Phyllis Chesler's Blog, page 17

British Officials Uncover Hundreds of New Cases of Female Genital Mutilation in the UK

The British National Health Service-- in a first-of-its-kind, just released study-- has documented 467 "newly identified cases" of girls and women who had been genitally mutilated. Half live in London. Previously, 1, 279 such girls and women were known

New York Artists' Niqab Hashtag Campaign Ignores Garment's Long History of Oppression

Two Upper West side artists think New York women should try wearing face masks, also known as "niqab." Their names are Saks Afridi and Quinza Najm. They are calling upon women to don black face masks and take a "selfie." The political art project began

Op-Ed: Body and Soul: The State of the Jewish Nation

Gloria Z. Greenfield's third film, Body and Soul: The State of the Jewish Nation, is a cinematic and educational triumph. In only 65 minutes, the viewer comes to understand who the Jews are to the land of Israel and what the land of Israel is to the

The Mid-Manhattan Library Last Night

The traffic down Fifth Avenue was massive, the suicide artists on bikes darted, amazingly, suddenly, right into the path of oncoming cars and then neatly swirled away. We kept calling ahead to the librarians to inform them of my progress--so that they

EXCLUSIVE Interview: Koranic Scholar - The Judeo-Christian Sources of the Koran

He is a man who rarely reads a book of less than 600 pages and who has easily written books of that length. Engage him in conversation and he will talk about the footnotes in a particular book—and the footnotes which should have been there but which

This Show Must Not Go On: Protest Rally at the Met

I am an avid opera-goer and opera-lover and it pains me beyond measure to have to approach the Metropolitan Opera, not with tickets in hand, but to participate in a protest against the choice of a particular opera, namely, "The Death of Klinghoffer."

Anti-Terror Muslims Rally in Toronto Against Radical Islam

On September 21, 2014, Muslims Facing Tomorrow held a public rally in Queen's Park, Toronto, on the steps of the Legislature, "in Support for minority Christians and other religious communities in the Middle East and the Muslim World." Approximately 125

A Rosh Hashana Greeting To My People

I cannot think of a better way to wish you all Shana Tova than to share with you some of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks' words. He has been on a lecture tour in New York City. One knows when one has been in the company of a great soul when one feels elevated,

Klinghoffer: The Beatification of Terrorism

New York Jewish and anti-Jihadi activists are planning what they hope will be a massive demonstration outside of the Metropolitan Opera on September 22, 2014, at 4:30pm, when "The Death of Klinghoffer," composed by John Adams with a libretto by Alice

New York's Annual Muslim Day Parade Targets Israel, Egyptian President

NEW YORK, New York-- New York City hosted the 29th annual Muslim Day Parade on Sunday, with the theme "Islam and America Share Common Values." Despite the slogan, the event featured anti-Israeli "occupation" protesters, aggressively anti-Israel