International

By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — In his new book, Chazara bli teshuva – paraphrased in English as “the philosophic roots of the secular-religious divide” – Micah Goodman, whose praises I never fail to sing, makes an important distinction between influence and domination. To be influenced, he writes, is to grow and to develop as

By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — Dictionaries offer many meanings of the word “sinister.” They include: threatening, ominous, bad, evil, base and disastrous. Also: of or on the left side, left, which is the original meaning of the term. When Prime Minister Netanyahu and his entourage describe a political opponent as “smolani.” (שמאלני, literally: on

By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — Arab nations historically feared that Israel’s presence would influence their cultures, but as of Thursday, May 30, Arab traditions influenced Israel: Our prime ally in the Middle East will exist for nearly four months without a functioning democracy. The Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, failed to form a majority ruling coalition,