Will Your Grandma Be a Victim of Financial Abuse

Posted on: October 11th, 2012

Have you ever met the kind of guy that would sell his own grandmother down the river? Since more and more elderly people are being swindled and financially abused every day, it’s crucial to learn how to protect your grandmother and other seniors you care about.

Major League Judaism

Posted on: October 11th, 2012

Browsing through a news website, I noticed that the World Series is just two weeks away. I haven’t followed baseball for 30 years, ever since making aliyah. When I lived in America, and thought I was an American, I loved baseball, like everyone else. But baseball doesn’t interest me anymore. I don’t even know what teams are in the running this year. The World Series has absolutely nothing to do with the Redemption of Am Yisrael, so who cares? But maybe we can borrow a few metaphors from baseball to help America Jews understand that Judaism in the Diaspora is the Little Leagues.

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Romney Channels George W. Bush’s Middle East Policy

Posted on: October 10th, 2012

Mitt Romney gave a generally fine speech today on the Middle East. Sensibly, he criticized the Obama administration for its Benghazi shenanigans, for the "daylight" with Israel, fecklessness vis-à-vis Tehran, and the cuts in military spending. Very justifiably, he called it "time to change course in the Middle East." But I worry about three specifics.

State Department Creationism

Posted on: October 10th, 2012

The US State Department has created an award program for "female Palestinian scientists." Candidates are required to "be a citizen and resident of West Bank, Gaza, or Jerusalem." What does it mean by "citizen"? Is the US State Department creating, again, a Palestinian state, when there is none existing?

The Guardian, Muslim Rioting and ‘Cause & Effect’

Posted on: October 10th, 2012

An official Guardian editorial on Oct. 1, ‘In praise of the political cartoon,’ commended the Egyptian newspaper Al Watan for “publishing… pictures with the message that the west misunderstands Islam,” which the editorial contrasted with “Charlie Hebdo‘s senselessly inflammatory caricatures of the prophet Muhammad.” Charlie Hebdo is a French satirical magazine which printed a set of cartoons on Sept. 19 featuring Muhammad which included […]

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Mitt, You Were Right the First Time!

Posted on: October 10th, 2012

While events — the Hamas takeover of Gaza, the Second Intifada — have convinced the great majority of Israelis that a practical two-state solution is a fantasy based on wishful thinking, this has generally not penetrated the US media or political establishment. So Mitt’s remarks in May came as a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately, it seems as though Romney has now changed his mind.

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The Joy of Achdus

Posted on: October 10th, 2012

It doesn’t matter to what segment of Orthodox Jewry one belongs. All segments celebrate this day with the same exuberance. It is truly the Torah which unites us all, right to left.

Mitt, Supporting Palestinian Statehood is NOT Pro-Israel

Posted on: October 10th, 2012

Mitt Romney seems to have a genuinely friendly view towards Israel, which he has made clear in various public statements and his recent visit to Israel. Yet, in his foreign policy address yesterday, he adopted the position which is at the heart of U.S. pressure on Israel: supporting Palestinian statehood.

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What Some Islamists Have Been Up To

Posted on: October 10th, 2012

Sometimes the global efforts of the Islamists pay dividends for them. Sometimes they are frustrated by the authorities. Nothing happens very quickly in the battle against them. And no one can seriously claim they are being defeated; on the contrary. Some snapshots from the last 24 hours.

Early Elections in Israel: When & Why?

Posted on: October 10th, 2012

At the end of his statement Netanyahu said it is preferable to have a "three month" campaign cycle than what would in practice be a year of campaigning until October 2013. Assuming that he would seek dissolution of the Knesset at the opening of the session -- October 15th -- that would put the elections at around or a little after January 15th.

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Judaism in a Jar

Posted on: October 10th, 2012

If the recent Sukkot overdose of Shabbat, followed by two days of Yom Tov, and another Shabbat followed by two more days of Yom Tov, isn’t enough to get Diaspora Jews to move to Israel, with its force-feeding of gefilta fish day-after-day, until gefilta fish jelly drips out of people’s noses and horseradish pours out of their ears, I don’t know what it’s going to take until Diaspora Jews are fed up with practicing Judaism in a jar.

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A Torah

Posted on: October 9th, 2012

On Simchat Torah we celebrate having successfully read the entire Torah over the space of a year.

Prematurely Celebrating Romney’s Victory

Posted on: October 9th, 2012

Despite Obama’s poor debate performance, Romney’s rising likability numbers and voters saying he would better handle the economy – and two more polls which give him a significant bump since the debate – there is reason to fear that voters will still not vote against the incumbent.

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Questions Outnumber Answers on Downed Drone, for Now

Posted on: October 7th, 2012

Questions abound as the IDF released scant information about the drone which entered Israeli airspace. News agencies add additional minor details but the large questions remain unanswered for the moment. China's Xinhua news service says the unidentified drone flew over settlements and military bases in southern Israel briefly before being brought down by IDF fire over an open unpopulated area. It was spotted entering Israel's airspace from the Mediterranean sea heading from the west to the east. But there is no word on where the UAV originated.

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The Emperor’s Magic New Debate

Posted on: October 7th, 2012

The outcome of the debate between Obama and Romney had less to do with any extraordinary qualities possessed by Mitt Romney than with the purely ordinary qualities of Barack Obama. No matter how much Team Obama tried to warn the media faithful against any enthusiasm, the expectations were high and remained high until the Chicago Messiah began to speak. And then there was nothing.

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Torah and Science – The Controversy Remains

Posted on: October 7th, 2012

It seems that two very prominent rabbinic figures have come on board with Rabbi Slifkin’s views with respect to reconciling science and the Torah. According to a post on Hirhurim by Rabbi Gil Student, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi of England, and a man of great intellect who I respect and admire greatly is one of them. The other is Rabbi Yaakov Ariel - one of the chief Poskim of Religious Zionists in Israel. These two people are not just your average rabbis. They are both highly respected not only by me but by Jews all over the world.

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So Why are Voters Still Choosing Obama?

Posted on: October 7th, 2012

Last week's U.S. presidential debate was a victory for Romney on all accounts, especially if one judges by the closing statements, where Obama couldn't muster any specific reason why voters should re-elect him aside from the fact that he was trying really hard as president. Looking at polls on how people view the candidates, I’m beginning to wonder why it is that Obama leads Romney in national polls and whether that is going start to change in a big way.

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‘Peaceful’ Olive Pickers Stoning Jews on Shabbat

Posted on: October 7th, 2012

On Saturday, at noon, local Jews out on a walk at the Aner springs west of the village of Neria in Samaria were attacked by dozens of Arabs throwing rocks, Tazpit reported. The official reason for the Arabs to be in the area was the olive harvest. What can be more peaceful than the olive harvest? And yet, despite the peaceful properties assigned to the olive, despite all those olive branches everywhere – those Arab olive pickers put down the olives and picked up the rocks.

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The Downside of Religious Idealism

Posted on: October 5th, 2012

Why is there so much animosity between Charedi and Dati Leumi/Religious Zionist factions? I can't fully answer the question. But I do have some thoughts about it. I think it is because Israelis are far more idealistic about their religious values - especially those who make Aliyah.

The Hypocrisy of Turkey’s Response to Syria

Posted on: October 5th, 2012

This same Mr Erdogan, who reserves to himself the right to defend his citizens and his borders and warns malefactors that they should not even dream of testing his country's determination, has expressed himself quite differently when it was Israel that took defensive measures in the face of lethal terrorist behavior that goes on and on.