Guest Author

The students of Talmud Torah Netzach Yisrael in Beit Shemesh have launched a meaningful learning project in memory of a fallen soldier from Jerusalem that they never met.

Judaism

In Memory of a Fallen Soldier: Learning Mesillat Yesharim

The students of Talmud Torah Netzach Yisrael in Beit Shemesh have launched a meaningful learning project in memory of a fallen soldier from Jerusalem that they never met.

The Biden Doctrine?

The attack tells Team Obama-Biden this is not, at root, an Israeli-Palestinian war. Properly understood it is an asymmetric war against the U.S. launched by Iran.

Are American Jews Supportive of Israel

Jews are constantly bending over backward and rationalizing. The opposition doesn’t rationalize. They want Jews dead.

“Go Back to Poland!”

Columbia students shout; but my Jewish Family is from Egypt

Israel's Right Needs a New Political Party - and Elections - Now

Almost four months following what is arguably the State of Israel’s greatest intelligence and security failure in its history, its citizens are more divided than ever.

From Frontlines to Fatherhood

By then the news had spread, and almost every unit we passed on the way out of Gaza was waving at the convoy yelling “Mazal tov!” I felt as if I was in a movie.

Don’t Call Hamas Nazis; If they are not Nazis, what are they?

How can we understand Hamas’ actions in the context of Jewish history?

Analysis

A New Blood Libel “Explains” an Attack on the Synagogue in Armenia

The blood libel du jour took presented itself in the form of publications from several major Western media outlets, including CNN and the AP

Judaism

Flipping the Narcissist Script

Learning through life

The Centrality of Israel: Challenging Realities and Opportunities

Im eshkachech Yerushalayim, tishkach yemini..

Thoughts American Jews Must Offer The Anti-Democratic Forces In Israel

Israel’s Supreme Court is Unaccountable to Anyone

Featured / Op-Eds

The Biggest American Chareidi Community in Israel

The premier destination for American hareidim in Israel

Book Review: The Twin Children of the Holocaust: Stolen Childhood and the Will to Survive”

This book vividly recounts the 1985 trek by surviving twins as they attempted to bring Mengele to justice.

Tip for Thomas: First Let Bibi Take Office, THEN Criticize him

Turning your back on Israel because you don’t like the results of one election harms everyone.

The Leaders that We Deserve?

Israeli politicians are beginning to recognize that the exponential growth of the Haredi community presents many challenges for the future of the state

Confronting My Cancer Diagnosis

There is a part of me that wants to hide under the covers, but the feeling of being one small part of a larger community inspires me to share my marathon journey.

In the Footsteps of Abraham

Former Trump administration Mid East envoy Jason Greenblatt shows how rejecting conventional thinking brought peace.

Rethinking the Relationship Between Jews and Elite Universities

Many of the schools where Jewish students face institutionalized discrimination are the same establishments that offer attractive amenities such as kosher dining options and daily minyanim.

Building Bridges to Jewish Unity

Building unity amongst Jews and all of Israel

New Kids’ Book Promotes Mental Health Dialogue in Religious Community

The book’s pictures are warm and the story is both friendly and accessible. In short, it hits the nail on the head.

There is No Such Thing as a Lone Soldier in Israel

In Israel, there is no such thing as a Lone Soldier because the country acts as if it’s one big family.

Time to Give Arab Countries Their Due for Normalizing Relations With Israel

To their credit, Arab rulers are telegraphing that benefits to peace extend to people rather than being confined to governments; For its part, the Biden administration has been tepid in its willingness to expand the accords,

Afghanistan Lost, Values Vanquished

Afghanistan has been lost, mainly because we abandoned our values. If the US can so easily abandon theirs, it does not portend well for Israel.

Linoy Ashram: Proving the Sky’s the Limit

Words cannot describe what two gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics means for the Israeli Gymnastics Federation.

The Chance to Head a Nation Like No Other

A letter to Israel’s incoming president, Isaac Herzog.

An-Ark-Key

Before summarily dismissing Korach, let's first allow him to speak and examine his claims – perhaps they will allow us to understand whence his self-immolating uprising.

The President of World Jewry

A reflection on President Reuven ‘Ruby’ Rivlin, the world’s most popular Israeli president, as the nation prepares for his stepping down.

A Timely Review: The Taming of The Jew by Tuvia Tenenbom

Read it and weep--AND laugh

Half of the T – Winning Team

Why do we need both Hashem and Moshe to inform us that we're moving forward once again? Wouldn't one method, presumably the divine one, be sufficient?

