Op-Eds

It was the late Abba Eban who famously said that "the Arabs never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity." In his time that was for the most part true, and it arguably worked for Israel's benefit, particularly when Israel found itself in a tight diplomatic squeeze.

“Hillel International is selling out the students. I watch International Hillel sell out the [chapter] buildings." “Once the university owns the building, there is no way the local Hillel can keep out anti-Israel students because the building is now university property.”

Words come and words go. Some disappear completely, while others vanish into the jargon of our vocabulary. Few succeed in capturing center stage in our consciousness. One that has succeeded is a four-letter word that embellishes countless monuments, organizations, billboards and publications. Its sound enlivens the soul, its melody softens the heart.

Bogy Ya’alon, trumpeted as the new savior by the Right and settlers, turned out to be (surprise, surprise) a strategic disaster for Israel’s security

A generation of Hadars, angels, watch over us and our land. May God watch over them and protect them

The linking of unrelated "victimizations," reflects a broader trend in hard-left politics. Increasingly, radical activists demand that the demonization of "Zionists" be featured in the package of causes that must to be embraced by anyone claiming the label of "progressive."

Many American experts—diplomatic, nuclear, political, economic—believe that even the risks to the United States exceed the benefits.

A wave of anti-Jewish violence has taken place in France and Sweden over the past few weeks. The difference in government response is notable, and yet there is something similarly disquieting about their actions. The Swedish government alternately denies the problem, blames the Jews and blames Israel -- it recently funded a book on Israeli "apartheid." The French are more complicated. French counter-terror police have been good at tracking domestic radical Islamists, but the government has made overtly anti-Israel gestures that appear to be nothing so much as "compensation" to its increasingly angry and radical Muslim community and to the Arab world.

The bombs detonated in cities throughout the world in recent years, killing and wounding large numbers of innocent civilians, should make it obvious that the perpetrators of such indiscriminate brutality cannot be thought of as “freedom fighters” or, to cite another popular term, “insurgents.” They are terrorists and must be treated accordingly. They definitely do not deserve the tolerance, compassion or legal rights generally accorded freedom fighters.

Jewish tradition teaches that the city of Tzfat (Safed), located in the north of Israel in the beautiful Galilee region, is one of Israel’s four holy cities (the others are Jerusalem, Tiberias, and Hebron). Yet it is Tzfat that is praised for its exceptional spiritual presence.

In events being ignored not only by the Egyptian authorities, but also by the mainstream media and human rights organizations in the West, Muslim terrorists have in recent weeks attacked Christian families and forced them out of their homes and businesses in the Sinai town of Rafah. The terrorists have threatened to pursue their jihad against Christians until all of them leave the Sinai.

The threat of the infiltration of Sharia, or Islamic law, into the American court system is one of the more pernicious conspiracy theories to gain traction in our country in recent years.

"Oppressed people unfortunately often are forced into use of violence."

It’s easier to take Jews out of galus than to take galus out of Jews – Chassidic master

A degree of formal distance between Jerusalem and Washington is useful in Israel's diplomatic interactions.

Minister Ayoob Kara, Israel’s point-man for engagement with the Arab world, was quoted as saying, “our relations with our neighbors are the best they’ve ever been.”

While the media makes a fuss over Prince William’s visit to Israel, the comings and goings of the controversial presidential son-in-law are far more important.

This time around -- the third time was not the charm. Many people defended Cortez and attacked those who criticized her.

This week we celebrate the anniversary of America’s independence, an event of great magnitude in the history of mans’ struggle for freedom. At a time like this we should be humble and realize that we are the beneficiaries of the dedication and sacrifice of countless others who came before us and built up and defended America.

Shira Ish-Ran and her husband, Amichai, are mourning their baby son. They are in shock, broken in body and in spirit. But they have entered our hearts.

Progressive students, in their own moral self-righteousness, have decided that the Palestinian statehood is a sacred cause. To even support Israel is to risk being deemed a racist, an imperialist, a tacit supporter of apartheid.

The day after the Abbas-Trump meeting in Bethlehem when Abbas promised Trump to cease all forms of incitement against Israel, the Palestinian Authority resumed its vicious rhetorical attacks on Israel

Water: a fluid with life-giving force, a thin liquid even a trickle of which can assure survival. Crops, fields, land, people – we all...

Just as Israel is a Jewish state of nearly 9 million citizens, where some 2 million non-Jews live in peace and security, there is no reason why a Palestinian Arab state should not host a sizable Jewish minority living in peace and security with the Arab majority.

The Jordanian Opposition Coalition (JOC) received intelligence that the Jordanian intelligence desk in cooperation with the PA's Pres. Abbas were plotting “An unprecedented mother of all Intifadas”

What is keeping Gaza from becoming the Singapore of the Middle East? Who is using the millions of aid money sent to Gaza to dig tunnels to commit murder and terrorist acts?

That the UN is hostile to Israel hardly comes as a surprise. The perfidy that permeates the house over which Kurt Waldheim once presided can be cut with a knife; Israel bashing has become an integral part of the culture of that body. Such duplicity does not appear from thin air – it must be nurtured and stoked by individuals who, by dint of impressive titles, can command international attention and influence public opinion and thus cause much mischief.

New Israel Fund accused Israel of systematically compromising the welfare of Palestinian children

Many years ago when I was helping my congregation write a new constitution, I submitted a first draft to an expert who had been involved in setting up new shuls. One paragraph read, “All matters of halacha (Jewish law) will be determined by the congregational rabbi.” Pretty straightforward, I thought.

As our community has grown stronger and more self-confident and amassed numerous impressive achievements, we have embraced ever-more restrictive approaches that were not part of our mindset a generation ago when we were far weaker but were led by Torah giants of transcendent stature.