A Catholic Wanders among Brooklyn’s Hipsters and Ḥasidim

Feb. 23 2016

Wandering through a trendy cheese shop in a hip neighborhood of Brooklyn, Matthew Schmitz—a Catholic native of Nebraska—found himself suddenly put off by the studied anti-Catholic crassness of an advertisement and longing for the authenticity and traditionalism of a nearby ḥasidic enclave. But a conversation with a perceptive rabbi and further reflection revealed the perils of his sudden romanticization of his neighbors. He concludes:

Because I live so much of my life in the endlessly sampling Brooklyn that is now ubiquitous, I feel all the more strongly the appeal of a Brooklyn that offers thick tradition rather than a catalogue of aesthetic options. . . .

[However], starry-eyed longing for a binding community can become yet another way of surrendering to this world. Rather than living and working where we are, we dream of where else we might be. A vision of pristine community becomes yet another “option” in the endless parade of vintage, artisanal, and local things that excite our desire without demanding our love. Even with my rabbi’s warning, I am not sure that I can resist dreaming of a better community. As I do, I think I’ll look for a place to live on the border of the two neighborhoods I saw that day, somewhere between the hipsters and the Ḥasidim.

Read more at First Things

More about: Brooklyn, Community, Hasidism, Jewish-Catholic relations, Religion & Holidays

Expand Gaza into Sinai

Feb. 11 2025

Calling the proposal to depopulate Gaza completely (if temporarily) “unworkable,” Peter Berkowitz makes the case for a similar, but more feasible, plan:

The United States along with Saudi Arabia and the UAE should persuade Egypt by means of generous financial inducements to open the sparsely populated ten-to-fifteen miles of Sinai adjacent to Gaza to Palestinians seeking a fresh start and better life. Egypt would not absorb Gazans and make them citizens but rather move Gaza’s border . . . westward into Sinai. Fences would be erected along the new border. The Israel Defense Force would maintain border security on the Gaza-extension side, Egyptian forces on the other. Egypt might lease the land to the Palestinians for 75 years.

The Sinai option does not involve forced transfer of civilian populations, which the international laws of war bar. As the United States, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and other partners build temporary dwellings and then apartment buildings and towns, they would provide bus service to the Gaza-extension. Palestinian families that choose to make the short trip would receive a key to a new residence and, say, $10,000.

The Sinai option is flawed. . . . Then again, all conventional options for rehabilitating and governing Gaza are terrible.

Read more at RealClear Politics

More about: Donald Trump, Egypt, Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula