Pondering the state of American Jewry
The mainstream media has been in an uproar since President Trump announced the U.S. Embassy would be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. But not everyone is listening. Guatemala, for instance. Guatemala is moving its embassy, too. So are another score or so of other countries considering the same. Maybe it’s time to stop tuning …
Hanna Shaul Bar Nissim, writing for Salon, says that while just one in 50 Americans is Jewish, American Jews give more money as private individuals and also as a community. Bar Nissim studies community philanthropy. She’s trying to figure out why Jews play an outsized role in American philanthropy. The interesting thing is that these …
President Trump made his daring pronouncement that Israel’s capital is its capital and while many were pleased in the Jewish community, the Reform Movement made a statement against the move. This was a real head scratcher. What? They don’t recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel??? And they’re JEWISH? Confusing. If we don’t have Jerusalem …
If Chanuka was all about remaining true to Torah Judaism and not giving in to secular Greek culture, how is it possible for the holiday to remain relevant to Jews in America, the majority of whom are not orthodox, and are unlikely to marry Jews? Chanuka must be more than the Jewish version of Christmas. …