My thoughts on politics.
Rabbi Andy Kahn, assistant rabbi at New York’s Temple Emanu-El issued a shocking tweet on July 7: “Let me say this as plainly as possible: Jews are not an indigenous people. It is appropriative to make use of this word when referring to our relationship to the land of Israel, and it undermines the difficult …
Jews have a special sensitivity about racism and some are taking part in the protests in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. But some say Black Lives Matter (BLM) is an Antisemitic organization. On June 5, for an example, Israel Hayom carried an op-ed by Caroline B. Glick detailing the relationship between BLM …
A Holocaust memorial fountain was vandalized last week in Santa Rosa, California. The fountain was found toppled in pieces in the ground. Built in 2016, the memorial was built by Daniel Judd to honor his parents, Emil and Lillian Judd. The two were Holocaust survivors. During the recent BLM protests, many Jewish stores and synagogues …
American and Israeli Jews share a common heritage and faith, but don’t always agree on the nitty-gritty details of what that means. Maybe that’s why American Jewish tourist to Israel, Brandon Korff, ended up breaking his agreement with Israeli officials. Israel hasn’t allowed foreigners into the country, as part of coronavirus control, since March. But …
Rabbi Aryeh Spero says that too many American Jews are silent in the face of the destruction of shops, synagogues and Jewish institutions in Los Angeles. They are apparently afraid to appear not “woke.” Even though it has been well documented that Black Lives Matter is an inherently antisemitic organization and that the looting and …
What does the killing of George Floyd and subsequent protests mean for the Jews? Antisemitic graffiti on synagogues and the ransacking and damaging of kosher stores, restaurants, and bakeries. Elan Carr, America’s envoy for monitoring and combatting antisemitism, tweeted photos of the graffiti, thanking the community for the cleanup effort at Congregation Beth Israel in …
All of us are now affected in one way or another by the novel coronavirus. But perhaps the scariest place to be right now is Iran, with almost 1000 deaths at this writing. It was never going to be a fun time for Americans to be trapped in the land of the ayatollahs, but fear …
Jonathan S. Tobin, writing for Israel HaYom said what a lot of us were thinking after watching Bloomberg’s debate performance. “Michael Bloomberg had his chance.” In other words, Bloomberg had his chance, but blew it, leaving the door wide open for Bernie Sanders to win the Democratic nomination for president. It wasn’t just his unpolished …
It’s always fun to see talking heads you normally see in suits, put on blue jeans and play rock music on a stage. Which is exactly what happened in Jerusalem, earlier this month, when US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and Governor Mike Huckabee jammed together for an enthusiastic audience. Actually, it happened twice. First …
We think of the upcoming Israeli election, if we think of it at all, as between Benny Gantz and Bibi Netanyahu. But actually, Gantz’s party, Blue and White, is co-led by both Gantz and Yair Lapid. Now Lapid says that if the Democrats win, Israel will be in trouble with Netanyahu at the helm. Lapid’s …