling on “Anti-Prostitution Pledge” is a Victory for Public Health and Human Rights
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled on the side of human rights. In a six to two ruling, the Court struck down a federal provision that required organizations receiving government funding to pledge that they had adopted a policy “opposing prostitution.” Commonly known as the “anti-prostitution pledge,” this provision contravened best practices in public health, …
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With Hillary gone, will State Department still prioritize women?
Originally published by Salon. It’s no secret that when former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton famously declared in 1995 that “women’s rights are human rights,” she cemented her status as a champion for women and girls around the world. And as secretary of state, Clinton made gender equality and women’s empowerment a pillar of American diplomacy. The question now is whether the departure of the …
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We Need More Than Meds To End AIDS
When I was a member of the New York City Council in the 1980s, I changed my vote on an issue only one time. It was during the debate over whether the city should fund needle exchange programs for drug users. My first instinct was that we should not be enabling drug addicts to abuse …
Read MoreDvar Tzedek
Tazria-Metzora
In this week’s double portion of Tazria-Metzora we read of the purification ritual for the metzora, the unfortunate person struck with tzara’at—a preternatural skin disease that resulted in a status of ritual uncleanliness and temporary banishment from Israel’s encampment. The surprising intimacy of the purification ritual underscores the importance of restoring dignity and community to …
Read MoreRe’eh
“When your brother, Hebrew man or woman, is sold to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year you shall set him free.”[1] It disappoints me every year. Approaching the edge of the Promised Land in Parshat Re’eh, Moses outlines the possibilities and responsibilities for impending self-rule and national freedom. Inside …
Read MoreBeha’alotcha
“I don’t understand why I keep making the same mistakes,” a patient of mine recently told me. He had called for a chaplain in the middle of the night because he felt overwhelmed by remorse. “I have been hospitalized five times now. I’ve lost my girlfriend, my friends, my law practice, all because of drinking… …
Read MoreBeshalach
For most of the past 3,000 years, civilization was shaped by smallpox. The disease decimated entire populations, destroyed cultures, swept across continents and altered the course of human history. Smallpox killed five reigning European monarchs in the 18th century alone. For people born in previous centuries, the disease was a fact of nature, a part …
Read MoreVayetze
Jacob dreamed of a ladder filled with clambering angels. For 2,000 years, Jewish commentators have examined every detail of this dream and found within it a series of multi-faceted metaphors for the grand narrative of history.[1] But it is the moment when Jacob wakes to an ordinary day in a bleak desert that I find …
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