Blake Flayton

4 weeks ago | jewishjournal.com | Emily Schrader |Blake Flayton

As you read this, tens of thousands of Jewish students around the country will be receiving acceptance letters which will inform where they choose to attend university.

May 23, 2024 | bflayton.substack.com | Blake Flayton

The Russian word smirenie can best be translated into English as “humility,” “meekness,” or “submission,” but in the Russian context, the word means a great deal more: smirenie is a state of mind, the collective and persistent ideology of the Russian peasant class, serfs, which ultimately made life worth living. For it is from smirenie, the state of misery and of constantly being held down by forces more powerful than you,that one can find meaning, purpose, even pride.

Oct 8, 2023 | jewishjournal.com | Blake Flayton

MorningMy roommate and I are watching our friend’s dog, Finn. He often barks when construction, stereos and police sirens intrude from the outside, but in the young/gay/working class/refugee Tel Aviv neighborhood of Florentin, we’re used to noise. I didn’t pay much attention when he warned us in our sleep this morning, as there has yet to be a dull moment in the Jewish state’s bohemian borough anyway.

Sep 6, 2023 | jewishjournal.com | Blake Flayton

I was happy to see a letter published in The Times of Israel a few weeks ago from respected Israeli authors and thinkers Yossi Klein Halevi, Daniel Gordis, and Matti Friedman. All three names are giants in Jewish and Zionist circles, and their beseeching of American Jews to join the Israeli protest movement, to oppose Netanyahu and his government of extermists, was as necessary as it was persuasive.

Jul 26, 2023 | jewishjournal.com | Blake Flayton

After Months of Buildup, Israeli Parliament Approves First Judicial Overhaul Law, Plunging Country Into Crisis A contentious amendment to Israel’s basic law, preventing the High Court of Justice from judging the reasonability of government decisions, prompts wide-scale protest, legal challenges, and fear of damage to Israeli democracy “Barbie” Is A Blast That Boasts a Fun Cast Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling impress in a film that includes Rhea Perlman as Ruth Handler, the Jewish woman who...