Purim Meditation: After Rush Limbaugh Insulted Me

Posted on: March 8th, 2012

It wasn't a biggie, really, I've been called worse. When my wife heard what Rush had been calling me, she said she wasn't surprised. So maybe it wasn't even such a bad thing that Rush did, maybe he even meant it as a caution, so I would go ahead and mend my loose morals. But here's the funny thing, as soon as news came out that Rush insulted me, people started empathizing with me and writing Rush's advertisers to stop sponsoring him because of what he said about Yanover.

Harvard Never Learns

Posted on: March 7th, 2012

This past weekend Harvard hosted a One-State Solution Conference, designed to promote the dissolution of Israel. It is only the latest example of that university’s longstanding practice of facilitating the spread of anti-Semitism.

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Once Upon A Time There Was An Adorable Little Country…

Posted on: March 7th, 2012

And after helping so many groups of people, after absorbing so many sets of refugees, after solving so many of the world's problems, there were no longer any wise leaders to govern the adorable little state. Because it had humanitarian-ized itself into oblivion.

Three Cheers For Ray Kelly And The NYPD

Posted on: March 7th, 2012

Equating terrorism with criminality is ridiculous. They have no relationship to one another. Criminality is generally for the purpose of enrichment of oneself by breaking the law. Modern day terrorism seeks to achieve political or military goals by the use of indiscriminate terror directed primarily at innocent civilians.

Alan Dershowitz: President Obama Turns a Corner on Iran

Posted on: March 4th, 2012

For those who have claimed that Obama is anti-Israel and/or weak on Iran, his forceful statements in a recent interview should make them reconsider. I was not surprised by President Obama's strong words, because he said similar things to me in private conversation. And I, for one, am satisfied with the President's words. Now I want to hear them repeated by Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, by Joint Chief of Staff Martin Dempsey and by others in the Obama Administration.

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Demonstrations And Remonstrations On Agunah Day

Posted on: February 29th, 2012

Those who are subjected to emotional suffering tend to be kept out of society's line of sight. All the more so when society is either the cause of the suffering or can alleviate it and does not do so.

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What Satmar Chassidim Can Teach The Author Who Trashed Them

Posted on: February 29th, 2012

Dear Deborah, Your book, Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of my Hasidic Roots, has touched a lot of nerves and unsettled a lot of hearts in the Orthodox Jewish community. It is not every day that a Satmar woman divorces her husband, moves to Manhattan and writes a tell-all book about the experience. It is not every day that a Satmar woman writes about her chassidic experience with derision and her intimate relations without inhibition.

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Why Purim Is Forever

Posted on: February 29th, 2012

Why is Purim eternal? I would suggest that Purim is the prototype of the End of Exile, and as such will remain forever linked to the Era of Mashiach that will occur after the Final Redemption. Therefore, Purim will be part of that entire period at the culmination of history.

The Mormon Senator Who Tried To Save Anne Frank

Posted on: February 29th, 2012

The news that a Mormon temple in the Dominican Republic recently conducted a posthumous proxy baptism of Anne Frank, the most famous diarist of the Holocaust, undoubtedly will cause some offense in the Jewish community. Evidently the baptizers believe they were saving Anne's soul. Of greater significance, however, is what Mormons tried to do to save Anne's life.

Popular Israeli TV Host Calls for Reducing Number of “Ultra Orthodox Grandchildren”

Posted on: February 28th, 2012

Yaron London is spelling stuff out, having moved, like many secular Israelis, from bemused disliking of the Ultra Orthodox to outright loathing anyone wearing a black hat and a beard. Now he's out for blood. His op-ed piece in Y'net Tuesday recalls earlier solutions to "the Jewish problem."

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Fear and Loathing on the Mount of Olives

Posted on: February 28th, 2012

Returning Jewish life to Jerusalem is normal. Jews and Arabs living together is normal. Grave desecration is not normal and throwing rocks at tour groups is not normal. But that desecration and those rocks are futile because they will neither scare nor deter the Jewish people from reclaiming our rights and continuing the process of normalization in eastern Jerusalem and throughout the land.

Personal View: Islamic Revolutionary Guards Arrest BBC ‘Activists’

Posted on: February 26th, 2012

The Iranians are picking up BBC operatives and throwing them in jail, which is awful, except that it's difficult to read a story about a government getting back at those pesky radio lads with their perfect British accents and preconceived notions about life, the universe and everything. Maybe it takes the Iranian regime to shut them up? We're only kidding, of course. Half kidding.

Billionaire Adelson Weighs Pouring $100 million into Newt’s Campaign

Posted on: February 22nd, 2012

What if you had $25 billion and no mortgage and the kids were already out of college – would you give Newt Gingrich $100 million so he could go out and play candidate again?

Teacher, Love Your Student: It Takes More Than Chapters, Pages and Lessons

Posted on: February 22nd, 2012

A young teacher described this episode that occurred early in her teaching career: “One beautiful spring morning when I arrived at school, I was surprised to see a youngster waiting at the door. ‘It’s locked,’ he said sadly. His expression brightened as I began to fumble for my keys. ‘You’re a teacher!” he exclaimed in obvious delight.

Whitney Houston: Didn’t She Almost Have It All?

Posted on: February 22nd, 2012

Wikipedia says it this way: In 2009, Guiness World Records cited her as the most-awarded female act of all time. Her list of awards includes two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, and 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards as of 2010. Houston was also one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide. So, didn’t she almost have it all?

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New NY Times Jerusalem Bureau Chief Tips Her Hand

Posted on: February 22nd, 2012

Incoming New York Times Jerusalem bureau chief Jodi Rudoren has been exhibiting not only questionable judgment but also an overt bias against Israel even before she’s landed in the country.

Making a Difference For Our Brethren In Israel

Posted on: February 22nd, 2012

We are all aware of the terrible divisions among Israel’s Jewish population. My friends and colleagues in Israel tell me they cannot remember a time in recent years where so much fragmentation existed. All this when the external threats facing Israel grow greater by the day.

Arab Like Me

Posted on: February 22nd, 2012

There are two kinds of Arabs in this world. Those who hate Jews, and those who don’t. And in my life, I have met more of the former than the latter.

Is the New York Times Pro-Zionist?

Posted on: February 22nd, 2012

The New York Times’ newly-appointed Bureau Chief Jodi Rodoren came under fire this week from pro-Israel bloggers who noticed that she sent a friendly tweet to a very obnoxious anti-Israel propagandist based in Chicago. Rodoren, an American Jew, was asked by one blogger whether she was a Zionist. Her response was that the only "ist" she would call herself is “journalist.” Well, that is really what is expected of her.

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Oliver Stone’s Son Becomes a Muslim? Could be worse…

Posted on: February 18th, 2012

Cat Stevens he ain't, which may be the reason why the conversion to Islam of "JFK" maker's son has not been causing much of a splash. Also – the dude is all pleasant and non-aggressive about it, despite the potential for provocation in his choice of location – Iran.