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Superman: America's Jewish superhero?
There are some undeniable parallels between Jewish history and the Big Blue Boy Scout.

- Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster, the children of Jewish immigrants, right when the world was contending with growing anti-Semitism.
- The experience of Jewish immigrants in America and Superman's own fictional origins have striking similarities.
- Though this theory has its critics, there seem to be too many parallels to dismiss it out of hand.
In the mid-19th century, an immigrant fleeing horrific violence arrived in America. He quickly assimilated, adopting an American-sounding name and identity, although he continued to pine for the homeland that he had to abandon. This individual's story is either that of any number of Jewish immigrants... or Superman.
Why Superman is the ultimate immigrant
Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster, the children of Jewish immigrants who had come to North America to flee Europe's growing anti-Semitism. Together, they crafted the platonic ideal of superheroes.
"What led me into creating Superman in the early '30s?" said Siegel. "Hearing and reading of the oppression and slaughter of helpless, oppressed Jews in Nazi Germany… seeing movies depicting the horrors of privation suffered by the downtrodden. I had the great urge to help the downtrodden masses, somehow. How could I help them when I could barely help myself? Superman was the answer."
Numerous aspects of Jewish history and culture are reflected in Superman's story. When the Egyptian Pharaoh ordered all male Jews to be drowned in the Nile, Moses was saved by being placed in an ark on the riverbank. Likewise, Superman was saved from his planet's destruction by being sent to Earth in a small, cradle-like spaceship. Superman's name — Kal-El — can be interpreted in Hebrew as meaning "voice of God." His abilities, too, also have a connection with Jewish folklore; in 17th-century Prague, a rabbi was said to have made a golem out of river clay. The golem possessed incredible strength and defended the Jewish community against the city's anti-Semitic pogroms.
Like Schuster's and Siegel's parents and other Jewish immigrants fleeing persecution, and the later Holocaust, Superman also fled the chaos and violence that eventually overtook his home. Superman's regret and wistfulness for Krypton mirrors the experience had by the millions of Jews fleeing their homes in Europe.
Once those Jews arrived in America, they took to assimilating as quickly as they could. Many had their own secret identities, just like Kal-El and Clark Kent. Jerry Siegel's father was originally named Mikhel Iankel Segalovich, but he chose to adopt the more American-sounding Michael Siegel after arriving in New York in 1900. Other Jewish immigrants did the same, notably Jacob Kurtzberg, who would later become the famous comic book artist Jack Kirby.
Superman became a way for Schuster and Siegel to exercise some degree of control over the events that were transpiring in Germany. The Man of Steel wound up fighting the Nazis even before America entered World War II. In one comic, Superman lifts Hitler up by the neck and proclaims, "I'd like to land a strictly non-Aryan sock on your jaw." In fact, Superman's cultural heritage was so clear that even Goebbels is said to have written, "This Superman is a Jew!"
Christopher Reeve as Superman in the 1978 film of the same name. Still captured by Flicker user Rogelio A. Galaviz C.
But there are reasons to be skeptical
While these parallels make it tempting to do the same as Goebbels and assert that Superman is Jewish, there are some who contest this idea. You can't really claim a fictional character belongs to a certain faith unless that's stated in their history, such as the X-Men villain Magneto, who did live, during his youth, in a concentration camp. Furthermore, critics of the Jewish Superman theory have also been able to poke holes in some of the pieces of evidence.
Kal-El, for instance, could be rendered in Hebrew in a number of different ways, many of which are nonsensical — which is what you would expect when translating a fictional name to another language. Superman's flight from his doomed world Krypton only became a part of the hero's backstory after Siegel and Schuster had stopped writing for Superman, which weakens, in some aspects, the idea of Superman's Jewish roots. However, it may not invalidate the overall Jewish parallels in the character.
The critics have some points, and we probably have to admit that Superman doesn't observe the Sabbath or don a yarmulke. After all, why would an alien convert to one of Earth's religions? But the fingerprints of Jewish history are nevertheless all over Superman's story. Even if the parallels were unintentional — this seems unlikely given their number — artists always put a bit of themselves into their creations, and it seems likely that Siegel and Schuster did too.
Archaeologists identify contents of ancient Mayan drug containers
Scientists use new methods to discover what's inside drug containers used by ancient Mayan people.
A Muna-type paneled flask with distinctive serrated-edge decoration from AD 750-900.
- Archaeologists used new methods to identify contents of Mayan drug containers.
- They were able to discover a non-tobacco plant that was mixed in by the smoking Mayans.
- The approach promises to open up new frontiers in the knowledge of substances ancient people consumed.
PARME staff archaeologists excavating a burial site at the Tamanache site, Mérida, Yucatan.
Credit: WSU
Why cities are critical to achieving a carbon-neutral world
In May 2018, the city of Paris set an ambition to be carbon-neutral by 2050.
- Countries, governments and companies are aligning on a need for net-zero - and this is an opportunity to rethink decarbonizing our cities.
- There is no "one-size-fits-all" solution – each city's needs must be at the heart of developing integrated energy solutions.
- A city can only decarbonize through collaboration between government, the private sector, and local communities.
Japanese government appoints new "Minister of Loneliness"
While not the first such minister, the loneliness epidemic in Japan will make this one the hardest working.
