Muslim Voters Change Europe

Posted on: May 17th, 2012

According to a survey of 10,000 French voters conducted by the polling firm OpinionWay for the Paris-based newspaper Le Figaro, an extaordinary 93% of French Muslims voted for Hollande on May 6. The French vote marks the first time that Muslims have determined the outcome of a presidential election in a major western European country; it is a preview of things to come.

Hamastan is the Palestinian state

Posted on: May 17th, 2012

Palestine exists in the Gaza Strip, sometimes called Hamastan. It is a well-developed Islamist state, with an army, a court system and a real economy. With the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the implosion of the Syrian regime, it has been immeasurably strengthened in the region.

Rubin Reports: Turkey’s Gobble, Gobble Middle East Policy Makes Enemies of Everyone

Posted on: May 17th, 2012

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan once said that democracy was like a trolley. You ride it until you get to your destination and then get off. Presumably that’s at the point where you have consolidated power to the point you can do whatever you want and have turned Turkey into an Islamist state.

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach: Time Magazine on Attachment Parenting

Posted on: May 17th, 2012

Time magazine's cover story about attachment parenting garnered a great deal of attention. Clearly, the shock value of showing an attractive young mother breast-feeding a child nearly four years of age was enough to excite worldwide conversation. The story inside focused on a controversial theory…

Hilary Rosen On Women

Posted on: April 18th, 2012

For several days the media seized on the furor unleashed by comments made by Hilary Rosen – described rather vaguely in news accounts as a Democratic Party strategist and White House adviser, though she has visited with the president on at least 35 occasions, more frequently than the heads of key government agencies – about Ann Romney, wife of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

Palestinians Off The Radar

Posted on: April 12th, 2012

The announcement last week that, at the initiative of the Palestinians, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and some of their senior aides are scheduled to meet soon in Jerusalem underscores a striking fact about the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. It comes after a several months-long virtual vacuum of attention pertaining to the matter, and no one seemed to care.

The President And The Supreme Court: Philosophy And Politics

Posted on: April 12th, 2012

Much attention has properly been paid to President Obama’s unprecedented remarks about the Supreme Court, which, he worries, may find his signature health care law unconstitutional. It will be recalled that the president spoke after the oral argument in the case in which the justices asked many highly critical questions about the constitutionality of the law and comments from many legal observers that the law is in trouble.

Panic On The Left

Posted on: April 4th, 2012

President Obama’s extraordinary public broadside on Monday against the Supreme Court, in reaction to questions posed by the justices during the course of three days of oral argument in the Obamacare case, is further confirmation that liberal supporters of Obamacare, including the president himself, are beginning to panic.

The AP’s Gonzo Journalism

Posted on: February 1st, 2012

There is a place for what Hunter Thompson called “Gonzo journalism,” but it isn’t a wire service news report, where the ancient Five Ws are still appropriate.

Bias Exemplified

Posted on: January 19th, 2012

The Monitor often is asked for an example of a news story that exhibits such blatant bias it astounds even a jaded observer of the mainstream media. Such a story appeared in the March 29, 2006 edition of The New York Times, on the occasion of the passing of Lyn Nofziger, longtime aide to Ronald Reagan.

Cracker Barrel – Or Crackpot?

Posted on: December 28th, 2011

Why have the media for the most part been so reluctant to expose the long documented fringe positions – including a clear and deep animus toward Israel – articulated by Texas congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul?

Our Uncle Tom Strikes Again

Posted on: December 21st, 2011

Thomas Friedman, the New York Times foreign affairs columnist, proved once again last week that despite his non-stop insistence that he has Israel’s best interests at heart, he relishes nothing more than slinging mud at Israel and its most vocal American supporters.

When Terror Victims Fall Through The Cracks

Posted on: February 10th, 2012

The Second Intifada may have ended seven years ago, but countless Israelis injured during that harrowing period, and in the years since, continue to suffer.

HaMafteach: A User-Friendly Index Of The Talmud: An Interview With Author Daniel Retter

Posted on: February 8th, 2012

An index of the Talmud with more than 6,000 topical and 27,000 subtopical entries is a major undertaking and its publication a seminal event in Jewish scholarship.

Rabbi Kleiman – Still The First One In Shul

Posted on: January 19th, 2012

It’s not often that I get to speak to a rabbi about to celebrate his 99th birthday.

‘I Will Absolutely Fight For You’: An Interview With Would-Be State Senate Candidate David Storobin

Posted on: January 4th, 2012

If the stars are aligned in his favor, attorney David Storobin will become the first immigrant from the former Soviet Union to serve as a New York state senator.

New Knesset Law Gets Tough on ‘Get’ Refusers

Posted on: March 21st, 2012

The law states that the Rabbinical Court must determine a court date for a Get within 45 days of a divorce sentence. If the Get is not given within that time, the court will issue a restriction order and hold another hearing within the following 45 days. The court will meet within 90 days of giving a restriction order to discuss it and decide if it must be extended. The court will be able to use these extensions as they see fit.

Noam Shalit’s First Political Interview

Posted on: March 19th, 2012

Shalit announced that he would talk with them if they agreed to it, and he would even shake the hands of Gilad's kidnappers, also saying he would kidnap Israeli soldiers if he was a Palestinian. He insisted that PM Binyamin Netanyahu was not solely responsible for the release of Gilad, and charged that the PM only released his son because the polls showed that 70-80% of the public supported the deal.

‘Jewish Home’ Blues

Posted on: March 12th, 2012

The Knesset's Jewish Home faction is in danger of splitting, following the internal political maneuvering that has taken place in the National Union.

