Non-Orthodox Reaction To The Siyum HaShas

Posted on: August 15th, 2012

The massive turnouts around the world celebrating the completion of the twelfth cycle of the Daf Yomi should finally put to rest any remaining claims by leaders of non-Orthodox movements that they represent the wave of the Jewish future.

The Siyum HaShas

Posted on: August 8th, 2012

We doubt anyone attending last week’s massive Siyum HaShas at MetLife Stadium will forget anytime soon the breathtaking sight of more than ninety thousand people breaking out into dance and song in celebration of the Torah following the delivery of the siyum by Lakewood Rosh Yeshiva HaRav Malkiel Kotler. Or the chills they experienced as Cantor Yitzchok Meir Helfgott recited the Kel Moleh Rachamim prayer in honor of the victims of the Holocaust who died Al Kiddush Hashem. Or the inspiration they felt as tens of thousands of Jews prayed together as one. All were testimony to the centrality of Torah to Jewish identity, fealty to the Ribbono Shel Olam and submission to His Will.

When Political Correctness Gets In The Way Of Fighting Crime

Posted on: August 8th, 2012

Although by all accounts the NYPD’s stop and frisk program resulted in a significant drop in major violent crime, activists from minority communities made an issue of the fact that most of those stopped and frisked were blacks and Hispanics, many of whom were innocent of any crime.

Siyum HaShas: Klal Yisrael Celebrates The Torah

Posted on: August 1st, 2012

The Jewish Press joins in saluting the thousands of lomdei Torah around the world who together, in countless specially designated study groups, have completed the entire Shas over the past seven and a half years in the Daf HaYomi cycle.

The Romney Uproar In Perspective

Posted on: August 1st, 2012

To put it mildly, GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney’s trip to Israel didn’t go over well with spokesmen for the Palestinians, the Obama administration and a number of columnists and commentators who echoed their criticisms.

HaRav Yosef Sholom Elyashiv, ZT”L

Posted on: July 25th, 2012

The Jewish Press joins Klal Yisrael in mourning the death last week of HaRav Yosef Sholom Elyashiv, widely recognized as the Torah world’s foremost authority on Jewish law for nearly three decades – a scholar who set the tone and direction for resolving its most complex issues and who in many ways defined an era.

The IOC And Israel’s Martyred Athletes

Posted on: July 25th, 2012

For months, International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge has dismissed calls for a moment of silence at the opening ceremony of the London Olympics to mark the 40th anniversary of the murder of eleven Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Nostrums And Clichés

Posted on: July 18th, 2012

The New York Times greeted the release of the Levy Report with a not unexpected shrill editorial that captured the sentiment of the Arab world, the consensus of international opinion, and the view of not a few Jewish organizations here in the U.S.

The President And The Rule Of Law: Where Is Bill Clinton?

Posted on: July 18th, 2012

Soon after the oral argument in the Supreme Court on Obamacare, when it appeared there was considerable skepticism among the justices as to its constitutionality, President Obama expressed the view that it would be “unprecedented” for the unelected court to overturn legislation passed by an elected legislature.

PC Just Went a Notch Crazier over Circumcision Petition

Posted on: July 17th, 2012

How our chief editor, who normally wouldn't hurt a fly, managed to offend a lady from Toronto by merely citing a Mishna…

The Draft Controversy In Israel

Posted on: July 11th, 2012

A comment by Kadima leader Shaul Mofaz the other day set us thinking about an element in the draft debate that could only manifest itself in an Israeli context.

A Curious Gambit

Posted on: July 11th, 2012

We were struck by a petition drive launched by the National Jewish Democratic Council demanding that presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and the Republican Party reject contributions from billionaire donor Sheldon Adelson.

When Rules Don’t Count, Anything Goes

Posted on: July 11th, 2012

UNESCO proved once again that UN rules mean nothing if they get in the way of furthering an anti-Israel agenda.

Remembering Yitzhak Shamir

Posted on: July 4th, 2012

The Jewish Press joins Jews around the world in mourning the death, at age 96, of Yitzhak Shamir, a key leader in Israel’s fight for independence who later served as a top Mossad official, speaker of the Knesset, foreign minister and prime minister.

Not The Supreme Court’s Finest Hour

Posted on: July 4th, 2012

The traditional view of the United States Supreme Court as the ultimate, objective, arbiter of our system of government and thereby protector of our liberties took an enormous hit last week when the court upheld the constitutionality of Obamacare.

Is The Gray Lady Losing It?

Posted on: June 27th, 2012

Over the past several years the editorial page of The New York Times has taken on an increasingly desperate tone. There is no doubt that the advent of the Internet and conservative talk radio came at great cost to the Gray Lady, which for some time now has seemed incapable of framing issues in the methodical – if wrongheaded – manner it once did. But the level of shrillness in recent days is completely off the charts.

The Emperor Obama?

Posted on: June 20th, 2012

There certainly is wide enough room for thoughtful and well-meaning people to disagree about the appropriate approach to the presence in the United States of millions of people who have come here illegally. But those same thoughtful Americans should be very concerned with President Obama’s unilateral amendment of federal law in this regard. It is yet another indication that the president believes no federal asset is unavailable to him in his reelection bid and that he has a presumptive monopoly on knowing what is right for America.

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Bob Turner In The June 26 GOP U.S. Senate Primary

Posted on: June 20th, 2012

The Jewish Press endorses Congressman Bob Turner for the Republican nomination for United States senator from New York. The Republican primary election on June 26 will choose who will run against the incumbent, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat seeking reelection.

Guest Editorial: The Importance Of Voting (Part 2)

Posted on: June 20th, 2012

The candidacy of New York City Councilman Charles Barron for Congress against New York State Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries to replace the retiring Edolphus Towns has attracted much more than the usual interest.

Once Again, Settlements

Posted on: June 13th, 2012

Although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal last week to block the dismantling of Givat Ulpana enraged the Right in Israel, it was his government’s announcement of the construction of hundreds of new housing units in Beit El, Ariel, Ma’aleh Adumim, Adam, Efrat and Kiryat Arba that caused much more tumult around the world.