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Bethany Shondark Mandel
Born
Bethany Ann Horowitz[1]

1986 (age 37–38)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materRutgers (B.A. 2008)[2]
Occupation(s)Columnist, pundit
SpouseSeth Mandel
Children5
Websitehttps://bethanyshondark.com/

Bethany Shondark Mandel is a conservative American columnist and political and cultural commentator who writes for Deseret News and Ricochet.[3] She was named one of "36 under 36" by The Jewish Week in 2013, one of the "Forward 50" in 2015,[2] and one of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency's "50 Jews everyone should follow on Twitter" in 2019.[4]

Early life and education

Mandel was raised by her mother[1] near Rochester, New York,[5] at times in poverty.[6] Her mother died of lupus when Mandel was 16.[7] Her father died by suicide when she was 19,[8][6] after struggling with an addiction to opioid painkillers.[9]

She transferred to Rutgers University in 2005 for its strong Jewish Studies department and Jewish student community, and worked full-time while a full-time student,[10] graduating in 2008 with a degree in history and Jewish studies.[2] During her college years, she adopted conservative views after finding that Medicaid and other government welfare programs she had expected to help her after her mother's death were inefficient and ineffective,[11] objecting to the idea that as someone who had grown up in poverty, she had any 'white privilege,'[3] as well as due to the influence of college friends and the writings of Ayn Rand.[1]

Born Bethany Ann Horowitz, she changed her name at age 18 to Bethany Shondark Murphy, with Murphy being her mother's maiden name.[1][6]

Career

Upon graduation, Mandel moved to Washington, DC and worked for Washington Hebrew Congregation while looking for a position in conservative politics.[1] After reading about the Jay Pritzker Academy near Siem Reap in Cambodia, she wrote and asked to teach at the school, becoming a fifth grade teacher there for a year.[1] Returning to Washington, DC in 2010 to pursue an Orthodox conversion to Judaism,[5] she found work as a fundraiser and writer at the Heritage Foundation, and then as a marketer, editor and blogger for Commentary magazine. Her advocacy for conservative causes led to her being named as one of "36 under 36" individuals reinventing Jewish life by the Jewish Week in 2013.[11]

Since 2013, she has been a freelance writer and commentator while working from home to raise her children.[12]

"Heroes of Liberty"

Mandel edits the children's book series "Heroes of Liberty," which consists of biographies of right-wing cultural and political figures marketed to conservative families. These books in this series avoid mention of issues that could cause discomfort to conservative parents, such as LBGT identities or the out-of-wedlock birth of Alexander Hamilton.[13]

In January 2022, a Facebook advertising account related to Heroes of Liberty was banned for violating Meta's "Low Quality or Disruptive Content" policy. It was later restored, and a Facebook spokesman wrote that its banning had been the result of a "mistake". There had been backlash on social media, as well as from prominent Conservative commentators and politicians such as Senator Ted Cruz.[14][15] In a Heroes of Liberty video launched in February 2021, Mandel accuses the Scholastic Corporation of indoctrinating children by publishing books with themes concerning racism, LGBTQ identities and general anti-Americanism, marketing such books through school book fairs to children from families that would not intentionally purchase books with such content.[16]

Views

Comments on refugee resettlement in the U.S.

In 2015, Mandel spoke publicly against the resettlement of Syrian refugees in Highland Park, New Jersey, arguing that without sufficient support to find good jobs, these refugees might become radicalized.[17][18][19] However, in 2021, she criticized the Biden administration for not doing more to speedily resettle Afghan refugees in the U.S.[20]

Opposition to COVID-19 lockdown continuation

During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Mandel was outspoken in her opposition to the continuation of lockdowns after the initial month. In one tweet, she said:[21]

"You can call me a Grandma killer. I'm not sacrificing my home, food on the table, all of our docs and dentists, every form of pleasure (museums, zoos, restaurants), all my kids' teachers in order to make other people comfortable. If you want to stay locked down, do. I'm not."

