I get, and to an extent can get behind, the magazine Heeb’s stated goal of pushing the envelope in order to redefine what it is to be a contemporary Jew. Explaining an earlier controversy, the publisher said that his magazine “interrogates stereotypes and ideas (hopefully in creative ways) that many hold sacred in order to represent the complex and nuanced perspectives that many Jews have about their identities.” If the satire occasionally borders on the offensive, that can be a price I’m willing to pay. (And certainly I wish them all the best with their rumored business troubles. Almost any place that pays writers to write gets my support.)
… But it’s really difficult to see the point of the magazine’s “take” on T. Alan Hurwitz, who is the first Jewish president of Gallaudet University. Gallaudet is a school for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in Washington, D.C., and Hurwitz himself is profoundly deaf. There’s probably something interesting worth saying about that; maybe there is even a provocative, counter-intuitive position on it. I would love to read a creative argument against the 1988 Deaf President Now movement (which the post cites), in which the students demanded a deaf president, perhaps analogizing it to Jewish tokenism.
But this? It feels mean, offensive, gratuitous, and—maybe worst of all—not funny.
Gallaudet University Gets a Deaf Jewish President [Heeb]
Earlier: ‘Heeb’ Explains Hitler Image
Is ‘Heeb’ On Its Way Out?
Click here for access to comments
COMMENTING CHARGES
Daily rate: $2
Monthly rate: $18
Yearly rate: $180
WAIT, WHY DO I HAVE TO PAY TO COMMENT?
Tablet is committed to bringing you the best, smartest, most enlightening and entertaining reporting and writing on Jewish life, all free of charge. We take pride in our community of readers, and are thrilled that you choose to engage with us in a way that is both thoughtful and thought-provoking. But the Internet, for all of its wonders, poses challenges to civilized and constructive discussion, allowing vocal—and, often, anonymous—minorities to drag it down with invective (and worse). Starting today, then, we are asking people who'd like to post comments on the site to pay a nominal fee—less a paywall than a gesture of your own commitment to the cause of great conversation. All proceeds go to helping us bring you the ambitious journalism that brought you here in the first place.
I NEED TO BE HEARD! BUT I DONT WANT TO PAY.
Readers can still interact with us free of charge via Facebook, Twitter, and our other social media channels, or write to us at letters@tabletmag.com. Each week, we’ll select the best letters and publish them in a new letters to the editor feature on the Scroll.
We hope this new largely symbolic measure will help us create a more pleasant and cultivated environment for all of our readers, and, as always, we thank you deeply for your support.