Battle of the Polls and Hallway Chatter

Posted on: March 12th, 2012

Two polls - one commissioned by Maariv, the other by Haaretz - paint drastically different pictures of the current political frontrunners, leading to heated debate in the halls of the Knesset

Abba Kovner And The Real-Life Jewish Avengers

Posted on: May 9th, 2012

As moviegoers over the weekend flocked to see Marvel’s new superhero ensemble, they would understandably associate the idea of avengers with Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk and Black Widow.

Reflections On A Grandson’s Enlistment In The IDF

Posted on: May 2nd, 2012

I have long felt the holiest Jews are members of the IDF, the Israel Defense Forces. At countless rallies I’ve called out from the heart, “Blessed is the nation that has as its army the Israel Defense Forces.”

Religious Settlers Face Pervasive Double Standard

Posted on: May 2nd, 2012

For anyone with historical memory the expulsion of Jews – by the Romans, English, French, Spaniards, Nazis, and Muslims – instantly evokes tragic episodes in Jewish history. Now the state of Israel expels Jews from their homes. Something is amiss in Zion.

Orthodoxy And Obesity: Is There A Correlation?

Posted on: May 2nd, 2012

It’s beautiful how much emphasis there is on Shabbat and holiday celebration in the Orthodox community. However, celebration of the values of health and exercise is sorely lacking. Parents often don’t stress health and exercise for their children, and day schools fall short when it comes to creating rigorous health programs.

Rationality, Irrationality, And Madness: Core Enemy Differences For Israeli Nuclear Deterrence (Second of Three Parts)

Posted on: May 3rd, 2012

A "bolt-from-the-blue" CBN (chemical, biological or even nuclear) attack on Israel launched with the expectation of city-busting reprisals might not necessarily exhibit irrationality or madness. Within such an attacking state's particular ordering of preferences, any presumed religious obligation to annihilate the "Zionist Entity" could represent the overriding value.

Beware: Feiglinism Poised To Bring Peace

Posted on: May 2nd, 2012

This is how it works: A minister or MK who steps out of line – opposing the destruction of the Ulpana neighborhood, for example – is immediately accused of “Feiglinism.” It makes no difference if the accuser is Tzipi Livni or Ehud Barak. “This is simply terrible,” Kadima MK Nachman Shai explained on the afternoon news. “Feiglin determines the fate of the Likud MKs.”

Quick Takes: News You May Have Missed

Posted on: May 2nd, 2012

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Striking Iran And The U.S.-Israel Relationship

Posted on: April 26th, 2012

Recent warnings by President Obama to Israel against an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities are reminiscent of the period prior to the 1967 Six-Day War. Then, as now, Israel was faced with an existential threat. Then, as now, the U.S. pressured Israel not to take action.

JBlog Roundup: The Lessons of Nude Unicycling

Posted on: May 15th, 2012

I admit, I like a bizarre news story like the next gal. So I definitely had to click to read this item from the AP: “Police say a man named Joseph Glynn Farley was arrested in a Southeast Texas city for riding his unicycle in the nude, distracting drivers and creating a hazard.” Right away, [...]

Suspended For Being Too Jewish?

Posted on: May 15th, 2012

My earliest thought of Judaism came in Catholic school, when I cussed out my grade three teacher for being an anti-Semite. I was no Biblical expert at the age of nine, but even my cursory understanding of the Bible told me that Christians had a heck of a lot in common with Jews.

Luckily, Avraham Wasn’t a Complainer

Posted on: May 15th, 2012

Avraham Avinu packed up his belongings without saying a word and hastened to the Land, even though it was loaded with savage heathens, prostitutes, idol worship, murderers, and rapists, even though there wasn’t one synagogue, kosher butcher, or luxury villa to be found.

Money? I’m Giving it Away!

Posted on: May 14th, 2012

Years ago, I was taught by secular Jewish friend that giving away money was disrespectful to money. It devalued money to give it away. And, for years, I agreed. Until I tried it.

Israel’s Dictatorship Of The Judiciary

Posted on: March 28th, 2012

Much of the Israeli Left – including cultural and political leaders, journalists and academics – has in recent months engaged in hyperbolic, defamatory claims that the government of Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to destroy Israel’s democracy through proposed legislation such as that aimed at modifying how Israeli Supreme Court justices are selected.

Please – Take Our Jews

Posted on: March 21st, 2012

What made the deportation of more than 80,000 Jews from Slovakia during World War II unique? It was this striking fact: In contrast with other countries, the Slovak government actually appealed to the Germans to enact deportation.

Adar And Beyond

Posted on: March 14th, 2012

Just last week we experienced the crowning point of the month of Adar by commemorating the extraordinary events that unfolded in the ancient Persian Empire. We read the scroll of Esther, enjoyed a hearty feast, and traded gifts of goodies with each other.

Playing For A Higher Authority: The Inside Story Of Beren Hoopsters’ Kiddush Hashem

Posted on: March 7th, 2012

On Tuesday, February 28, it was widely reported that the basketball team of Houston’s Robert M. Beren Academy had “forfeited” its place in the semi-finals of the tournament conducted by the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) because it would not play on Friday night and Saturday. But a headline in Friday’s New York Times read: “In Reversal, a Jewish School Gets to Play.”

Letters To The Editor

Posted on: March 7th, 2012

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Letters To The Editor

Posted on: February 29th, 2012

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Letters To The Editor

Posted on: February 22nd, 2012

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Letters To The Editor

Posted on: February 15th, 2012

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