This piece in Reform Judaism really touched me.
Unike my grandmother of blessed memory, who had to escape the Russian revolution and come to the states for the freedom to practice the rituals of her faith openly, I have not been openly physically punished for being Jewish. I certainly have been discriminated against for being Jewish. Read more on It Is OK To Be A Jew At Christmas…
Filed under Family, Government, News, politics, Religion, Religion and Politics by on Dec 29th, 2018. Comment. 
When I read the news on the internet that some folks were killed in some kind of what sounds like a Jewish oriented hate crime in the greater Kansas City area, I wasted no time. I immediately consulted my favorite British reporting. After all, US media has proven their biases and deficits in the reliability department, while the Daily Mail once again “done good” (as they say in Kansas).
I lived in Kansas for many years before I met and married my husband. I spent those years as a resident psychiatrist, as well as a member of the Conservative synagogue of Wichita, Kansas. I even taught a couple of classes at the Hebrew School.
I left before I met my husband, but it was for political reasons — the denial of ritual honors to women, and the threat of a major financier to pull funding if I took ritual honors a second time. Read more on When Are They Going To Stop Killing Jews?…
Filed under politics, Religion, Religion and Politics, Society by on Apr 14th, 2014. 1 Comment.
I heaved a sigh, realizing I was going to relive a scenario I had lived too many times. I would take too much time, I would be behind my schedule, but I was going to do this thing. I was going to figure out why he had gone off his medication. Frankly, I did not think anyone else could or would take the time, so I would do it.
He was a schizophrenic who had been without medication, maybe a month or so. He had come in wanting some because his misery was indescribable. He could barely speak and he had a downcast gaze, fixed at his toes and the floor. He sat stiffly in a chair. I slithered down on the floor, on my back, and tried to insinuate my eyes into his line of gaze. He screamed. “You are too strong. You are going to annihilate me.” I could only answer “sorry” and get back to my seat. He started saying a lot of things about the importance of being Christian and following Christianity. It did not matter what I knew or thought I knew about Christianity. It only mattered that I could fit into whatever he thought Christianity was, right or wrong. I could make little sense of his thoughts. I have a standard way of dealing with this.
“Look,” I said, “I am not Christian and I am not going to pretend to be Christian.” I am a Jewish lady psychiatrist, I am fully qualified and licensed in the state of California. I am also a full blooded descendant of the House of David. If you think that the God you believe in is able to work through me, then I am going to help you the best I can. If you do not believe that God can work through me, and you want a Christian doctor or some other doctor, we will try to figure out what you need and get you to the right person.”
Read more on Neglect Based On Religious Belief…
Filed under Religion by on Jun 1st, 2010. Comment.