antisemitism, Israel

Trump Cuts UNRWA Funding

UNRWA school, Jerusalem

It’s about time someone cut the pipeline to UNRWA. The organization is as dirty as can be, calling children, great grandchildren, and even great great grandchildren of those who left Israel in 1948, “refugees.” Even those who fled weren’t really refugees, as they left of their own volition. In all this time, moreover, none of …

Conservative Movement

John McCain’s Jailer Respected Him

John McCain

Senator John McCain died of a glioblastoma on Saturday, one day after the senator from Arizona announced he would stop pursuing treatment for the aggressive brain tumor. McCain may not have become president, but he achieved a great deal in his lifetime, including respect even from those who opposed his political views. But according to …

antisemitism

White Power, Antisemitism, and Racism

Sarah Jeong, Louis Farrakhan, Donald Trump, Linda Sarsour

A fascinating JTA op-ed by Charles Dunst, Is Antisemitism a Form of Racism, explores how self-appointed experts in racism exclude antisemitism from its hallowed ranks. According to people such as NY Times technology writer Sarah Jeong, and feminist and identity politics personality Linda Sarsour, racism cannot apply to those who are white and powerful. Ergo …

Freedom of religion, Israel, Liberal Jews

Leftist Writer Weakens Support for Israel in the United States

Gershom Gorenberg (Joe Mabel [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)

Gershom Gorenberg, writing in the Washington Post, claims that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu weakens support for Israel within the United States. But the piece is so full of lies and distortions that one wonders that the Washington Post let it stand. Gorenberg’s main gripe is Israel’s new Nation-State law, but Israeli laws are not …

antisemitism, Freedom of religion, Israel, Jewish pride

World in Uproar Over Israel Jewish Nation-State Law

Israeli flag juxtaposed with Jewish items to illustrate that Israel is the Jewish State

Israel finally did it: enshrined into law the basic premise that Israel is the Jewish State and its official language is. . . wait for it. . . Hebrew. Are you shocked? You shouldn’t be. Every country has a similar law. In France, for instance, French is the official language, even though a lot of …

Israel, Liberal Jews

Falling Stone: What Does it Mean After Tisha B’Av?

Azrat Yisrael egalitarian prayer plaza, Western Wall

A stone fell out of the Western Wall, early Monday morning, the day after we celebrated Tisha B’Av (albeit a day late because of Shabbat). The mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat and city engineer Shlomo Eshkol came to inspect the fallen stone and the decision was made to fence off the area until the Antiquities …

Education, Intermarriage, Israel, Orthodox, Quality of Jewish Life

Should Israel Pay For Jewish Education in America?

American Jewish classroom

According to a report on the first conference of North American Jewish school principals that recently took place in Jerusalem, Jewish leaders from the U.S. and Canada asked the Israeli government to subsidize tuition to Jewish schools. As anyone who tries to keep a Torah-observant lifestyle in the United States knows, tuition has become so …

Conservative Movement, Liberal Jews

Jews Respond to Kavanaugh Nomination

The announcement of federal judge Brett Kavanaugh as President Trump’s nominee to replace retired Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy brought with it the condemnations we’ve come to expect after, well, any announcement by President Trump. And because of claims that Kavanaugh will overturn Roe vs. Wade, the outcry is particularly loud from Jewish groups, who …