For The Sake Of Jerusalem

Posted on: December 2nd, 2009

Jerusalem, as it has so many times in the past, is today occupying center stage in the world theater. Once again the City of David is under siege. Not by an invading army, but by pressure exerted by nations to relinquish Israeli sovereignty over Jewry’s eternal capital.

The Letter Bibi Should Write Barack: No Construction in the Capital – and Palestine for Palestinians!

Posted on: November 25th, 2009

Dear Mr. President,In recent days you have called for a freeze on all construction activities in the southern Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo. It is your opinion that this is "occupied territory" because it lies outside the 1949 ceasefire lines that separated Israel from the Kingdom of Jordan while the latter illegally held East Jerusalem until 1967.

Abuse Survivors: Please Don’t Suffer Alone

Posted on: November 25th, 2009

According to reports circulating in the media and on the Internet, the recent tragic passing of yet another young person in our community may have stemmed at least in part from the trauma of childhood abuse.

Americans Slowly Awaken To The Reality Of Obama

Posted on: November 25th, 2009

It’s no secret these days that the Obama administration leans left. On every crucial issue, from dealing with al Qaeda and the threat of terrorism, to the environment, to health care, to the administration’s handling of our overseas adversaries, the president and his advisers have come down hard on the left side of the political divide.

White House Chanukah Party: Politics And Perceptions

Posted on: November 25th, 2009

Officials in the Obama administration have decided they will be cutting the guest list in half for this year’s White House Chanukah party.

Whatever Happened To Jonathan Pollard?

Posted on: November 25th, 2009

On the 25th day of Kislev we will celebrate Chanukah. On the 4th day of Kislev Jonathan Pollard celebrated the start of his 25th year in prison.

When Nazism Was All The Rage On Campus

Posted on: November 18th, 2009

Campus radicalism, support for totalitarianism, and general political extremism are not new on Western campuses. Indeed some of the worst political extremism in academic history took the form of enthusiastic support on American campuses for Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.

A Personal Encounter With Our Flawed Health Care System

Posted on: November 18th, 2009

I am one lucky man – some might say blessed – as earlier this year I had a heart attack and survived, physically and financially.

The Eternal Bond Of The Jewish People And The Land Of Israel

Posted on: November 18th, 2009

Upon hearing the reading of the Torah describing the purchase of the Cave of Machpela by our forefather Abraham, we were reminded again of the basic significance and substance of the destiny of the Jewish people, namely that our nation and our land are bonded by strong spiritual cords that can never be severed.

This Thanksgiving, Please Pass The Brisket

Posted on: November 18th, 2009

Ever hear of Gershom Mendes Seixas? Well, he might just be the forgotten hero of Thanksgiving.

A Teachable Moment

Posted on: November 11th, 2009

Israel is, again, locked on the horns of a dilemma. Having been indicted by the "world community" (in the guise of the Goldstone report) for alleged war crimes in its conduct of last winter's Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, it faces unenviable and unacceptable choices.

Isaac, The Faithful Follower

Posted on: November 11th, 2009

In this week’s parshah our father Abraham leaves this world. His son Isaac is left to carry on his legacy. But who really is Yitzchok Avinu? Do you feel you know him? What is the meaning of his life?

What A Difference 66 Years Can Make

Posted on: November 11th, 2009

A friend of mine likes to say the High Holiday season is for pulpit rabbis what the tax season is for accountants. Well, my “tax season” was a bit busier than usual this year. Just days before Rosh Hashanah, I was privileged to be part of the Orthodox Union’s Leadership Mission to Washington, which took place September 14-15.

His Gift Will Last Long After Others Have Faded

Posted on: November 11th, 2009

In the fall of 1993, I had the wonderful experience of interviewing Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach. Both a controversial personality and a dynamic presence, Reb Shlomo never lost his unqualified love for his fellow Jew, though he was well aware the feeling was not always reciprocal.

Criminal Negligence At Fort Hood

Posted on: November 11th, 2009

Anger – no, fury – was my first reaction to news of the rampage at Fort Hood last week. Thirteen dead and thirty wounded is tragic enough. But how could the alleged murderer, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, have gone undetected on an American military base for so long?

Inspiration In Arms

Posted on: November 4th, 2009

The narrow streets were dark and filled with sounds. Figures moved behind blackened windows in the overbearing buildings. Finger on the trigger, senses focused on my surroundings, I ensured my fellow Jews the right to pray at the grave of one of our revered figures.

Once Again, Dual Loyalty Canard Front And Center

Posted on: November 4th, 2009

The espionage charges leveled against American scientist Stewart David Nozette raise more questions than they answer – and those questions should deeply trouble, if not outrage, the American Jewish community.

The State Department’s Shameful Past

Posted on: November 4th, 2009

Recently, the Romanian government unveiled a long overdue memorial to the 300,000 Romanian Jews and Roma who perished in World War II at the hands of their own government and the Nazis. Unfortunately, the U.S. State Department, whose wartime diplomats doomed tens of thousands of the Romanian Jews commemorated by the memorial, has yet to acknowledge its own role in the Romanian Holocaust.

‘Crystal Night’ And Beyond

Posted on: November 4th, 2009

On November 9, 1938, a massive nationwide anti-Jewish pogrom took place during peacetime across the entire territory of the Third Reich. The pretext for this explosion of violence against German Jews was the shooting in Paris two days earlier of German diplomat Ernst vom Rath by Herschel Grynszpan, a 17-year-old Polish-Jewish refugee.

Supreme Court Decisions Will Be Watched In Israel

Posted on: November 4th, 2009

The U.S. Supreme Court now gives lawyers a head start on the preparation of briefs and fills up the court’s schedule of oral arguments as early as possible. Even before it formally convened the first Monday in October, the court announced which cases it would hear of those on which petitions for review gathered over the summer while the court was in recess.