Parshat B'Midbar : Miles from Nowhere

In last week’s parashah, Hashem spoke to Moshe at Mount Sinai. Now, it's referred to as the Desert of Sinai. Is that the same place? Since the people haven't departed the mountain yet, it must be. Yet if so, why change the reference from "mountain" to "desert"?

Parshat Emor: Fixing a Flat with NO Words to Spare

Why interrupt the halachic flow of Vayikra, a Chumash suspended in time with almost no dateable events, to tell us about a single foul-mouthed boor?

Teachers’ Union Head Under Fire for Anti-Semitic Comments

Rabbi: Weingarten 'took legitimate criticism of her union’s refusal to go back to work as a way to demonize the Jewish community'

Menachem Begin: Lessons of the Holocaust

In May 1981, a group of young American Jewish leaders asked Prime Minister Begin what he thought were the lessons of the Holocaust. This was his answer.

Where’s the Outrage? US Jewish Groups Mum on anti-Israel Pentagon Pick

There should have been a chorus of protest from the American Jewish establishment at Kahl’s nomination.

Canary Mission Statement on Dental Student, Adam Elayan

After a lengthy process, a profile on Elayan was removed this week from the Canary Mission website as part of the Ex-Canary program. The program is designed for individuals who have "shown moral courage to recognize their earlier mistakes, embracing tolerance and coexistence – despite social pressure from their peers."

AOC’s Coven of Spitting, #MeFirst Cobras

What makes Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s beguiling, baby-like behavior dangerous is that she uses the idiom of emotional anguish to derive legislative leverage.

The Muqata

Convert Your Dog to Judaism

Apparently some dogs are Reform!

American Jewry Can No Longer Afford to Remain Silent

As anti-Israel lawmakers increase in numbers, American Jewry's unwillingness to confront their anti-Zionist rhetoric underscores the growing disaffection that Krauthammer had been alluding to for years.

$1.9 Trillion Stimulus Bill Expected To Stimulate National Debt

Nothing exceeds like excess

Nix to ‘Nazi’ Comparisons on Left or Right

Cloaked in the laughter of millions over 25 years ago, the appropriation of Holocaust terminology is manifesting itself in today’s political discourse — and it is no longer funny. Nazi comparisons have transcended political lines, with both parties and pundits of all stripes partaking in this unsavory rhetoric.

Liberals Switching Their Vote To Trump

Liberals realize that Trump is their ONLY reason for living

Trump Close To Filling Impeachment Punch Card For Free Sub Sandwich

if they get impeached three times in one term, we ought to give them some kind of consolation prize because that's pretty impressive. A foot-long sub, maybe

Trump Seen Hanging 'Missing: 11,787 Votes' Signs Around Georgia

"I'm calling on the good people of Georgia to help me find my missing votes! Have you seen them anywhere? Please check under your couch cushions. DM if you find them, THX!"

Judaism / Headline

How Portland’s Rabbi Got in a Gunfight at the President’s hotel

Headline / The American Thinker

They take their Nusach VERY seriously. It became official in 1879, the year before Oregon’s first (and hopefully only) Rabbinical gunfight.

Mathematical Impossibilities May be What Trips up Democrat Plans

Elementary logic says if there are coattails, there’s a coat. However, even as the down-ballot races went a bright, rosy red, we’re being asked to believe that those same voters didn’t want Trump. That defies credulity.

Does Israel Really Need an Ally Like Armenia?

How can we, Israelis, react to the monument erected three years ago in Yerevan, to commemorate Nzhdeh, an anti-Semite and apparent Nazi accomplice?

Now Is the Time for Peace

A warm peace that permeates the public in the Arab countries with which we have just signed, an impressive and opening gift for a good and blessed year of peace and regional stability, right as we celebrate the Jewish High Holidays.

Off The Couch

So if you’re a patient who needs to know that you’re not alone, a mental health professional who wants to see what it’s like in the office of a psychiatrist working here in Jerusalem, or just about anyone who cares about the Jewish people, you’ll find the book quite relevant. This is 360 pages of pure gold.

Play Ball?

And yet, Major League Baseball placed the BLM logo on the pitchers’ mounds on Opening Day.

Damning a Nation: An Attack in 2 Acts

Internal motives drive him to hold Israel to an unattainable standard because for Peter Beinart, the ongoing conflict is entirely the fault of Israeli Jews.

The Orthodox Jews of Brooklyn Are Alone in the World

merican Jews and the Jewish Establishment do not advocate for themselves but exceed in advocating for others

Is America a “Failed” Experiment?

We are not perfect, but there is a lot to celebrate on the Fourth of July. Radical rhetoric aside, no nation has ever provided more freedom and prosperity for more people—regardless of skin colors.

DISGRACEFUL!

