Tikkun (magazine)
Encyclopedia
Tikkun is a quarterly English-language
magazine, published in the United States
, that analyzes American and Israeli culture, politics, religion and history from a leftist
-progressive
viewpoint, and provides commentary about Israeli politics and Jewish life in North America. The magazine was founded in 1986 by Nan Fink Gefen and Michael Lerner
, who remains the editor-in-chief.
which suggests humanity's shared responsibility (with the Creator) "to heal, repair and transform the world." Tikkun Magazine was first published in the fall of 1986. According to the cover of each issue, Tikkun is a "Critique of politics, culture and society". Nan Fink Gefen, Michael Lerner and Peter Gabel
were primary architects of the magazine. According to the founding editorial statement, political concerns of the 1960s civil rights, anti-war and feminist movements and psychological studies of workers in the 1970s and 1980s were their most direct influences. Additionally, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
's legacy of "prophetic" Jewish activism has been honored and analyzed from the first issue onward. Non-Jews also made key contributions to the intellectual framework of the magazine. These include the late historian Christopher Lasch
, an original contributing editor, Harvey Cox
of Harvard Divinity School and philosopher Cornel West
. Although clearly on the Left, Tikkun used a "Current Debate" format as one way to encourage open discussion of ideas and move beyond some of the stifling tendencies of political enclaves.
Tikkun introduced itself in 1986 with prominent ads placed in leading intellectual papers and journals declaring a new voice for the Jewish Left, obliquely challenging Commentary Magazine's conservative drift and the perception that the American Jewish community had grown overwhelmingly conservative. Several members of the Editorial Board, including Elie Wiesel, resigned due to this confrontation with Commentary.
Over the first few years, Tikkun held conferences in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles to capture the energy of its readers and address pressing issues of the day. Throughout its history Tikkun has tried to engage readers in broader activism through numerous distinct organizational entities. In 2001 Tikkun announced the founding of an interfaith activist arm, the Tikkun Community, in the Sept/Oct issue of its magazine, and held its founding conference in January 2002. In 2005, the Tikkun Community was reorganized and renamed the Network of Spiritual Progressives (see below).
Financial support for the magazine has come from three individuals in addition to the assets and efforts of Editor Michael Lerner. Initially, Nan Fink Gefen, at the time married to Lerner, devoted financial resources and served as a hands-on publisher. She left the magazine as their marriage ended in 1991(cite last publisher's page). In 1997 fellow 1960s activist Danny Goldberg, a major music industry president heavily involved in the ACLU, became co-publisher with his father Victor. During these years, prominent journalists such as Jack Newfield interviewed national and international leaders such as Mario Cuomo and Haiti's embattled President Aristide to bring more credibility to the growing influence of the magazine. Finally, in 2002 George and Trish Vradenburg
(Lerner's sister) became co-publishers.
Tikkun consistently publishes the work of Israeli and Palestinian
left-wing intellectuals in English, and also includes book and music reviews, personal essays, and poetry, generally on Jewish themes. Some writers who have contributed recently to the magazine include Michael Bader, Noam Chomsky
, Shaul Magid (a contributing editor
), Benny Morris
, Or N. Rose] (also a contributing editor), Edward Said
, Jim Wallis
, and Stephen Zunes
. In every issue, Tikkun states that its articles "do not necessarily reflect Tikkun's position on any issue," and its editor, Rabbi Michael Lerner, has written that he "often consciously seeks to print articles with which he disagrees." Beyt Tikkun
Synagogue
, led by Rabbi Michael Lerner, is loosely affiliated with Tikkun magazine. It describes itself as a "hallachic
community bound by Jewish law".
