By Dan Elbaum (JNS) Mark Twain once wrote, “When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.” For decades, many mainstream Jewish communal […]
Embracing a Data-Driven Approach to Engaging Jewish Young Adults Read More »
International, Middle East, Opinion, USA
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — We all make decisions in our lives. Someone like me (i.e., a very old person) has had to make decisions at many points in my life — what to study, whom to marry, where to work, where to live, whether to have another child, what to cook for
The Road Not Taken Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Holocaust, International, Middle East, Opinion
By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — Looks like I may soon have the same challenge as an antisemitic co-worker years ago at a medical publishing company in New Jersey, all thanks to U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). I was passing through a hallway when my uncollegial colleague blurted out to a small crowd that she
Muslim ‘Lioness’ Growls at the Christians Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Middle East, Opinion, USA
By Natasha Josefowitz, ACSW, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — “They don’t allow it,” you’re told. “They wouldn’t like it….” “They have decided…” “It’s up to them.” We hear such common pronouncements often, but who are they? They are “the powers that be,” the nameless, faceless others who control our lives. They are the systems, institutions,
Roles, Tasks, Resources — Understanding the Controlling Forces Read More »
Lifestyles, Natasha Josefowitz, Opinion
By Steve Kramer KFAR SABA, Israel — There’s been a lot of mayhem lately at the Temple Mount (the summit of Mount Moriah) in Jerusalem, which is a magnet for religious Jews, especially during Passover. Because this year Passover, Easter, and the Muslim holiday of Ramadan coincided, more violence than usual has resulted. The current
Jerusalem’s Temple Mount: The Epicenter of Violence Read More »
Middle East, Opinion, Steve Kramer
By Alex Gordon, Ph.D HAIFA, Israel — Many years ago, I was in the German city of Cologne and went to a station restaurant for lunch. I was surprised when I saw “Chicken Kiev-style” on the menu. I was surprised because I was born and raised in Kiev, and I knew nothing about Chicken Kiev-style.
Confessions of a Foreign Intelligence Agent’s Son Read More »
Alex Gordon, Holocaust, International, Opinion
By Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D JERUSALEM — Israel is currently in the midst of a mess. But, like others that Israelis have experienced, it is likely to be temporary. The context is made up of several major holidays, the month of Ramadan, plus Pesach, and several holidays around Easter. Those manage to heighten feelings that we
By Jonathan S. Tobin (JNS) When President Joe Biden used the word genocide to describe Russia’s actions in Ukraine, it raised some eyebrows. But it didn’t generate the same kind of pushback some of his other previous unscripted remarks about that conflict, such as his call for regime change in Moscow or his threats to
Calling Russia’s War in Ukraine ‘Genocide:’ Does it Matter? Read More »
Holocaust, International, OpinionBy Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — On the first day of Passover, I left a store and entered my car only to look up and spot two bizarre signs on the wall — one warning of death in “hell-fire” for anyone who kills a son of Islam and the second crediting Muslims for building the
Israeli Police Vs. Circular Logic Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Middle East, Opinion
(JNS) For the first time in human-rights history, an international mega-corporation has attempted to coerce a licensee into food apartheid. This unprecedented contractual demand has provoked a turning-point lawsuit that asks whether it is legal to attempt to force a food licensee to discriminate against entire communities, especially ethnic ones. More distilled, the lawsuit asks
Ben & Jerry’s Tries to Force Food Apartheid Read More »
Edwin Black, Middle East, Opinion, USA
By Jonathan S. Tobin (JNS) In February, the Anti-Defamation League announced that it had developed what it called an “online hate index” to monitor antisemitism on social-media platforms. The effort was conceived as a way to adequately measure the amount of hate speech being posted on sites like Twitter and Reddit, which the group thinks
Should Everyone Be Afraid of Elon Musk Buying Twitter? Read More »
Opinion, USA
By Elior Amar (JNS) On one Tuesday night in February, a small group of Jewish students at UC Santa Cruz, where I serve as a shaliach (Israeli emissary) for the Jewish Agency for Israel, logged into the weekly Zoom meeting of the Student Union Assembly to support the adoption of a working definition of antisemitism. The
Parents: Encourage Your Children to Participate in Student Government Read More »
California, Middle East, Opinion, Science, Medicine, & Education, USABy Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D JERUSALEM — The Temple Mount is an area a bit less than 40 acres and seen as holy by Muslims, Jews, and Christians. With the confluence this year of Ramadan, Passover, and Easter, it’s the focus of active conflict, especially between extremist Muslims and Jews. Recently there has been conflict, with
The Temple Mount: Small Area, Intense Conflict Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, OpinionBy Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — Terror attacks in Israel are so alarming that the first fatal assault could well have inspired a copycat crime 5,400 miles west — in Lakewood, N.J. Four people, all reportedly Orthodox Jews, were injured when a suspect embarked on a violent crime spree Friday in Lakewood and neighboring Jackson
Tracking the Trail of Terror Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Middle East, Opinion, USA