Phyllis Chesler's Blog, page 31

The Price of Justice for a Raped Pakistani Girl

The American government has just gone into the anti-honor-killing "business." Given my extensive academic and legal work documenting and opposing honor killing, I support this venture. I do find it a bit odd that the U.S. Consulate in East Jerusalem has

"I Sleep in Hitler's Room" - A Wakeup Call

Tuvia Tenenborn has German youth lining up to buy his book on Germany today. It is about an incurable disease. But he can't find a publisher in the land of the free and the home of the brave. I first met Tuvia Tenenbom, the author of the provocatively

Taking the Fifth

Lois Lerner, the Director of the IRS Unit responsible for ruling on applications for tax-exempt status has refused to testify. She is taking the Fifth. There is an eerie resonance in America and especially in Hollywood, when someone "takes the fifth." It

The crisis of individualism

Suddenly, the price of speaking one's mind has gotten very high. You may agree on every issue save one; dare to share your independent or dissident view—and you might shut down the conversation or lose all your friends. Since this kind of censorship

Is World War Needed to Protect Our Children?

Every time a news story breaks about a woman imprisoned as a sex slave (for example the Cleveland Three) people are, appropriately, shocked and horrified. What is even more shocking is the fact that such crimes are committed every single day in every

What's New about the New Anti-Semitism?

Professor George Jochnowitz, a gentleman and a scholar, (he is a linguist), has just republished his review of my 2003 book The New Anti-Semitism. The Coming Crisis and What We Must Do About It. I wrote this book in 2001-2002, and published it almost

The Reluctantly Racist Filmmaker

Films wield great power over people; cinematic images are forever burned into memory and imagination – even if the memories implanted are false, not based on true facts – but on a sophisticated and biased manipulation of reality. I have just watched

For Ruth. A Tribute

Is it possible that certain people are really angels who quietly but directly intervene in the lives of thousands of people? I am talking about my dear friend, Ruth Bergman Jody, whose Memorial at the Ethical Culture Society I just attended. I knew Ruth

Sharansky's Non-Solution For Women Worshippers

I do not understand what motivates sensible, even heroic, people to claim what is clearly a defeat as a victory. I am talking about the Women of the Wall struggle for equality for women at Jerusalem's Western Wall (Kotel) which has recently spawned

Women of the Wall: The Struggle Continues

Nearly 25 years ago, I was blessed with the privilege of being part of the first-ever woman's prayer service at the Western Wall (the Kotel). We prayed out loud, with a Torah; many women were religiously learned, some were rabbis, many wore their prayer