The Network of Spiritual Progressives, still affiliated with Tikkun, has broadened the magazine's appeal to non-Jewish readers. In their own words, NSP members define themselves as "a community of people who support each other [and] pursue a highest vision of a world healed and transformed". This project is based on three ideas: Changing the bottom line
in America to maximize love and caring behavior; replacing world domination with generosity based on the implementation of a Global Marshall Plan, calling upon the United States to donate two percent of its GDP to end poverty and hunger; and finally, challenging the anti-religious and anti-spiritual biases within liberal culture.
awarded Tikkun its Independent Press Award for Best Spiritual Coverage in 2006 and 2011. Tikkun was praised for its "adept analysis" of the political influence of American fundamentalists, the international conflict among religious zealots, and the inability of many progressives to understand people's yearning for faith. Utne also cited the magazine's "pragmatic vision for change."
cited an article published by Tikkun — Joel Kovel
’s "On Left anti-Semitism and the Special Status of Israel" (May/June 2003) — as one of two examples of "essays of Jewish authors using anti-Semitic arguments." In his article, Kovel described Israel as a racist state that "automatically generates crimes against humanity and lacks the internal means of correcting them," adding that such a state "cannot have that legitimacy which gives it the right to exist."
In a 2006 column, Alan Dershowitz
wrote that "Tikkun is quickly becoming the most virulently anti-Israel screed ever published under Jewish auspices" and that "support for Tikkun is support for the enemies of Israel." Dershowitz and his books have been the targets of criticism in the pages of Tikkun (for example: May/June 1997, September/October 1997, November/December 1997, January/February 1999).
On January 28, 2007, the Anti-Defamation League
(ADL) convened "Finding Our Voice", a conference co-sponsored by more than 50 Jewish organizations for the purpose of discussing the rise in antisemitism. Its co-sponsors represented a wide range of Jewish opinion, including the ADL and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee
on the right and Americans for Peace Now
and the Jewish Labor Committee
on the left. Tikkun and Jewish Voice for Peace
were not invited to co-sponsor the conference.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
magazine, published in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, that analyzes American and Israeli culture, politics, religion and history from a leftist
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
-progressive
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
viewpoint, and provides commentary about Israeli politics and Jewish life in North America. The magazine was founded in 1986 by Nan Fink Gefen and Michael Lerner
Michael Lerner (rabbi)
Michael Lerner is a political activist, the editor of Tikkun, a progressive Jewish interfaith magazine based in Berkeley, California, and the rabbi of Beyt Tikkun Synagogue of San Francisco.-Family and Education:...
, who remains the editor-in-chief.
Origins and content
The title of the magazine comes from mystical Hebrew concept tikkun olamTikkun olam
Tikkun olam is a Hebrew phrase that means "repairing the world." In Judaism, the concept of tikkun olam originated in the early rabbinic period...
which suggests humanity's shared responsibility (with the Creator) "to heal, repair and transform the world." Tikkun Magazine was first published in the fall of 1986. According to the cover of each issue, Tikkun is a "Critique of politics, culture and society". Nan Fink Gefen, Michael Lerner and Peter Gabel
Peter Gabel
Peter Gabel, Ph.D., is an American law academic and associate editor of Tikkun, a bi-monthly Jewish critique of politics, culture, and society and has written a number of articles for the magazine on subjects ranging from the original intent of the framers of the Constitution to the...
were primary architects of the magazine. According to the founding editorial statement, political concerns of the 1960s civil rights, anti-war and feminist movements and psychological studies of workers in the 1970s and 1980s were their most direct influences. Additionally, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
Abraham Joshua Heschel
Abraham Joshua Heschel was a Polish-born American rabbi and one of the leading Jewish theologians and Jewish philosophers of the 20th century.-Biography:...
's legacy of "prophetic" Jewish activism has been honored and analyzed from the first issue onward. Non-Jews also made key contributions to the intellectual framework of the magazine. These include the late historian Christopher Lasch
Christopher Lasch
Christopher Lasch was a well-known American historian, moralist, and social critic....
, an original contributing editor, Harvey Cox
Harvey Cox
Harvey Gallagher Cox, Jr. is one of the preeminent theologians in the United States and served as Hollis Research Professor of Divinity at the Harvard Divinity School, until his retirement in October 2009...
of Harvard Divinity School and philosopher Cornel West
Cornel West
Cornel Ronald West is an American philosopher, author, critic, actor, civil rights activist and prominent member of the Democratic Socialists of America....
. Although clearly on the Left, Tikkun used a "Current Debate" format as one way to encourage open discussion of ideas and move beyond some of the stifling tendencies of political enclaves.
