Search Results for 'History of Crown Heights'

Op-Ed: They All Must Go, Time for Radical Change

Let me begin by saying that I have no doubt as to the sincere motivation of all who are serving in community posts today. That includes the rabbonim as well as the netzigim, gabboyim and vaad hakohol, Shomrim and Shmira etc.

However, something is just not working in Crown Heights. I have not lived there in some time, but even when I left, the beauty and kedusha of Kan Tziva Hashem es haBrocho, of the Rebbe’s Dalet Amos, was obscured by physical decline that mirrored the societal and spiritual decline which is sadly gaining a greater and greater foothold in Crown Heights.

We are beset by problems of children going off the derech, of adults who are barely hanging on physically as well as spiritually, of rising crime, and of a general atmosphere of decline. Then there is the problem of tznius which deserves separate mention, though sadly it is a problem throughout Chabad and not only in Crown Heights.

Op-Ed: Who’s who?

Who’s who you ask, allow me to tell you but first let make an introduction – Politics.

Crown Heights has a history in politics, to the average Crown Heightser its “let them fight” and “who cares” or “I’m not interested” is that so? In politics there are a couple of aspects – rumors, propaganda, and fact.

Rumors come from one party and spread from a misunderstanding of the whole situation and without any fact backing and no one wanting to stand by their own statement.

Propaganda is when a party would like the community and its residents to believe that they are the right and just cause, and that they are fighting for your rights and in turn they receive your support.

Op Ed: Musings of a Wannabe Reporter: the Decline of the Newspaper Industry

Unused newspaper racks clutter a storage yard in San Francisco.

Almost since I can remember, I’ve wanted to go into the newspaper business. Specifically, I’ve wanted to be a journalist. I’ve always felt a connection to the written word: book report assignments in elementary school thrilled me and I often finished them the same day they were assigned; I am a voracious reader, probably utilizing my library card more often than I do my credit card; and I rarely leave the house without a book or two tucked away for long train rides or delays at the doctor’s office. Watching my father flip through the New York Times every morning when I was a little girl made quite an impression on me: whatever could demand his attention first thing in the morning, as well as the attention of millions of readers around the world, was something I wanted in on. And let’s face it, there was probably no cooler heroine when I was growing up than plucky Lois Lane, who went after her story without thought of safety or consequence (though admittedly, not every reporter has a superhero to rescue her from any potential peril).

Op-Ed: Noblewomen

Had Barack Obama not clinched his party’s nomination, and had the democratic ticket still won the election, the outcome would still be overwhelmingly historic. This country would have elected its first female president. Hillary Clinton’s inauguration would have drawn larger than usual crowds and brought women’s liberation to its crescendo.

Our Western superpower has much to learn from a younger Middle Eastern democracy. If exit polls are accurate, Israel has elected its second female Prime Minister in 60 years. To be sure, Golda Meir was her country’s fourth head of state, but she was hardly the first Jewish woman in a leadership position. Israel’s being ahead of its time, is as old as time itself. Throughout our people’s history, Jewish women have not only been looked up to and respected, but followed and revered.