By David Brin ENCINITAS, California –Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is truly on a roll. Feeling his oats, he has been laying down a hardcore line. And if this one week is any sample, we are in for one heckuva ride. He started by impugning President Ombama’s religious faith as “phony theology.” This is red […]
The stunning sincerity of Rick ‘Nehemiah’ Santorum Read More »
USA
By Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — President John F. Kennedy rarely spoke publicly about his personal faith, though he brilliantly and effectively defused the issue of his being the first viable Catholic nominee for the White House. It was an ignominious issue in 1960 (hard to fathom nowadays) and he mitigated it head-on at
Quick takes on recent U.S. Presidents Read More »
USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — An internet friend sent me a video screed from an Atlanta television station that presents, in the most inflammable language, the old saw about too much foreign aid while Americans suffer. Even worse, some of that aid goes to refurbish mosques in unfriendly Cairo and elsewhere. The images tweaked
Giving foreign helps rather than hurts the U.S. economy Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, USA
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)–It is a struggle to decide who, if anyone, has a claim to U.S. foreign aid dollars. It is, after all, money earned by American taxpayers and sent to people who didn’t earn it, at least not in the traditional sense. Should it be used to encourage countries to
U.S money goes to its enemies in Palestinian Authority, Egypt Read More »
Shoshana Bryen, USAWASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) – Former Staff Director of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Kenneth L. Marcus, announced the launch of independent Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law. www.brandeiscenter.com Marcus, director of the new center, is founding the Washington-based organization to combat campus anti-Semitism through civil rights litigation, legal research, and public
Civil rights attorney forms group to help Jews on campuses Read More »
USA
By Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — In his short lifetime, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. collected a cadre of loyal and fervent friends and colleagues. The majority of them, including Rev. Ralph David Abernathy, Andrew Young, John Lewis, and Jesse Jackson, have been African Americans. A notable exception to this list of King’s inner
‘J. Edgar’ movie brings overdue attention to Stanley Levison Read More »
USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The confluence of Barack Obama ‘s problem with contraception and Mitt Romney’s candidacy reminds me of that often expressed sentiment that the United States is a “religion soaked” country. It leads western democracies–including Israel–for people who express a belief in God and pray on a regular basis. The existence of
Romney and Obama both struggle with religious issues Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, USA
By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Most rabbinical students attribute omnipresence and omniscience as qualities befitting a Creator. Only God is called, “The Knower of Thoughts,” and “The Searcher of the human heart.” Rabbinical wisdom has long taught, “Always keep in mind these three things, and you will never come to the
Protecting the right to privacy has biblical precedents Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USAWASHINGTON, DC (Press Release) – In response to the Administration’s Budget release on Monday that once again limits the value of tax deductions for charitable contributions, leaders from The Jewish Federations of North America — one of America’s largest philanthropies — released the following statements: William Daroff, vice president for public policy and director of the Washington
Jewish Federations say new tax policy could jeopardize charitable giving Read More »
USADear President Welty, President Armstrong, President Hellenbrand, and Chancellor Reed: We are co-founders of the AMCHA Initiative, a grassroots organization representing thousands of members and supporters of the California Jewish community, who are united in their concern for the safety and well-being of Jewish students on college and university campuses across the state. We would
An open letter to Cal State University about anti-Semitism Read More »
USABy Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — It would be presumptuous for me to say, “Oh my God, I am so personally aggrieved for the loss of Whitney Houston.” I did not know her in any way but for a voice that, when it was still healthy and young and pure, was like a bell
Whitney, Michael, Heath … What do we do to our super stars? Read More »
USABy Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — It is hardly worth the energy to mention how monumentally uninteresting is the “shocking” new book by Mimi Alford, Once Upon A Secret, which will now briefly draw attention from the sordid, disagreeable primary presidential primary campaign and its flailing bitterness. I’m not planning to read or
JFK’s extramarital sex not so important as his record — or lack of one Read More »
USABy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C — Having to choose between siding with the Obama administration and siding with the ACLU is tough — but the ACLU wins this one. The ACLU sued the CIA for information about the deaths of Anwar al-Awlaki, his 16-year-old son, and Samir Khan in CIA/JSOC drone strikes in Pakistan. The
ACLU right to challenge U.S. targeting of American citizens overseas Read More »
Shoshana Bryen, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The New York Times describes Sheldon Adelson as a poor boy who made himself rich, not especially attracted to Jewish affairs or Israel until middle age, now a major contributor to things Jewish, American, and Israeli. His most recent prominence comes from $10 million contributed by him and his
Adelson is a major right-wing factor in U.S., Israeli politics Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, USA