Tikkun introduced itself in 1986 with prominent ads placed in leading intellectual papers and journals declaring a new voice for the Jewish Left, obliquely challenging Commentary Magazine's conservative drift and the perception that the American Jewish community had grown overwhelmingly conservative. Several members of the Editorial Board, including Elie Wiesel, resigned due to this confrontation with Commentary.
Over the first few years, Tikkun held conferences in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles to capture the energy of its readers and address pressing issues of the day. Throughout its history Tikkun has tried to engage readers in broader activism through numerous distinct organizational entities. In 2001 Tikkun announced the founding of an interfaith activist arm, the Tikkun Community, in the Sept/Oct issue of its magazine, and held its founding conference in January 2002. In 2005, the Tikkun Community was reorganized and renamed the Network of Spiritual Progressives (see below).
Financial support for the magazine has come from three individuals in addition to the assets and efforts of Editor Michael Lerner. Initially, Nan Fink Gefen, at the time married to Lerner, devoted financial resources and served as a hands-on publisher. She left the magazine as their marriage ended in 1991(cite last publisher's page). In 1997 fellow 1960s activist Danny Goldberg, a major music industry president heavily involved in the ACLU, became co-publisher with his father Victor. During these years, prominent journalists such as Jack Newfield interviewed national and international leaders such as Mario Cuomo and Haiti's embattled President Aristide to bring more credibility to the growing influence of the magazine. Finally, in 2002 George and Trish Vradenburg
Trish Vradenburg
Trish Vradenburg is an American playwright, author, television writer, and Alzheimer’s Disease advocate.-Biography:Vradenburg was born in Newark, New Jersey, the daughter of Beatrice and Judge Joseph Lerner. She graduated from Boston University in 1968, and became a speech writer for Senator...
(Lerner's sister) became co-publishers.
Tikkun consistently publishes the work of Israeli and Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
left-wing intellectuals in English, and also includes book and music reviews, personal essays, and poetry, generally on Jewish themes. Some writers who have contributed recently to the magazine include Michael Bader, Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
, Shaul Magid (a contributing editor
Contributing editor
A contributing editor is a magazine job title that varies in responsibilities. Most often, a contributing editor is a freelancer who has proven ability and readership draw. The contributing editor regularly contributes articles to the publication but does not actually edit articles, and the title...
), Benny Morris
Benny Morris
Benny Morris is professor of History in the Middle East Studies department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the city of Be'er Sheva, Israel...
, Or N. Rose] (also a contributing editor), Edward Said
Edward Said
Edward Wadie Saïd was a Palestinian-American literary theorist and advocate for Palestinian rights. He was University Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University and a founding figure in postcolonialism...
, Jim Wallis
Jim Wallis
Jim Wallis is an American evangelical Christian writer and political activist. He is best known as the founder and editor of Sojourners magazine, and of the Washington, D.C.-based Christian community of the same name....
, and Stephen Zunes
Stephen Zunes
Stephen Zunes is an international relations scholar specializing in the Middle East specializing in Middle Eastern politics, U.S. foreign policy, and strategic nonviolent action. He is known internationally as a leading critic of United States policy in the Middle East, particularly under the...
. In every issue, Tikkun states that its articles "do not necessarily reflect Tikkun's position on any issue," and its editor, Rabbi Michael Lerner, has written that he "often consciously seeks to print articles with which he disagrees." Beyt Tikkun
Beyt Tikkun
The Beyt Tikkun Synagogue is a Jewish Renewal congregation in the San Francisco area that was founded in 1996 by Rabbi Michael Lerner and is loosely affiliated with Lerner's Tikkun magazine...
Synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
, led by Rabbi Michael Lerner, is loosely affiliated with Tikkun magazine. It describes itself as a "hallachic
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
community bound by Jewish law".
The Network of Spiritual Progressives, still affiliated with Tikkun, has broadened the magazine's appeal to non-Jewish readers. In their own words, NSP members define themselves as "a community of people who support each other [and] pursue a highest vision of a world healed and transformed". This project is based on three ideas: Changing the bottom line
Bottom Line
The Bottom Line was a music venue at 15 West Fourth Street between Mercer Street and Greene Street in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City...
in America to maximize love and caring behavior; replacing world domination with generosity based on the implementation of a Global Marshall Plan, calling upon the United States to donate two percent of its GDP to end poverty and hunger; and finally, challenging the anti-religious and anti-spiritual biases within liberal culture.