The Greenblatt-Sharpton campaign is a left-wing power grab disguised as a civil rights mission.

Holidays

Corona Lag B’Omer: Celebrating Together Apart!

This year more than ever, the spiritual teachings of Lag B’Omer and unity take on a new relevance when the physical health of our community depends on each other as well. As we dance together but apart this Lag B’Omer

Our Homes and the Virus

All of us can and need to develop a more positive home environment through enjoyable activities and better communication

Shake Off the Dust and Arise

We should be mindful of the miracles happening now, draw strength from them and ask what we want to take with us from this experience.

Judaism

Shabbat Hagadol – Ascent to Greatness

Our mystical tradition teaches us that all blessing flows into the world from the preceding Shabbat. What unique intentions might we have this Shabbat, leading us into the week of Passover? Last week’s Torah reading, parshat Tzav, fills in many of the technical details of how the Priests will function in the Tabernacle and Temple. […]

Coronavirus

I'm an Intensive Care Physician who Contracted Coronavirus

Could I actually have the virus? I’m supposed to be the one treating the sick, not the other way around.

UC-Berkeley anti-Israel Activists Rip Up Photo of Rasmea Odeh’s Terror Victims

Deported Palestinian terrorist killer Rasmea Odeh is still celebrated on U.S. campuses, with particular viciousness at UC-Berkeley.

A Lone Soldier's Mother's Transition to Civilian Mom

I look at Yeshiva Hillel and his friends, in their civilian clothing and put them side by side with Soldier Hillel and his friends, in their army clothing and the two images look like different species. One rough, big, strong fierce and brave. Larger than life. The other normal, smaller not in statute but mere size, kind, benevolent and sweet.

Peace Love & Rock n’ Roll in the Middle East

Bridge Over Troubled WATERS

Doom for Democrats

If the British could see through the morass of British politics, I have faith that the American people will follow suit and re-elect President Donald Trump.

Who is Better: Shmuel the Prophet or President Trump? Look to Yiftach for an Answer

Donald Trump the individual, has many flaws, and we should never look to him as a paragon of moral clarity or as a model of moral behavior for any of us. Donald Trump, our US President, has achieved a remarkable amount of good in just three years and we should all be most grateful for that.

Trump Deserves our Thanks as Americans, Israelis and Jews

Dr. Miriam Adelson's remarks at the 2019 Israeli American Council National Conference.

Review of The Crack-Up of the Israeli Left by Mordechai Nisan

Nisan's book provides a human and political vision of bad actors and good actors here that can bring a great deal of understanding of what happens in Israel.

Does Israel Have Rights—and Need—to Assert Sovereign Control over the Jordan Valley?

Accusations of Israeli “land grabs” are attempts to establish in public opinion what is not provable by law: that Israel is illegally occupying Judea and Samaria.

Combating the Imminent Perfect Storm for Antisemitism in America

Jew-hatred, also described as antisemitism, is becoming mainstream in America.

New Dershowitz Must Read Memoir for Friends of Israel

From the aliyah of Soviet Jewry to the new anti-Semitism, Alan Dershowitz’s “Defending Israel: The Story of My Relationship with My Most Challenging Client” is almost a history of Zionism.

Towards a Comprehensive Peace Plan for the Mideast

It’s not complicated; any viable peace plan should help us and our allies win, while forcing our enemies to lose.

Shavuot, Swimming and Shiluv

May we make this Shavuot a time to increase our achdut, as well as our dedication to the Torah and following it's moral and ethical rules.

Reform of the Judicial System

In recent decades there has been a judicial change in Israel. The judiciary interpreted the laws according to the agendas and values they have adopted, often contrary to the position of the elected officials in the Knesset and the government

The Secret of Jerusalem’s Magic

As a people, Jerusalem is our capital, but at the same time, each and every one of us also has our own private Jerusalem. It seems that herein lies the magical secret of this city.

On the Right Side of History

Contrary to all the negative predictions, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has been an extraordinary success.

No People Deserve a State LESS than Palestinian Arabs

Whereas other legitimate national movements can point to heroic leaders of the past—emperors, kings, presidents—Palestinian Arabs cannot go much further back than Yasser Arafat, a murderous terror boss who never ruled anything more than a gang of killers. Arafat wasn’t even a native Palestinian Arab.

Book Review: Redeeming Relevance in the Book of Vayikra, by Rabbi Francis Nataf

Seen through Rabbi Nataf’s eyes, however, the seemingly divided text of Vayikra becomes a cohesive whole.

Zionophobia Is Discrimination

The wholly-political war waged by Zionophobes has effectively intimidated and prevented religious Jews who identify as Zionists from initiating such claims. But that is starting to change.

