Deborah Levine

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Op-Ed Columnist at Chattanooga Times Free Press

Editor and Founder at American Diversity Report

Articles

Opinion: Antisemitism knows no bounds

1 week ago | timesfreepress.com | Deborah Levine

After two Israeli Embassy staff members were shot and killed in Washington, D.C., friends sent prayers for my safety – even though this horrific crime happened almost 600 miles away. The murders of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim go beyond geographic boundaries. A Chicago man shot them "for Gaza" outside the Capital Jewish Museum.
Opinion: Instruct and inspire with our stories

2 weeks ago | timesfreepress.com | Deborah Levine

Are you thriving? Do you even know what that means? When I ponder the word "thrive," my brain immediately goes to thrive #1: flourish and prosper as a successful entrepreneur. And then I go deeper and imagine thrive #2: live a life of abundance, courage, and purpose. How to choose which thrive during these difficult times when both versions are hard to come by? I couldn't decide, so I was excited to see that Thrive 2025 was coming to Chattanooga. Thrive Chattanooga is the invention of Vincent I.
Opinion: Libraries are treasures. Don’t put them at risk

3 weeks ago | timesfreepress.com | Deborah Levine

Public libraries are huge community assets. They not only house books, but provide educational programs, arts classes, computer access, archives and more. But now, the federal government proposes slicing financial support to these valuable assets, including a potential $435,000 hit to our Chattanooga library. Words defy me, especially having just attended a very special presentation at the downtown library.
Opinion: Take the ‘Age of AI’ seriously

1 month ago | timesfreepress.com | Deborah Levine

I didn't take it seriously enough when a friend in the internet security business told me that AI is reshaping the world and our future. Surely that was an exaggeration. Or so I thought until I was asked to speak about intercultural leadership in the "Age of AI" during a three-day virtual symposium for the Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research. These experts spoke about the positives and negatives of AI in the classroom.
Opinion: Harvard-Radcliffe and the future of our universities

1 month ago | timesfreepress.com | Deborah Levine

Reading the recent emails from Harvard President Alan Garber that accompanied invitations to upcoming 55th reunion events next month was enlightening and reaffirming. At this moment, it feels as if there is a movement to take Harvard back to a time when only white Christian men were welcome.
Opinion: Don’t let history repeat itself

1 month ago | timesfreepress.com | Deborah Levine

I've rarely given in-person presentations since the pandemic. Taking a deep breath, I did speak to Civitan International's Chattanooga chapter about my documentary: "Untold, Stories of a World War Liberator." With Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) on April 23, it was relevant timing for a topic that's very personal for me. My father was a U.S. military intelligence officer during the war. He was assigned to interrogate Nazi POWs. My documentary is based on his wartime letters.
Opinion: No, climate change is not a hoax

2 months ago | timesfreepress.com | Deborah Levine

I don't often use AI, but I made an exception over the weekend when severe storms were expected and schools announced closings for Monday. The report echoed weather reports of a few weekends ago, when 60 tornadoes (and the resulting 40 deaths) came close to us. Was this the new norm? I couldn't resist going to my computer and asking AI if this weather was unusual.
Opinion: Ukraine and the humanitarians of Chattanooga

Mar 6, 2025 | timesfreepress.com | Deborah Levine

Advertisement Advertisement Opinion: Ukraine and the humanitarians of Chattanooga Today at 6:00 p.m. File photo/City of Chattanooga / Times Free Press archives / Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly, right, shakes hands with the mayor of the Ukrainian city of Trostyanets, Yuriy Bova, during the 2023 Cities Summit of the Americas. My brain nearly exploded when President Donald Trump declared that Ukraine started the war with Russia.
Opinion: Black History Month conversation was uplifting

Feb 20, 2025 | timesfreepress.com | Deborah Levine

How wonderful to celebrate Black History Month at Mizpah Congregation with our February "Intriguing Conversations." The audience included members of Chattanooga's Jewish community and Black community. They gathered to hear talk radio host Jed Mescon interview his "intriguing" guest, John Edwards III, founder of The Chattanooga News Chronicle. The tag line for the event's flyer focused on Black History and the Civil Rights movement: "They stood up against racism and inequality ...
Opinion: Remembering and learning from the Holocaust

Feb 6, 2025 | timesfreepress.com | Deborah Levine

Advertisement Advertisement Opinion: Remembering and learning from the Holocaust Today at 6:00 p.m. Photo/Sebastian Willnow/dpa via The Associated Press / U.S. businessman Elon Musk is shown during a live video link, as Alice Weidel, AfD candidate for chancellor, takes to the stage, during the AfD's election campaign kick-off in Halle, Germany on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025.