Welcome to White Rose Magazine.

About White Rose Magazine

During World War II, in the heart of Nazi Germany, a group of college students made the sober decision to be the voice of sanity in the midst of chaos. They decided that truth needed to be expressed even as they knew the price to be paid for speaking out against the systemic pressures to be silent. Those brave heroes whose story inspired us in 2021 to follow their example were known as the White Rose Society. Their inspiration is our mission. 

In this new age of cancel culture, where public discourse feels like a never-ending shouting match between extremes of the far left and the far right, most people feel underserved, under-represented, and too often ignored in the political arena. Simply stated, the all-or-nothing approach of political activism is not reflective of how most people think. During elections, the silent majority is often defined, labeled, and packaged for mass consumption by political parties and others aligned with their thinking.

It is, however, our view that the silent majority endorses neither extreme conservatism nor extreme leftism, but rather is made up of people who work hard and want to be able to support their families, having something left over for the enjoyment of life. Most have tuned out the mainstream pundits because they hear people talking about them for political points without speaking to their actual needs. And most have given up speaking for themselves in this cancel climate because, as noted, they are concerned about being able to provide for their families. 

The silent majority is whom we seek to address, and whose spirit we hope to channel. We choose this voice to call out extremist and divisive views on all sides and work to bridge gaps in society that have for too long grown unchecked. In the process, we look to inspire a new era of true liberalism and expose disguised illiberalism. Having left-of-center views does not create a liberal. Like many words these days, “liberal” has been corrupted. In popular culture, it has become synonymous with the word “leftist.” Leftism is not liberalism but in fact illiberalism. It is a closed-loop echo chamber where like-minded people repeat, reinforce, and agree. 

Most Americans—the silent majority—have long waited for solutions and ideas that make sense, and to be involved in an open and honest discourse. That is the goal of White Rose Magazine. White Rose will platform new writers as well as veteran writers who see the void and are willing to be part of bridging differences in society, rather than exacerbating them. It is our hope that people who read this do so with an open mind. Open minds lead to open and healthy discourse, the foundation of true liberalism.  

We are also reintroducing the idea that aesthetics and liberalism align—that together they have the capacity to elevate and unite. That together they can create a civil society that, in the words of Ahad Ha-Am, has the power to exalt the soul, transcend differences, and honor humanity.

Masthead

Editor in Chief
Karen Lehrman Bloch

Executive Editor
Ben Poser

Political Editor
Lisa Schiffren

Legal Affairs Editor
Arthur I. Willner

Education Editor
Naya Lekht

Senior Editors
Joshua David Washington
Garrett Rutledge

Podcast Editor
Hap Aziz

Art + Architecture Critic 
Benjamin Marcus

Music Editor
Darren Glick

Design Director
William van Roden

Web Developer
Elliot Toman

Public Relations
Xhibition Creative Agency

Sponsors for Issue XV

Darren Glick
Atrijit Dasgupta
Iris Langman
Margaret Poswistilo
Linda Klein

Contributing Writers and Editors

Thane Rosenbaum, Olga Meshoe Washington, Christina Hoff Sommers, James Lindsay, Asra Nomani, Jonathan Haidt, Matthew Menachem Feuer, Micha Mitch Danzig, Michael R. Caplan, Karen Harradine, Jason D. Paluch, Michael Pregent, Dmitri Shufutinsky, Brandy Shufutinsky, and Brian Gottesman

Karen Lehrman Bloch has been an editor and writer at The New Republic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wilson Quarterly. She is also the author of The Lipstick Proviso: Women, Sex & Power in the Real World (Doubleday); The Inspired Home: Interiors of Deep Beauty (HarperCollins); and the forthcoming The Elegant Soul: Love, Sex & Dignity in the 21st Century.

Hap Aziz is the son of immigrants from Bangladesh who came to America for its promise of freedom and prosperity. As an educator and technologist for the past three decades, Hap has watched these fields collide and transform society.

Lisa Schiffren has been an editorial writer, political reporter, war correspondent, and GOP speechwriter. She worked in Counterterrorism/Special Operations policy at the Department of Defense, has worked on many GOP campaigns, and currently works at the Jewish Policy Center. 

Arthur I. Willner is a trial and appellate attorney in Los Angeles handling campus First Amendment and due process cases.

Joshua David Washington is the Executive Director of the Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel (IBSI), an organization dedicated to strengthening the relationship between Israel, the Jewish people, and people of African descent through education and advocacy. He is also a professional composer and musician with a degree in music composition. 

Ben Poser is a Brandeis University graduate with a degree in Classical Archaeology and Ancient History, winner of the 2016 Doris Brewer Cohen Award for best undergraduate thesis in the field of Humanities. He is the research director for the Jewish Leadership Project and associate director of the American Anti-Slavery Group.

Naya Lekht is a scholar on contemporary anti-Semitism and works with the Jewish community to enhance pride and education in the history of the Jewish people and the Arab-Israeli conflict. In addition to her interest in the history of anti-Semitism, Naya likewise writes and teaches about Soviet history. In 2022, Naya was a guest educator for the National Teachers’ Seminar at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, where she taught a cohort of teachers on the topic of Soviet literature and film. She holds a Ph.D. from UCLA, where she wrote about Holocaust literature in the Soviet Union, where she was born.

Benjamin Marcus is an architect, graphic designer, and illustrator in private practice in NYC. In addition to his writing on architecture, Benjamin writes about film and its relation to architecture, and has been a guest educator on film at Portland State University. With a lifelong interest in Judaica, he is currently working on the illumination with his original artwork of the Five Megillot (the Biblical books of Esther, Ruth, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, and the Song of Songs), in a multi-year private commission, as well as research into the architecture of the Tabernacle. Benjamin earned his BA in Philosophy from NYU and his Masters in Architecture from SCI-Arc.


Contact

For article submissions, please contact: Karen Lehrman Bloch

To become a sponsor of White Rose Magazine, contact: Karen Lehrman Bloch

To advertise with White Rose Magazine, contact: Karen Lehrman Bloch