Op-Eds

The three most common stereotypes neatly encapsulate the triangular denunciation of the Jews: They dominate the economy and financial markets; they are more loyal to the State of Israel than they are to the continent; and they talk endlessly of their suffering during the Holocaust.

Senator Sanders, when you visited an Israeli kibbutz in 1963, how many Israeli settlements were there? The answer is zero, which leads me to my next question: If there were no settlements, and the land that the Palestinians want for their state was in Arab hands, why wasn’t a Palestinian state formed then and why wasn’t there peace with Israel?

I’m writing this article primarily for Modern Orthodox parents of teens and pre-teens – because I love the world of Torah Umadda and that world no longer exists in America.

The Trump administration’s decision to repudiate an earlier approach that regarded Israeli communities across the “Green Line” as illegal has been praised and condemned. While there may be merit to seeing the move as an effort to help PM Benjamin Netanyahu or at least break Israel’s electoral logjam, there are deeper motives at play. Trump and his administration have made a hallmark of defying dysfunctional conventional wisdom and foreign policy inertia that elevate process over results. But while the predicted calamities of this policy have not materialized, the administration’s lack of any Grand Strategy makes the benefits difficult to aggregate.

Secretary Pompeo's announcement makes unofficial State Department policy official.

U.S. policymakers can take steps to decrease the likelihood of another war and prepare Israel for provocations from terror groups—namely, Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Gideon Sa’ar’s idea was simple and smart: force snap Likud primaries to ensure the party remains in power before the Knesset disperses. But the decision to hold the primaries after the Knesset disperses again makes Netanyahu the heavy favorite.

For the Europeans and the American left, the term “settlement” is a password that opens Pandora’s Box of anti-Semitism. Pompeo took their buzzword away.

The wedge between Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the recent Gaza conflagration is a clear sign that Israel is deepening divisions between the two terror groups. Nevertheless, the payoffs to Hamas enhance its firepower in possible future rounds, meaning that Israel has to reduce the payoffs as much as possible rather than as the center-left suggests, show largess towards Gaza.

The Jewish refugees from the Middle East know the truth: Only a sovereign people seen as invincible and indestructible are secure in this region.

Was Lot the first Modern Orthodox Jew? He kept what he kept, nothing more, and resented being judged. He felt that his immersion in the local culture was permissible as long as he committed no overt sins and thus rationalized his conduct as still faithful to his upbringing. Ideology and especially values were secondary to the technical performances that he, for the most part, still observed

Ever since Mandelblit gave his “recommendations,” he and his comrades have been the only political actors in Israel with any power to speak of.

President Trump’s extraordinary gesture of support for Israel and the rights of the Jewish people was evident in the historic statement. The U.S. has rightly concluded that falsely calling settlements illegal is not helpful for peace.

The story of Zionism is the story of the Jewish people. And if Jews don’t know that story and don’t take part in it, we will see greater rates of intermarriage and loss of identity. For this reason, I’d like to see my book taught in schools and universities.

Israelis residing in the West Bank are not violating international law.

By changing the discourse about settlements, the Trump administration is laying the groundwork for realistic negotiation. Even if you think that Israeli settlement should be rolled-back in the context of a sensible peace arrangement, applying the demonizing epithet “illegal” makes for a destructive narrative that distances, not advances, peace.

Would we prefer to be right, or effective? The answer, as Torah Jews, is that we have to be both: right and effective. That means increasing our sensitivity to the way others perceive us, whether we think those perceptions as justified or not.

Israel had claims to Judea and Samaria; it did not invade another country, offensively, to take away its land. And the Palestinians weren’t living in a nation of their own that could be occupied.

Take back the narrative and turn the tide

Many commentators noted that of all the world's many territorial conflicts — from Crimea to Northern Cyprus to Tibet to Western Sahara — the EU has singled out Israel as the only country subject to special labelling requirements.

President Trump’s ill-advised decision to withdraw from Syria should be viewed in the context of two broader developments. In terms of foreign policy, both the Republicans and the Democrats are moving from international engagement to neo-isolationism; and strategically, the Pentagon is shifting from the war on terror to a renewed focus on Russia and China.

Was Kahane the first to advocate expelling enemies attacking Jews, or was it Mother Sarah ?

The European Court of Justice has discriminated against Jews by singling out Israeli businesses from Arab ones. Its ruling is deeply politicized and disreputable, owing everything to boilerplate European prejudice against Israel, and nothing to law and justice.

The acceptance of a “Palestinian state” as a fully-fledged member state by the Court is an example of how the ICC is dependent upon political determinations of the UN’s General Assembly. The Palestinians have adopted the ICC as their own “back-yard tribunal” for baiting Israel. They regularly submit referrals against Israel’s leaders and settlement policy. In so doing, they are politicizing the Court.

It is about time...

The unprecedented convergence of strategic threats now taking shape under Iran’s inspiration and guidance requires the IDF to adopt a new operational approach without delay (including a reorganization and a suitable buildup) and the Israeli public to prepare for the emergency situations attending these new emergent threats.

Better to believe in the 'Iron Fist'

The European Court of Justice's ruling to label goods produced in Judea and Samaria is nothing short of an anti-Semitic bombshell.

The E.U. labeling requirement is an overt, political measure strengthening the already existing links between the E.U. and the predominantly European BDS campaign.

What does God thinks when, after 2,000 years of exile, He sees so many Jews apologetic and defensive about calling Israel a Jewish state?