My debate with J Street’s Jeremy Ben-Ami By Roz Rothstein/JNS.org On Monday evening, March 11, I had a public discussion with Jeremy Ben-Ami, founder and president of J Street, at Temple Isaiah in Los Angeles. The topics included how American Jews should approach pro-Israel advocacy, whether peace is currently attainable between Israel and Palestinian Authority […]
Pro and con: U.S. Jewish support for Israel government Read More »
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NEW YORK (Press Release) –Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) raised $27 million Tuesday night, March 12, at its National NY Gala Dinner where over 1,400 prominent business and philanthropic leaders from across the country gathered at the historic Waldorf-Astoria Hotel to demonstrate their love and support for the soldiers of Israel. FIDF Chairman Emeritus
IDF friends raise $27 million at NYC dinner Read More »
USABy Isaac Yetiv , Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — The announcement of President Obama’ trip to Israel (and the territories) has surprised many people both here and in Israel where it has been received with fear and apprehension. It is certainly not a leisure trip with sightseeing and enjoyment; nor is it a religious pilgrimage
How necessary is President Obama’s trip to Israel? Read More »
USABy Joshua Sinai WASHINGTON, D.C. –Conventional wisdom holds that the threat to America posed by al Qaeda and its affiliates is greatly diminished compared to 9/11. Today, it is claimed, al Qaeda is less well organized, with many of its top leaders eliminated, and is so broken into geographically disparate franchises that it
U.S. must not be complacent about Al Qaeda threat Read More »
USABy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — Can you imagine over 12,000 Jews and non-Jews gathered together in the same place for the same purpose? I would not have thought it possible, except I just returned from the AIPAC 2013 Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. and saw it myself. The last time I attended a Policy
Excitement of attending an AIPAC conference Read More »
USABy Michael Hayutin SAN DIEGO — Inflicting pain on oneself is a rather strange phenomenon. Most of us have read about or seen images of religious fanatics intentionally hurting themselves. There was a tradition among some in the Philippines to reenact the crucifixion each Easter. Young men would volunteer to have nails pounded through the
Ritual flagellation, American Jewish style Read More »
USABy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California –One of the most memorable experiences I had growing up in the Orthodox Jewish world, as a young man, was the sanctity the community placed on human life. In matters of Kashrut and Shabbat, there was little compromise among the Hassidic and Haredi communities. They live in
Our duty to one another supersedes ‘rules’ Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USABy Arkady Mamaysky TARRYTOWN, N.Y. — Two major and roughly equal-sized branches of the Jewish people live in Israel and the United States. We are separated by distance and diverging more and more by culture. In other words, we are gradually becoming (or have already become) two different people. This is a very unfortunate
Bringing Jews of Israel and U.S. closer Read More »
USABy Alan Elsner WASHINGTON, D.C – Over the past few decades, a strange affliction has seized the American Jewish community. As part of a people who pride themselves on questioning everything, debating everything and taking nothing at face value, we have suddenly become speechless when it comes to Israel. Many of our leaders regard it
American Jews need not be silent about Israel Read More »
USABy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — Stipulating that foreign aid can be an important part of American foreign policy, and further that trade is an important component of U.S. foreign policy; Secretary of State John Kerry made two really important mistakes in his maiden speech, delivered to a fawning audience of American University students.
Kerry’s American University speech indicates off-course policy Read More »
Shoshana Bryen, USABy Joel A. Moskowitz, MD LA JOLLA, California — The father of JFK and Bobby and Ted Kennedy was intimately involved in the world events leading up to World War II. And David Nasaw’s book The Patriarch: The remarkable life and turbulent times of Joseph Patrick Kennedy tells it all. Published by Penguin Press this
Biography examines Joe Kennedy’s attitudes toward Jews Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, USABy Rabbi Ben Kamin ENCINITAS, California –The first thing to understand is that this annual rite —a source of pride and curriculum opportunities for a lot of folks—is not confined to this country. It is also observed in Canada and the United Kingdom and it is ultimately about commemorating edifying milestones, events, and icons of
Why is Black History Month so controversial in the U.S.? Read More »
USABy Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — Watching the State of the Union address and the Republican response, perhaps many of us took it for granted that President Barack Obama and Senator Marco Rubio represent the fulfillment of a dream that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King had only 50 years ago that someday people would be
A realization of America’s promise Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, USABy Peter Huessy WASHINGTON, D.C. –Since the end of the Cold War, every U.S. administration made deterring, preventing, or eliminating the threat of nuclear terrorism a top priority. Americans are rightly worried that a terror sponsoring state such as Iran or North Korea, in cooperation with a terrorist group, might seek to detonate a nuclear
Why the U.S. has few options with Iran, North Korea Read More »
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