Acclaim
The Utne ReaderUtne Reader
Utne Reader is an American bimonthly magazine. The magazine collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment from generally alternative media sources, including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music and DVDs...
awarded Tikkun its Independent Press Award for Best Spiritual Coverage in 2006 and 2011. Tikkun was praised for its "adept analysis" of the political influence of American fundamentalists, the international conflict among religious zealots, and the inability of many progressives to understand people's yearning for faith. Utne also cited the magazine's "pragmatic vision for change."
Criticism
In 2005, Manfred GerstenfeldManfred Gerstenfeld
Manfred Gerstenfeld is an Austrian-born Israeli author and political activist.-Biography:Manfred Gerstenfeld was born in Vienna, grew up in Amsterdam and moved to Israel in 1968. He has a Ph.D. in Environmental Studies from the University of Amsterdam. Gerstenfeld was a board member of the Israel...
cited an article published by Tikkun — Joel Kovel
Joel Kovel
Joel Kovel is an American politician, academic, writer, and eco-socialist. A practicing psychiatrist and psychoanalyst until the mid-1980s, he has lectured in psychiatry, anthropology, political science and communication studies. He has published many books on his work in psychiatry,...
’s "On Left anti-Semitism and the Special Status of Israel" (May/June 2003) — as one of two examples of "essays of Jewish authors using anti-Semitic arguments." In his article, Kovel described Israel as a racist state that "automatically generates crimes against humanity and lacks the internal means of correcting them," adding that such a state "cannot have that legitimacy which gives it the right to exist."
In a 2006 column, Alan Dershowitz
Alan Dershowitz
Alan Morton Dershowitz is an American lawyer, jurist, and political commentator. He has spent most of his career at Harvard Law School where in 1967, at the age of 28, he became the youngest full professor of law in its history...
wrote that "Tikkun is quickly becoming the most virulently anti-Israel screed ever published under Jewish auspices" and that "support for Tikkun is support for the enemies of Israel." Dershowitz and his books have been the targets of criticism in the pages of Tikkun (for example: May/June 1997, September/October 1997, November/December 1997, January/February 1999).
On January 28, 2007, the Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
(ADL) convened "Finding Our Voice", a conference co-sponsored by more than 50 Jewish organizations for the purpose of discussing the rise in antisemitism. Its co-sponsors represented a wide range of Jewish opinion, including the ADL and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee
American Israel Public Affairs Committee
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is a lobbying group that advocates pro-Israel policies to the Congress and Executive Branch of the United States...
on the right and Americans for Peace Now
Americans for Peace Now
Americans for Peace Now , the United States partner of Israel’s Shalom Achshav organization, is an American coalition working to help Israel achieve a secure peace with the Arab states and the Palestinian people...
and the Jewish Labor Committee
Jewish Labor Committee
The Jewish Labor Committee is an American secular Jewish organization dedicated to promoting labor union interests in Jewish communities, and Jewish interests within unions. The organization is headquartered in New York City, with local/regional offices in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago...
on the left. Tikkun and Jewish Voice for Peace
Jewish Voice for Peace
Jewish Voice for Peace is a United States Jewish organization which describes itself as "a diverse and democratic community of activists inspired by Jewish tradition to work together for peace, social justice, and human rights [to] support the aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians for security...
were not invited to co-sponsor the conference.
Alleged impropriety regarding letters to the editor
In 1997, former Tikkun editors accused Lerner of publishing pseudonymous letters to the editor that he himself had written. While many of the letters were laudatory ("Your editorial stand on Iraq said publicly what many of us in the Israeli peace camp are feeling privately but dare not say."), a few were critical ("Have you gone off your rocker?"). Lerner admitted that he had written the letters but said his only mistake was not informing readers that the authors' names were pseudonyms.External links
- Tikkun Magazine website
- Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land: Media & the Israel-Palestine Conflict, documentary directed by Sut JhallySut JhallySatvinder "Sut" Jhally , is a professor of Communication at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and is one of the world’s leading experts on cultural studies, advertising, media, and consumption. He is the producer of 40+ documentaries on media literacy topics and the founder and executive...
and Bathsheba Ratzkoff (2003) quotes Michael Lerner