Minister Tetsushi Sakamoto
- The Japanese government has appointed a Minister of Loneliness to implement policies designed to fight isolation and lower suicide rates.
- They are the second country, after the U.K., to dedicate a cabinet member to the task.
- While Japan is famous for how its loneliness epidemic manifests, it isn't alone in having one.
The Ministry of Loneliness
<iframe width="730" height="430" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I5FIohjZT8o" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><p><a href="https://www.jimin.jp/english/profile/members/114749.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tetsushi Sakamoto</a>, already in the government as the minister in charge of raising Japan's low birthrate and revitalizing regional economies, was appointed this <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/02/21/national/japan-tackles-loneliness/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">month</a> to the additional role. He has already announced plans for an emergency national forum to discuss the issue and share the testimony of lonely <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/02/12/national/loneliness-isolation-minister/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">individuals</a>.</p><p>Given the complexity of the problem, the minister will primarily oversee the coordination of efforts between different <a href="https://www.insider.com/japan-minister-of-loneliness-suicides-rise-pandemic-2021-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ministries</a> that hope to address the issue alongside a task <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/02/21/national/japan-tackles-loneliness/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">force</a>. He steps into his role not a moment too soon. The loneliness epidemic in Japan is uniquely well known around the world.</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Hikikomori</em></a><em>,</em> often translated as "acute social withdrawal," is the phenomenon of people completely withdrawing from society for months or years at a time and living as modern-day hermits. While cases exist in many <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00247/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">countries</a>, the problem is better known and more prevalent in Japan. Estimates vary, but some suggest that one million Japanese live like this and that 1.5 million more are at <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/article/japan-hikikomori-isolation-society" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">risk</a> of developing the condition. Individuals practicing this hermitage often express contentment with their isolation at first before encountering severe symptoms of loneliness and <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200110155241.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">distress</a>.</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodokushi" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Kodokushi</em></a>, the phenomenon of the elderly dying alone and remaining undiscovered for some time due to their isolation, is also a widespread issue in Japan that has attracted national attention for decades.</p><p>These are just the most shocking elements of the loneliness crisis. As we've discussed before, loneliness can cause health issues akin to <a href="https://www.inc.com/amy-morin/americas-loneliness-epidemic-is-more-lethal-than-smoking-heres-what-you-can-do-to-combat-isolation.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">smoking</a>. A lack of interaction within a community can cause social <a href="https://bigthink.com/in-their-own-words/how-religious-neighbors-are-better-neighbors" target="_self">problems</a>. It is even associated with changes in the <a href="https://bigthink.com/mind-brain/loneliness-brain" target="_self">brain</a>. While there is nothing wrong with wanting a little time to yourself, the inability to get the socialization that many people need is a real problem with real <a href="https://bigthink.com/mind-brain/brain-loneliness-hunger" target="_self">consequences</a>.</p>The virus that broke the camel's back
<iframe width="730" height="430" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Hp-L844-5k8" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><p> A global loneliness pandemic existed before COVID-19, and the two working in tandem has been catastrophic. </p><p>Japanese society has always placed a value on solitude, often associating it with self-reliance, which makes dealing with the problem of excessive solitude more difficult. Before the pandemic, 16.1 percent of Japanese seniors reported having nobody to turn to in a time of need, the highest rate of any nation <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/02/21/national/japan-tackles-loneliness/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">considered</a>. Seventeen percent of Japanese men surveyed in 2005 said that they "rarely or never spend time with friends, colleagues, or others in social groups." This was three times the average rate of other <a href="http://www.oecd.org/sdd/37964677.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">countries</a>. </p><p>American individualism also creates a fertile environment for isolation to grow. About a month before the pandemic started, nearly<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/01/23/798676465/most-americans-are-lonely-and-our-workplace-culture-may-not-be-helping" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> 3 in 5</a> Americans reported being lonely in a <a href="https://www.cigna.com/about-us/newsroom/studies-and-reports/combatting-loneliness/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">report</a> issued by Cigna. This is a slight increase over previous studies, which had been pointing in the same direction for years. </p><p>In the United Kingdom, the problem prompted the creation of the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness. The commission's <a href="https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/reports-and-publications/reports-and-briefings/active-communities/rb_dec17_jocox_commission_finalreport.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">final report </a>paints a stark picture of the U.K.'s situation in 2017, with millions of people from all parts of British society reporting feeling regular loneliness at a tremendous cost to personal health, society, and the economy.</p><p>The report called for a lead minister to address the problem at the national level, incorporating government action with the insights provided by volunteer organizations, businesses, the NHS, and other organizations on the crisis's front lines. Her Majesty's Government acted on the report and appointed the first Minister for Loneliness in <a href="https://time.com/5248016/tracey-crouch-uk-loneliness-minister/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2018</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tracey_Crouch" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tracey Crouch</a>, and dedicated millions of pounds to battling the problem. </p><p>The distancing procedures necessitated by the COVID-19 epidemic saved many lives but exacerbated an existing problem of loneliness in many parts of the world. While the issue had received attention before, Japan's steps to address the situation suggest that people are now willing to treat it with the seriousness it deserves.</p><p>--</p><p><em>If you or a loved one are having suicidal thoughts, help is available. The suicide prevention hotline can be reached at 1-800-273-8255.</em></p>How art and design can rebuild a community
MIT professor Azra Akšamija creates works of cultural resilience in the face of social conflict.
