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May 23, 2011, 9:00 pm

What’s Up With the Jews?

By STANLEY FISH

Stanley FishStanley Fish on education, law and society.

It’s been an interesting week or two for Jews. Mel Gibson’s new film, “The Beaver,” opens nationwide in theaters and Jews must decide whether to pay good money to see a movie starring someone whose father is a Holocaust denier, and who has himself vilified Jews in public. In Cannes, the Danish movie director Lars von Trier rambles on at a press conference about sympathizing with Hitler, being annoyed with Israel and admiring Hitler’s architect, Albert Speer. Next day he recants, but it’s too late; he’s declared persona non grata at the film festival.

Then there is Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a French economist and politician who was poised to become France’s first Jewish president, imprisoned at Rikers Island after being accused of forcing sex on a chambermaid at a New York hotel. (Strauss-Kahn has now moved to a very constrained “house arrest” while awaiting arraignment, if he can find a house.) Meanwhile, on May 11 this newspaper publishes the results of a Pew Forum study that shows 67 percent of Reform Jewish households in the United States making more than $75,000 a year; only 31 percent of all households hit the same mark.
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Inside Opinionator

May 29, 2011
Of Monsters, Men — And Topic Modeling

How data-mining technologies help us better understand Confederate propaganda.

May 26, 2011
Queen Bee of the Confederacy

Mary Chesnut’s remarkable diaries continue to shed light on the South, women and the Civil War.

More From Disunion »

May 29, 2011
Are There Natural Human Rights?

The way we think about the turmoil in the Middle East and elsewhere is shaped by how we understand human rights.

May 22, 2011
The Flight of Curiosity

Why historians of philosophy must resist the contemporary demand for relevance.

More From The Stone »

May 29, 2011
The Trouble With E-Mail

Time to ditch the Web in favor of ‘LDL.’

May 22, 2011
Making a Hashtag of It

Twitter 2011 is a wiki-wit machine specializing in one-liners in the spirit of Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock and Wanda Sykes.

More From Virginia Heffernan »

May 27, 2011
French Press

Why can’t the French and the Americans just get along?

May 20, 2011
No Disrespect

Was President Obama’s statement on the need for a Palestinian state a provocation or a bold challenge?

More From The Thread »

May 26, 2011
Twister’s Tale

A season of violent weather and, one would hope, a return to common sense.

May 16, 2011
The Need for Greed

In the Republican budget plan proposed by Representative Paul Ryan, it’s the I’ve Got Mines vs. The Left Behinds.

More From Timothy Egan »

May 26, 2011
The Path From Charity to Profit

Social businesses require a delicate balance of the humanitarian and the financial to succeed.

May 23, 2011
In ‘Food Deserts,’ Oases of Nutrition

A charity turns to a for-profit model in Jakarta to make healthy street food available to poor children.

More From Fixes »

May 25, 2011
Prague 1970: Music in Spring

The education of a young composer in a time of revolution.

May 18, 2011
Until the Next Revolution

Can composers embrace politics in their work without music taking a back seat to message?

More From The Score »

May 25, 2011
Does It All Come Down to Medicare?

In the 2012 presidential election, the Democrats will try to address the fiscal problems without touching the elderly or the middle class, while the Republicans will focus on tax revenue. No matter how you slice the issue, it’s voodoo policy.

May 18, 2011
Sex and the Politician

Is it really true that voters will overlook almost anything if they think the sinning political figures will carry out the policies they support?

More From The Conversation »

May 23, 2011
What’s Up With the Jews?

Recent events have proven that historical attitudes about Jews, especially negative ones, continue to flourish.

May 16, 2011
Sex, the Koch Brothers and Academic Freedom

When academic freedom is an issue, and when it isn’t.

More From Stanley Fish »

May 20, 2011
The First Shall Be Last — Or, Anyway, Second

Postponing a talk-show debut was only one of the indignities foisted upon the author by network censors.

May 6, 2011
The Week That Was

The assault on Bin Laden’s compound, and the reaction to it.

More From Dick Cavett »

May 18, 2011
Justice in Dreamland

A decision this week makes it worth wondering what planet the Supreme Court justices have been living on when it comes to encounters between the police and the rest of us.

May 4, 2011
Recuse Me

The faulty logic behind efforts to disqualify the judge who ruled that California’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

More From Linda Greenhouse »

May 17, 2011
Imagining Detroit

Can a city come back with the help of markets, gardens and farms?

May 10, 2011
The Future of Cafeteria Food

Cafeteria food still isn’t great, but — don’t drop your tray — it’s really getting much better.

More From Mark Bittman »

May 11, 2011
Don’t Let Go of the Anger

If Wall Street is not going to be held more accountable, we need to know why.

April 27, 2011
Why Is Enough Never Enough?

The Raj Rajaratnam trial and other recent cases raise questions about money, motivation and risk.

More From William D. Cohan »

May 6, 2011
Suburbia: What a Concept

A design project descends on Levittown.

March 27, 2011
The Future of Manufacturing Is Local

In San Francisco and New York, manufacturing industries are showing signs of life, thanks to a new approach.

More From Allison Arieff »

May 6, 2011
Suburbia: What a Concept

A design project descends on Levittown.

March 27, 2011
The Future of Manufacturing Is Local

In San Francisco and New York, manufacturing industries are showing signs of life, thanks to a new approach.

More From Allison Arieff »

Opinionator Highlights

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Are There Natural Human Rights?
By MICHAEL BOYLAN

The way we think about the turmoil in the Middle East and elsewhere is shaped by how we understand human rights.

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The Path From Charity to Profit
By TINA ROSENBERG

Social businesses require a delicate balance of the humanitarian and the financial to succeed.

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Until the Next Revolution
By DAVID T. LITTLE

Can composers embrace politics in their work without music taking a back seat to message?

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To Survive Famine, Will Work for Insurance
By TINA ROSENBERG

In Ethiopia, Oxfam and others are helping farmers prepare for drought and famine before the disasters strike.

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A Pitch for New Music
By DAVID LANG

Baseball fans revel in the past and the present at the same time. Why don’t classical music fans do the same?

Previous Series

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Line by Line

A series on the basics of drawing, presented by the artist and author James McMullan, beginning with line, perspective, proportion and structure.

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The Elements of Math

A series on math, from the basic to the baffling, by Steven Strogatz. Beginning with why numbers are helpful and finishing with the mysteries of infinity.

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Living Rooms

The past, present and future of domestic life, with contributions from artists, journalists, design experts and historians.

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Specimens

This series by Richard Conniff looks at how species discovery has transformed our lives.