Blending Families: In Loving Memory of our Father, Reb Shlomo Nutovic, a”h

Posted on: July 25th, 2012

These lines are written in loving memory of our dear father, Reb Shlomo Zev ben Reb Baruch Yehudah Nutovic, a”h, whose first yahrzeit is 7 Menachem Av. May the positive lessons learned from this essay be a zechus for his neshamah.

Incorrect And Ill-Advised Assumptions: A Response To Critics Of The Levy Report

Posted on: July 25th, 2012

Mr. Peter. A. Joseph, Chairman, Israel Policy Forum Mr. David A. Halperin, Executive Director, Israel Policy Forum Dear Mr. Joseph and Mr. Halperin, Permit me to introduce myself. I am Ambassador Alan Baker, a member of the Edmond Levy Commission established to examine the status of building in Judea and Samaria and to make recommendations to the government on this and related issues.

A Biblical Guide To Internet Behavior

Posted on: July 25th, 2012

The Internet is a medium that has made its way in its short existence all the way to the center of contemporary life. Many of our daily tasks are now tied to it, and will be more so in the future.

Back In Black: In Defense Of Jewish Diversity

Posted on: July 25th, 2012

It’s being called a game changer. Everybody seems to be talking about the recently released Jewish Community Study of New York and its surprising findings regarding New York’s changing Jewish demography.

Time To Get Serious About Safeguarding The Temple Mount

Posted on: July 25th, 2012

This year, as Israel observes the traditional period of national mourning for the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash on Tisha B’Av, it has again been revealed that the Islamic Waqf is carrying out unsupervised work at the Temple Mount, potentially causing irrevocable damage to Judaism’s holiest site.

Letters To The Editor

Posted on: July 25th, 2012

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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.

Quick Takes: News You May Have Missed

Posted on: July 25th, 2012

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The Life Of A Legendary Posek

Posted on: July 25th, 2012

The birth of Rabbi Yosef Sholom Elyashiv – who died in Jerusalem last week at the age of 102 – is thought by many to be a miracle.

Stolen Valor: Democrats’ Holocaust Distortions

Posted on: July 25th, 2012

While the Supreme Court recently invalidated the Stolen Valor Act, which imposed criminal penalties on Americans who falsely claim medals for combat bravery, prominent Democrats – including Jesse Jackson, Charles Rangel, Robert Morgenthau and Eric Holder – have repeatedly distorted World War II and Holocaust history for purposes of ethnic politics.

Jew-Washing Divestment

Posted on: July 25th, 2012

As the Levy Commission recently found, Israel is not in violation of international law, and it is not occupying or colonizing “Arab lands.” Jewish Voice for Peace's ideas of the ‘fundamental rights’ of Arab citizens of Israel goes far beyond what we normally think of as civil rights — for example, these ‘rights’ are said to be violated by Israel’s being a Jewish state — and UN resolution 194 does not require Israel to admit the grandchildren of refugees.

Rubin Report: The True Lesson of a Tragedy in Colorado Film Theater

Posted on: July 25th, 2012

There is no political ideology, government program, or redistribution of wealth that is going to cure humanity’s ills. In today’s secular, even anti-religious, Western society, religious people are seen as aggressive, intolerant, and foolish. But there are two things a decent religious person possesses that others don’t: A belief that there is a divine judge, which may make them curb their behavior; and a desire for self-improvement, to reduce their sins and strive for something higher.

Flight of Christians from Mid-East Reaches Syria

Posted on: July 24th, 2012

A mass exodus of Christians, including a group evacuated from the besieged city of Homs, have been fleeing Syrian cities for safety. Caught in the middle of a showdown between opposition forces and the Syrian army, many Christians fear the prospect of an Islamist-led government if President Bashar al-Assad is deposed.

Germans Do Not Favor Male Circumcision

Posted on: July 24th, 2012

An opinion poll indicates that, despite the political initiative to have the Cologne verdict overruled by a law later this year, a majority of Germans favor a ban of male circumcision. In a Europe that is becoming ever more secular, there is a real danger that religious practices will gradually be pushed aside in order to assure that the impression is not given that little children and -in ritual slaughter- animals are made to suffer.

Israeli Settlements an ‘Obstacle to Peace’?

Posted on: July 24th, 2012

The 4th Geneva Convention does forbid government deportation or "individual or mass forcible transfers" of population into territory it occupies. But neither the Geneva Convention nor any other law prevents the establishment of voluntary settlements on an individual basis if the underlying purpose is security, public order or safety, and as long as the settlements do not involve taking private property. It is absurd to suggest that Israel "deported" its own citizens to the territories.

Being a Critic of Israel Does Not Make You Pro-Arab, Congressman Pascrell

Posted on: July 23rd, 2012

I can forgive Congressman Pascrell for his continued contempt toward me by refusing to address me directly or even mention me by name, even in his letter written in response to mine. But his attack against Israel cannot be similarly overlooked.

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The BDS State of Mind

Posted on: July 22nd, 2012

A careful look at the BDS movement shows not legitimate criticism but a movement that is racist and anti-Semitic. Why? BDS clearly targets Israel. Its stated goals vary but all include the "right of return" for Palestinian "refugees." The effort is cloaked to give the impression that ending specific Israeli policies would also end efforts to ostracize Israel. Yet their maximalist demand -- a flood of refugees, which would spell the end of Israel as a Jewish state -- is carefully hidden.

Cut U.S. Funding To The UN

Posted on: July 21st, 2012

In recent weeks the United Nations has gone on the warpath against Israel, defaming the Jewish state and providing aid and comfort to its enemies.

On Academia, Politics and Survival in the Middle East

Posted on: July 20th, 2012

All of the universities in Israel are political, and moreover, all of the colleges, yeshivas, hospitals, prisons, factories, homes, roads, trees - everything that we have established, built, and planted in Israel - everything, but everything, is political. The whole Zionist enterprise is a political project because it is the political and nationalistic manifestation of the desire of the Jewish people to return to its land and to renew within it its national life, its independence and its sovereignty.