Peace 101: Absence of conflict
“On May 2, UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, passed a resolution denying Israel’s right to Jerusalem. The Resolution, submitted by seven Arab countries in...
View ArticleAmerican diplomacy and Mideast peace
It appears that a new American Mideast initiative is in the offing. After meeting with both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during his first...
View ArticleOf Dykes and Men
To hear the organizers of the Chicago Dyke March describe it, their exclusion of three Jewish marchers for carrying a rainbow flag with a Star of David on it was a victory for inclusiveness. Those...
View ArticleJNF of America — Even the best people need oversight
Yesterday Jewish National Fund of America CEO Russell Robinson and CFO Mitchel Rosenzweig agreed to repay personal loans they received from the JNF. These loans turned out to be illegal under New York...
View ArticleNeeded: Straight Talk and Moral Clarity
By now, millions of words have been written about President Trump’s appalling failure of moral leadership following the neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Race is America’s original sin....
View ArticleA Personal Celebration of Life
Later this week, I reach a milestone for which there is no official religious observance but which has proven to be terribly significant. On Friday I outlive my father. There will be no yahrtzeit or...
View ArticleThe cowardice of American Jewish academia
Three weeks ago, Professor Alan Dershowitz gave a speech at the University of California-Berkeley in which he laid out the liberal case for Israel. Shortly thereafter, a cartoon appeared in the student...
View ArticleThe Cowardice of American Jewish Academia — Part II
Sometimes, you hit a nerve. Judging by the posted comments, it’s clear that I hit one with my article on November 4 concerning the cowardice of American Jewish academia. One of the comments came from...
View ArticleTrump, Jerusalem and the specter of UN Resolution 2334
The rumor mill is running wild that President Trump will recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital this week. It is unclear whether this would include recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the entire...
View ArticleA Modern Prayer for Our People
Following President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, reaction across the Jewish world has been typical, with 18 million people expressing 24 million opinions. Personally, I want...
View ArticlePresident Morales’s Christmas present: Hope for peace
On Christmas Eve, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales gave the world, and all who love peace, one of the greatest Christmas presents imaginable. President Morales announced that he was following...
View ArticleTrump Tweets to Teheran
Since President Trump announced in December that the United States recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the following has happened: 1. Guatemala joined the US in recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s...
View ArticleWe Are All Eugene
Last week, this newspaper published an article on anti-Semitic incidents in and around Eugene, Oregon. The substance of the article was disturbing, but the comments afterward were disheartening. They...
View ArticleThe Civil Rights Heroes From My Hometown
Every year I look forward to our synagogue’s Martin Luther King Shabbat joint service with the local Baptist church. Am I the only Jew who loves Gospel music and is longing to hear Adon Olam sung to Oh...
View ArticleOn the Importance of being Nikki
Nikki Haley spoke about the Middle East at the UN yesterday. She spoke directly, forcefully, honestly, and in language almost never heard in that body. Nikki Haley told Palestinian Authority President...
View ArticleLorde help us all
Justine Sachs shares much in common with many Jews throughout the world. Politically, the New Zealander is very liberal. This puts her in good company with the substantial majority of Jews in the...
View ArticleWhen Philly becomes Israel
Last Sunday, our beloved American Football team, the Philadelphia Eagles (properly pronounced “Iggles”), won the sport’s championship, the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl has been played every year since...
View ArticleWhen bad people lead good causes
Women’s March organizer Tamika Mallory has troubling friends. In February, Mallory attended a “Saviors’ Day” rally in Chicago. The keynote speaker was that notorious anti-Semite, Louis Farrakhan. Even...
View ArticleScrolls of Contention
Shortly after the passage of Resolution 2334 by the United Nations Security Council in December 2016, I began to explore its ramifications. The Resolution was approved when the Obama Administration...
View ArticleWhy we slaughter each other
In the Facebook page for Times of Israel bloggers, Barack Mandela asked last week why the United States is plagued by so many mass shootings? In the last year, there have been nearly 300. Nobody knows...
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