As a grad student, I heard stories about Jewish candidates facing antisemitism on the job market. 

This was ancient history I thought, a sign of how far things had come.

Then I was a finalist for an ancient Judaism job at a Christian denominational university.

Strap in.

🧵

I was picked up at the airport by a professor I knew who was a visiting scholar at the university.

As he drove me to campus, he explained that he had volunteered to pick me up so as to warn me that there was no way I was getting the job... because I am Jewish. 

2
He explained that the "old guard" on campus would oppose my hire no matter what I did.

I was picked up by a new member of the faculty, who gave me a tour of the campus.

As we set off, she asked me: "so...did the professor who picked you up tell you anything about the job...?"
3
I said cryptically: "he warned me that I might face a hostile audience here for reasons outside of my control..."

She responded with visible relief and sadness: "Phew. I wasn't sure how to warn you. It's terrible, I'm really sorry."

4
I called my beloved advisor that evening to commiserate. She gave me typically wise advice:

1st, this was a small taste of what women & BIPOC face on the market all the time.

2nd, I would not get the position, so I should view the campus visit as an opportunity to practice.

5
The first thing on the schedule the next morning was breakfast at a Christian denominational house with three male members of the department. 

It had been made clear to me that these were the fellas who did not want to hire me. This became very apparent.

6
They showed no real interest in me, and certainly not in my work. But they had also laid some traps for me.

First, breakfast consisted of bacon, eggs, and cheese.

I took some bread.

I went most of the day on an empty stomach.

7
2nd, though they had taken food, they weren't eating. I figured they were hoping I would eat before they said grace, giving them a pretense to oppose my hire.

I waited.

Once it grew awkward, one of them said grace. He began: "Thank you Jesus for bringing us Simcha here today."
The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. I thought I did a good job. My advisor was right, it was great practice. 

I had several meetings throughout the day. It became clear that there was another faction, the "new guard," that wanted to hire me precisely because I was Jewish.
They clearly wanted to make a statement against the old guard about the future direction of the department.

Though I had not asked, they kept telling me how the city had great Jewish communities, great Jewish schools, many synagogues.

10
I went to dinner that night with two young scholars in the department, one of whom works in a related field.

He gave me knowing looks a few times throughout the meal, but we did not discuss the elephant in the room. 

A few months later, he and I attended the same conference.
He entered the room, saw me, and put his face into his hands in instinctive shame.

He knew I knew what had happened.

He apologized to me profusely, said how embarrassed he was about what happened.

I drew a number of takeaways from this ordeal.

12

More from Education

** Schools have been getting ready for this: a thread **

In many ways, I don't blame folks who tweet things like this. The media coverage of the schools situation in Covid-19 rarely talks about the quiet, day-in-day-out work that schools have been doing these past 9 months. 1/


Instead, the coverage focused on the dramatic, last minute policy announcements by the government, or of dramatic stories of school closures, often accompanied by photos of socially distanced classrooms that those of us in schools this past term know are from a fantasy land. 2/


If that's all you see & hear, it's no wonder that you may not know what has actually been happening in schools to meet the challenges. So, if you'd like a glimpse behind the curtain, then read on. For this is something of what teachers & schools leaders have been up to. 3/

It started last March with trying to meet the challenges of lockdown, being thrown into the deep end, with only a few days' notice, to try to learn to teach remotely during the first lockdown. 4/

https://t.co/S39EWuap3b


I wrote a policy document for our staff the weekend before our training as we anticipated what was to come, a document I shared freely & widely as the education community across the land started to reach out to one another for ideas and support. 5/
https://t.co/m1QsxlPaV4

You May Also Like

Fake chats claiming to be from the Irish African community are being disseminated by the far right in order to suggest that violence is imminent from #BLM supporters. This is straight out of the QAnon and Proud Boys playbook. Spread the word. Protest safely. #georgenkencho


There is co-ordination across the far right in Ireland now to stir both left and right in the hopes of creating a race war. Think critically! Fascists see the tragic killing of #georgenkencho, the grief of his community and pending investigation as a flashpoint for action.


Across Telegram, Twitter and Facebook disinformation is being peddled on the back of these tragic events. From false photographs to the tactics ofwhite supremacy, the far right is clumsily trying to drive hate against minority groups and figureheads.


Declan Ganley’s Burkean group and the incel wing of National Party (Gearóid Murphy, Mick O’Keeffe & Co.) as well as all the usuals are concerted in their efforts to demonstrate their white supremacist cred. The quiet parts are today being said out loud.


The best thing you can do is challenge disinformation and report posts where engagement isn’t appropriate. Many of these are blatantly racist posts designed to drive recruitment to NP and other Nationalist groups. By all means protest but stay safe.
First thread of the year because I have time during MCO. As requested, a thread on the gods and spirits of Malay folk religion. Some are indigenous, some are of Indian origin, some have Islamic


Before I begin, it might be worth explaining the Malay conception of the spirit world. At its deepest level, Malay religious belief is animist. All living beings and even certain objects are said to have a soul. Natural phenomena are either controlled by or personified as spirits

Although these beings had to be respected, not all of them were powerful enough to be considered gods. Offerings would be made to the spirits that had greater influence on human life. Spells and incantations would invoke their


Two known examples of such elemental spirits that had god-like status are Raja Angin (king of the wind) and Mambang Tali Arus (spirit of river currents). There were undoubtedly many more which have been lost to time

Contact with ancient India brought the influence of Hinduism and Buddhism to SEA. What we now call Hinduism similarly developed in India out of native animism and the more formal Vedic tradition. This can be seen in the multitude of sacred animals and location-specific Hindu gods