From Idaho to Israel – Bridging the Jewish-Christian Divide

The Teacher and Preacher evening this Motzei Shabbat, March 9, 8 pm at the Dan Panorama Hotel, marks the third annual live gathering in Jerusalem. Dave is in Israel leading a Christian group through the Holy Land, one of about 40 times he has visited Israel. The event is open to the public, and following a discussion much like Dave and Harold have on the airwaves, they will take no-holds-barred questions from the audience.

The Janitor’s Meir Kahane

Our hero was the patron saint of the janitor’s closet. “Janitor Mark” we asked, “What are you doing with a photo of Rabbi Meir Kahane”?

STAT!: Med School Needed in Ariel

Israel desperately needs more doctors. Of all the solutions, the best by far is to open a medical school at Ariel University. What is holding this up? Some in academia and the medical establishment are trying to torpedo Ariel's new med school. Many of them do NOT want a med school--or any Israeli university or institution in Judea and Samaria, a form of internal academic BDS.

How Does Israel Spell Security? IDF

Sometimes, it seems as if the Israeli left longs for the return of Donald Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, more than they do in America.

SJP- Students for Justice in Palestine or Systematic Jewish Persecution?

SJP’s #1 unity goal is “ending Israel’s occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall”. In laments terms, SJP wants Israel removed/to diseapear/be destroyed (you can chose which one sounds the nicest)

Tsunami of Self-Immolation

The Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist movements have, in the last 30 years, rapidly devolved away from being rejectionists of traditional Judaism. These movements have now embraced a new religion with gusto. That religion is commonly called liberalism.

A False Olive Branch

Every time the Arabs claim that Jews vandalize or destroy olive trees it always happens every year in late October and early November. Funny, this is the pruning season for olive trees, and the ideal time to do a heavy pruning.

The Temple Mount – In Their Hands

The Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site where its two temples stood, is a place of some of the worst discrimination, humiliation, and persecution of Jews in the world.

Holidays

Dancing with the Torah

"My grandfather told me that he once attended the Cantonist Shul on Simchat Torah. The Cantonists could dance like Cossacks. They were huge, strong men, and the heavy Torah scrolls would seem like toothpicks in their arms. Despite being looked down upon by other Jews--they were not very learned and really couldn't observe the Torah properly--they were nonetheless able to rejoice in their Judaism and celebrate the Torah. It was truly amazing."

Interviews and Profiles

My Friend, Ari Fuld

On one hand - tough as nails. Like a super hero. On the other - he laughed easily, was everyone's friend and LOVED to learn Torah. Rare is it that the Karate Man, the Army Hero, Mr. Macho is also a gentle, caring, friendly person, who gets a super geshmak from learning Torah. That was R' Ari.

I'm Coming Home

I don’t wish to sound alarmist, but I no longer feel welcome in my own country. I’m frightened, and it’s only getting worse. There is always a snowball effect, you see, with these things. It usually starts small.

A Message to the IfNotNow Folk

An open letter to the members of IfNotNow from a sympathetic-yet critical-Rabbi, who made aliya

A Response to Rabbi Jonathan Sacks's Recent Article: 'The First Populist'

As opposed to Korach, being a populist today is suddenly popular.

Lies the Washington Post Told Me

One would think the Washington Post might do a little fact-checking on the op-eds they publish.

'Eurosim': Today's Anusim

Must a Jew in Germany, or anywhere in Europe, hide their identity?

Make the Iraqi Jewish Archive a gateway between Arabs and Jews

For Jews and non-Jews around the world, these materials could serve as a testament to good relations shared in the past and serve as an entry point in exploring how ties can become vibrant once again.

QUO VADIS PALESTINIANS?

"Go West young man." More Palestinians should consider Chile as a place to call home

American Jews Must Finally Realize There Is No Place For Us On The Left

The question is clear — why? Why would Jews vote for a party that has a long history of anti-Israel sentiments, which continue to grow? Why would they vote for an ideology that embraces anti-Semitic radicals?

Do NOT PAY FOR YOUR SON OR DAUGHTER TO GO TO POLAND

According to a report issued by the Polish government in 2012, Poland had over $10 billion of Jewish property in its hands. By all accounts they have refused to return the stolen property to the rightful heirs,

An Open Letter to Poland

A creative, bold and bitter suggestion for solving the issue of naming Polands'camps'

A Settler's Response to President Trump's Interview with 'Israel HaYom'

Pres. Trump, concerning the settlements of Judea and Samaria, which are no less vital to Israel's security than preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, you've fallen for FAKE NEWS

Golda Meir: The Palestinians