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Sam Ben-Meir[/caption]
Sam Ben-Meir, PhD is an adjunct professor at Mercy College. His current research focuses on environmental ethics and animal studies. sam@alonben-meir.com
By Sam Ben-Meir NEW YORK — On March 11, the world lost someone who was very special, who made a mark and touched people with his voice, as a singer, a humorist and writer. Born in Tel Aviv in 1944, Danny Ben-Israel began his musical career while serving in the Israeli Defense Forces and enjoyed […]
In memory of Danny Ben-Israel Read More »
International, Jewish History, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sam Ben-Meir, USABy Sam Ben-Meir NEW YORK — There is a fascinating chapter toward the end of Alexis de Toqueville’s Democracy in America titled “What Kind of Despotism Do Democratic Nations Have to Fear?” in which the author attempted something truly extraordinary – to describe a social condition which humankind had never before encountered. We find him
De Toqueville foresaw FB’s danger to democracy Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Sam Ben-Meir, USA
By Sam Ben-Meir NEW YORK — The current exhibition of Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863) at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art – the first of its kind to be mounted in North America – is indeed an extraordinary revelation. Delacroix was one of the great creative minds of the nineteenth century: an artist who embodied
Art Review: Delacroix at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Read More »
Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sam Ben-Meir, USA
By Sam Ben-Meir EDINBURGH, Scotland – The Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh is currently exhibiting a substantial selection of Rembrandt’s paintings, drawings, and prints – focusing on those works that reveal the story of “Britain’s Discovery of the Master.” Exploring the significance of Rembrandt to British collectors, artists, and writers provides us with the
Belshazzar’s Feast by Rembrandt on display in Scotland Read More »
International, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sam Ben-Meir, Travel and Food
By Sam Ben-Meir NEW YORK — “He paints the soul, not just an image.” So begins the new documentary by PBS, featuring the life and work of Andrew Wyeth, and introducing viewers to one America’s great twentieth century painters – an artist whose work appealed to critics and audiences alike, an artist who spoke in
Revisiting Andrew Wyeth, American painter Read More »
Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sam Ben-Meir, USABy Sam Ben-Meir NEW YORK — From the beginning, Donald Trump’s administration has been marred by corruption and outright contempt for the rule of law – with the president’s firing of FBI Director James Comey “because of the whole Russia thing” and persistent efforts to undermine Robert Mueller’s Russia probe; with his refusal to divest
Giacometti exhibit probes humanity’s darker side Read More »
Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sam Ben-Meir, USABy Sam Ben-Meir NEW YORK — It never ceases to surprise me how merely the suggestion that our current global capitalistic system is not the best humanity can do for itself, is so often met with virulent hostility. One would think that when we are still recovering from the economic crisis of 2007-2008 (and many
An alternative to capitalism? Read More »
International, Sam Ben-Meir, USABy Sam Ben-Meir VIENNA, Austria – Among Vienna’s many landmarks, few are as unmistakable and beloved as its Riesenrad, the giant Ferris wheel that stands in the Prater amusement park, only a few miles from the city center. At its apex of two hundred and twelve feet, visitors are granted a unique vantage on an
The view from above: Vienna at a glance Read More »
Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sam Ben-MeirBy Sam Ben-Meir NEW YORK — Visitors to the Frick Collection in New York City will likely be familiar with the magnificent Self Portrait (1658) of Rembrandt that hangs in the main gallery. The artist presents himself as an imposing father-figure, like some patriarch of old. His dress is formal, and utterly distinctive – a
‘Abraham and the Angels’ by Rembrandt at the Frick Read More »
Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sam Ben-MeirBy Sam Ben-Meir DOBBS FERRY, New York — In its attack on the very foundations of science, Trumpism constitutes an epistemic disaster: we are facing a crisis in terms of knowledge and objective inquiry. Epistemology (or the theory of knowledge) is concerned with, among other things, what right we have to the beliefs we hold
Trump denies science, and even knowledge Read More »
Sam Ben-Meir, The World We Share, USABy Sam Ben-Meir ROME, Italy – For international collage artist, Michael Anderson, Jean-Michel Basquiat is the single most significant artist of the last fifty years: “Picasso, Pollack, Basquiat,” he tells me. There is no denying the immense influence of this extraordinary painter, who in a short but meteoric career of seven years produced an astonishing
Hero- Martyr: Basquiat and Samson Read More »
Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sam Ben-MeirBy Sam Ben-Meir DOBBS FERRY, New York — The United States is witnessing a disturbing rise in anti-Semitic acts, which are sweeping over the country in wave after wave. In St. Louis, more than a hundred tombstones were tipped over; similar hate crimes have taken place in Philadelphia and New York. Attacks are taking place not
How ‘Trumpism’ feeds anti-Semitism Read More »
Sam Ben-Meir, USABy Sam Ben-Meir JERSEY CITY, New Jersey — During President Trump’s first full week in office he has begun to dismantle America’s moral standing on the international stage. From his reconsideration of CIA ‘black sites’ to his insistence on vast voter fraud, to his inhumane ban on immigration from Muslim countries, Trump seems to be
Trump is dismantling America’s moral standing Read More »
International, Middle East, Sam Ben-Meir, USABy Sam Ben-Meir JERSEY CITY, New Jersey — This month commemorates seventy-five years since the attack on Pearl Harbor by the forces of Imperial Japan – an attack in which 2,403 Americans were killed and directly led to the United States’ entry into World War II. By December 11th, the United States was officially at
America must not normalize the alt-right Read More »
Sam Ben-Meir, USA