Pondering the state of American Jewry
A Pearson Airport security agent failed the sensitivity test in Toronto when he failed to recognize a religious Jew’s tefillin (phylacteries) and insisted on opening up the boxes to inspect the contents, a violation of religious liberty, for sure. Especially when the religious Jew, remaining respectful throughout, asked twice to speak to the agent’s supervisor. …
Portugal’s Secretary of State for Tourism Ana Mendes Godinho recently attempted to woo American Jews to spend time in and invest in Portugal. “We want a Jewish presence in Portugal and we look to Jewish investment,” said Mendes Godinho, who spent two weeks in the United States. This puts one in mind of the tragic …
Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach didn’t feel well in the hours leading up to Shabbos. Rushed to the hospital, he died on Shabbos. Perhaps a fitting end for a man born on Yom Kippur. His passing was sudden, and his loss is felt keenly in Jerusalem. Rav Shmuel was close to Rab Eliashiv and Rav Shach, and …
A recent article in Mishpacha Magazine, from Rabbi Moshe Grylak relates a story about Israeli Jews who have moved to the U.S., and how intermarriage is affecting them. In the story, one expat Israeli blames another expat for the fact that his son is about to marry a non-Jew. Why? Because the congregation didn’t offer …
One synagogue is banning the music of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach for a period of one year, because of allegations of abuse toward the late rabbi and singer songwriter. This is the era of #MeToo, which means that such allegations are accepted without question. Even when they concern a dead person who cannot give testimony. Banning …
In a recent CNN debate between Palestinian Authority (PA) diplomat Saeb Erekat and MK Naftali Bennett, Christiane Amanpour appeared to be helping Erekat out by feeding him his lines. Amanpour suggested that President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was “music” to Bennett’s ears. Erekat then used the line as if it were indeed, …
Speaking to Fareed Zakaria in Davos, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke brilliantly, as per usual. Pressed to say that President Trump somehow stymied peace by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Netanyahu blew that myth right out of the water: “He did a great service for peace because peace can only be based on truth, on …
Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs Naftali Bennett presented his ministry’s report on global antisemitism. It seems that while antisemitism is on the rise, violent antisemitic incidents are down. In Bennett’s introduction to the report, he said: “The unequivocal growth in the anti-Semitic discourse is apparently due to two phenomena that we have witnessed over the …
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 …