Tag: American Jewish
What the Syria Crisis Tells Us about the Israel Lobby
Rather than the “Lobby” running the administration, it is the administration that runs the “Lobby.”
Peter Beinart’s Cocoon
The restrictions Beinart condemns today came because of Palestinian terror, not the other way around.
Peacenik McGovern: We Should Have Bombed Auschwitz
George McGovern is widely remembered for advocating immediate American withdrawal from Vietnam and sharp reductions in defense spending. Yet despite his reputation as a pacifist, the former U.S. senator and 1972 presidential candidate, who died Sunday at 90, did believe there were times when America should use military force abroad.
Cory Booker & Shmuley Boteach: The Rabbi and the Rhodes Scholar (Video)
Twenty years, countless conversations, and hundreds of Friday night Shabbat dinners later, Cory today is a much-loved honorary member of the American Jewish community, regularly lecturing at Synagogues and Jewish conferences across the country. More significant, Cory has challenged the Jewish community to live up to its Biblical calling to serve as ‘a light unto the nations.’ In many of the speeches we deliver together he asks the Jewish participants if they study the weekly Parsha, if they honor the commandments, and cherish the Sabbath. What allows an African-American Christian Mayor to challenge Jewish leaders to deepen their Jewish commitment? Because those same leaders are amazed at Cory’s knowledge of Judaism and appreciation of the Jewish contribution to civilization. (Watch video)
Homeland Security Runs Threat Response Exercise with Jewish Leaders
About 50 high-ranking federal and state law enforcement officials met with an equal number of leading American Jewish officials for their first “table top” threat exercise.
New Focus On Obama And Israel
A new book by foreign policy pundit Peter Beinart, The Crisis of Zionism, seems certain to reignite the debate over President Obama’s feelings toward Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But the focus will be a little different this time around. It will be not on his exposure to the likes of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, William Ayres or Rashid Khalidi but rather on the prominent members of the Chicago Jewish community who took him under their wing.
Israel-American Knesset Caucus Established
Recent poll found that almost 90% of Israeli Jews believe that the American Jewish community is crucial to Israel's security and continued existence.
Reaction To Ads Expose Troubled U.S. Jewish Psyche
The recent kerfluffle over Israeli government video ads and billboard posters, designed to entice wayward yordim to return home, instead exposed the troubled psyche of American Jews.
Making Israel A Wedge Issue
Last week at the UN, President Obama did something he had never done before. He discussed Israel and the Palestinians without once attacking Israel. He didn't blame Israel for the absence of peace.
Dr. Simeon Abrahams: More Than A Footnote
There were Jews living during the nineteenth century who made substantial contributions to Yiddishkeit but who, unfortunately, are almost completely forgotten today. Their lives are at most a footnote in standard books dealing with American Jewish history. One such man was Dr. Simeon Abrahams, a pillar of the New York Jewish community during his relatively short life.
Michael Oren’s Personal Convenience
According to Israel Army Radio, Prime Minister Netanyahu has offered to extend the moratorium on Jewish property rights in Judea and Samaria for an additional three months in exchange for Jonathan Pollard's freedom. That is, if Obama pardons Pollard, who has served 25 years of a life sentence for transferring classified documents to Israel, then Israel will agree to extend the ten-month moratorium on Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria, due to expire next week, for another three months.
‘The Outlook For Israel Is Very Grave’: An Interview with AFSI’s Rael Jean Isaac
Rael Jean Isaac was in the right place at the right time. Forty years ago, she found herself in Israel together with her husband, studying the various activist groups that had sprung up in Israel in the wake of the Six-Day War. Some argued for returning the lands won during the war; others, for keeping them. While researching the different movements for her doctoral thesis, she and her husband met veteran right-wing activist Shmuel Katz. The rest is history.
Obama’s Jewish Defenders
Two weeks ago, President Obama opened a diplomatic war on Israel. The proximate cause of his offensive was the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Board's decision to approve the future construction of 1,600 housing units in northern Jerusalem.
Obama’s Jewish Defenders
Two weeks ago, President Obama opened a diplomatic war on Israel. The proximate cause of his offensive was the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Board's decision to approve the future construction of 1,600 housing units in northern Jerusalem.
Pollard’s Shadow
This month marks a distressing milestone - the 24th anniversary of Jonathan Pollard's imprisonment for transferring classified information to Israel.
On The Passing Of Victor D. Sanua
Victor D. Sanua, Ph.D., z"l, a pioneer in cross-cultural studies of mental illness, was also known for his studies on American Jewish communities and the Jews of Egypt, passed away July 12, at the age of 88 in Brooklyn, New York.
Morton Klein: Bibi Sent Wrong Message
The Philadelphia Jewish Exponent named him one of the top dozen "Jewish activists of the century." The New York Times called him "a relatively rare voice from the outset in the American Jewish community against the Oslo peace accords." The Wall Street Journal praised him as "wise, brave, and unflinchingly honest."
Israelis, U.S. Jews Differ Dramatically On Obama
Have American Jews abandoned Israel in favor of President Obama? This is a central question in the minds of Israelis today.
Extraordinary Jews
Over the past few years I have given lectures to Jewish communities all over the United States and Canada. More often than not - particularly in the U.S. - these lectures have taken place in small cities and towns. And more often than not, the people who invited me to their communities did not work for major Jewish organizations.
American Jewish Indifference
Apparently Israel is no longer a voting issue for most American Jews.
Financially Strapped Jewish Elite Auctioning Their Masterpieces In Israel
In an effort to stave off financial disaster, an elite group of economically- challenged American Jewish businessmen, investment firms and private individuals have put some of their most prized art collectibles up for sale via Israel's Matsart auction house.
Is It Creepy To Remember Someone Else’s Tragedy?
There is perhaps a paradox afoot in conventional American Jewish views on Holocaust memory.
Title: Getting Our Groove Back – How to Energize American Jewry
Author: Scott Shay
Publisher: Devora Publishing
Isaac Leeser: Architect of Traditional Judaism in America
Who was the one person most responsible for perpetuating traditional Judaism in 19th century America? The indisputable answer: Isaac Leeser.
Brandeis’s Jewish Problem
Last week it was reported that major supporters of Brandeis University have cut off their donations in retaliation for the university's hosting of Israel and American-Jewry basher and former president Jimmy Carter on campus.
Hooked On American Jewish History
One of the most well-kept secrets in Flatbush is the Yosef Goldman Collection of American Jewish Books and Manuscripts.
My America – The Long Road
The Jewish Museum has a story to tell in "My America: Art From The Jewish Museum Collection, 1900-1955."
Letters To The Editor
Columnist's Anti-Bush TiradeThe Jewish Press, which I've been reading since its first issue, is a greatly improved paper - one that we can be proud...
American Jews and School Choice
The arguments in favor of school choice and voucher systems have by now become quite familiar.
The Book On Bush
David Frum, the former White House speechwriter who coined the "Axis of Evil" phrase for President Bush's 2002 State of the Union address, is out with an engaging behind-the-scenes look at his time in the White House.