Rita Anderson is a person you meet once in a lifetime. She’s compassionate, brave, passionate, and has a clear set of values. Fortunately, she’s also a good friend of mine. Following her values, she has worked tirelessly and selflessly to help defenseless animals. When I met Rita, I thought I loved animals and was sensitive to...
Dedicated to my beloved father, Israel Katz, 1924-2002 Superiority. Exploitation. Injustice. Violence. Those loaded words are front and center in our lives. I care deeply about those issues. It was my family’s history that initially ignited my thinking and shaped my views about them. It eventually led me to my passion and activism for the ultimate...
PBS NewsHour is a TV program I rarely miss. I consider their reporting reliable and non-sensational. However, recently they’ve reported obsessively about the Asian carp as an “invasive” species in the Great Lakes, and suggested that eating the fish is a good solution. A few friends asked for my opinion on the topic. Should we eat...
“I love animals”, how often do I hear or read this seemingly pleasant assertion. The word ‘love’ signifies the deepest affection for another. According to Merriam-Webster, one of the word’s definition is: “unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another”. For me, loving someone means you want the best for them. You’d think that...
Dedicated to my husband, Marc Perlish, who was the driving force behind the subject of this blog post Words are powerful and important. They mirror our worldview, values and relationships with others. They also influence and shape our behavior and actions. That’s true when it comes to nonhuman animals; how we talk and write about them...
I’m writing this post during Passover, a holiday which commemorates the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. As the years pass by, I’m more inclined to contemplate on the relevance and meaning of the holidays I celebrate, and to be inspired by them. Passover is a time to appreciate freedom but also to mull over the evils...
Racism is a word that is tossed around a lot lately and one that creates a buzz. Race and ethnicity based bias is an attitude which many say they oppose, deplore and condemn. But why? What’s wrong with racism? Why shouldn’t you feel superior to other human beings because of their origin? Is it immoral to...
This blog post is dedicated to my mother, Mazal Katz (nee Nissan), 1929-2016. Recently I lost my beloved mother, Mazal, she was 87 years old. I dreamt about her again last night and the dream was very vivid; I told her how much I loved her. There is so much I can say about my mom,...
There is one issue that has been weighing heavily on my mind: the double standard of the political left. I thought that those who define themselves as liberal, or progressive, deeply believe in social justice, reject prejudice and exploitation, and support the most vulnerable and defenseless. However, as my eyes opened to our oppression of non-human...
None of us really know how other people or animals experience pain; we only know what we ourselves sense when we are in pain. However, we can safely say that human and non-human animals are sentient creatures, who have the ability to suffer. The fact that we don’t share a common language with animals does not...
I was astounded by the outpouring of public outrage and anger over the killing of Cecil the lion by Walter Palmer in a Zimbabwe sanctuary. I do not recall ever seeing such an intense and negative response to any mistreatment of animals. I’m happy about it; it demonstrates the public’s ability to feel compassion towards non-human...