Following this, the term "Grandma Killer" trended on Twitter,[22] and Mandel added "Grandma Killer" to her Twitter bio.[6]

Mandel opposes mask mandates for children, a position she states in her opinion columns and on Twitter.[13]

Personal life

Mandel was born to a Catholic mother and a Jewish father, and sought out Rabbi Barry Freundel for an Orthodox conversion that would make her Jewish status universally recognized.[5] She has also said that she left the Reform movement in which she originally affiliated because of its close association with progressive and liberal politics.[23]

She completed her conversion in 2011.[2] In 2014, she learned that the rabbi had filmed her naked while preparing her for conversion.[5][24] She wrote an article entitled "The Convert Bill of Rights" that went viral, making her a spokeswoman for the many victims of the Freundel scandal. She served on a committee appointed by the Rabbinical Council of America to suggest safeguards against future abuses in the conversion process.[25] For this work, the Forward named her one of the "Forward 50" in 2015,[26] and the Rutgers University Hillel honored her with its Young Alumni Award at its 2016 Annual Gala.[10] She has also said that it became clear to her that the RCA did not want to enact meaningful changes to its conversion program, that she resigned from the committee when she understood this, and that the experience left her disenchanted with Orthodoxy as a whole. As a consequence, she and her husband stopped participating in Orthodox Jewish institutions, such as synagogues and schools,[6] before finding a supportive synagogue in Kemp Mill several years later.[23]

She is married to Seth Mandel and the mother of 5 children.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Twitter Personality of the Week #17: 10 Questions for Bethany Shondark Murphy (@bethanyshondark)".
  2. ^ a b c d Reed, Esther (April 6, 2016). "Rutgers Hillel honors legacy, leaders, rising stars at gala". My Central Jersey. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Graham, Jennifer (October 27, 2021). "Meet the couple out to convince you to have more kids". Deseret News. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  4. ^ "The 50 Jews everyone should follow on Twitter". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. January 3, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d "The Devastating Story of Washington's Peeping-Tom Rabbi". Washingtonian. January 3, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Bethany Mandel will not be canceled". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. July 9, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  7. ^ "Remembering My Mom: Vera J. Murphy 1956-2002". Kosher Girl in a Bacon World. December 28, 2012. Archived from the original on August 11, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  8. ^ "Seven Years Later". Kosher Girl in a Bacon World. September 13, 2012. Archived from the original on August 11, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  9. ^ Mandel, Bethany S. (August 1, 2017). "My dad committed suicide in 2009, addicted to opioid painkillers. I don't talk about him much, here or in real life". @bethanyshondark. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  10. ^ a b "Rutgers Hillel Helped Me Build a Jewish Life - And Eventually Become a Jewish Wife by Bethany Mandel '08 - Rutgers Hillel". www.rutgershillel.org. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
  11. ^ a b "Bethany Mandel, 27". Jewish Week. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  12. ^ Bethany Mandel (April 19, 2018). "Tammy Duckworth's Senate vote with a baby in tow is a model of accommodation for working mothers: Women can be mothers and productive members of society simultaneously, if given the opportunity". www.nbcnews.com. I have balanced full-time, stay-at-home motherhood alongside a writing career for almost five years (and I'm not unique in that). I have brought my children to interviews, to speaking engagements and on work trips. I've nursed a baby during a live video interview that began later than anticipated (which would otherwise have fallen during a nap time), I've bounced a baby in a baby carrier while giving testimony in open court. In the background of almost every single work-related call is the sound of children laughing, arguing and, sometimes, both.
  13. ^ a b Hounshell, Blake; Askarinam, Leah (2022-02-03). "'Daddy, What's an Originalist?'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  14. ^ Contreras, Russell. "Conservative children's book startup release works on John Wayne, Amy Coney Barrett". Axios. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  15. ^ Barrabi, Thomas (2022-01-04). "Facebook restores conservative book publisher's account after 'error'". New York Post. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
  16. ^ O'Neil, Tyler (February 13, 2022). "Conservative publisher Heroes of Liberty takes aim at the Scholastic 'Woketopus'". FOXBusiness. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  17. ^ Yi, Karen. "NJ religious leaders: We must accept Syrian refugees". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  18. ^ Amaral, Brian (November 24, 2015). "Highland Park clergy press for 'open doors' to refugees". nj. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  19. ^ Hill, Michael (November 23, 2015). "Religious Roundtable Opens Up Discussion and Minds on Accepting Refugees". NJ Spotlight News.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ^ Mandel, Bethany (September 2, 2021). "Opinion: When Biden dropped the ball in Afghanistan, America showed up". Deseret News. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  21. ^ "'You can call me a grandma killer,' opponent of lockdown says, and social media obliges". NJ.com. May 6, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  22. ^ Nash, Charlie (May 6, 2020). "Conservative Commentator Bethany Mandel Trends on Twitter After 'Grandma Killer' Coronavirus Comments". Mediaite. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  23. ^ a b "Bethany S. Mandel". EIGHTEENFORTY. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  24. ^ Heilman, Uriel (October 21, 2014). "Converts say Freundel's abuse of power extended beyond mikvah peeping". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  25. ^ "RCA sets panel to review conversion process in wake of Freundel scandal". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. October 29, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  26. ^ "Bethany Mandel". The Forward. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
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