A few days ago, Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, announced that the Palestinians are no longer bound by Oslo accords. No one was surprised. His aides have been promising that he would drop a “bombshell” at his annual UN speech,…
The more we move into the High Holy Days, the more they look like their other name: The Terrible Days. To some, it seems as though the escalating chaos in East Jerusalem is orchestrated with the diplomatic campaign of Palestinian…
The High Holy Days are a time of joy, as well as a time of reflection. This year, it seems as though there is much more to reflect on than in past years. The past year has been a trying…
On Wednesday, September 9, the Times of Israel reported that Iranian leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, declared that “Israel will not survive the next 25 years.” Just hours later, that same paper posted Israeli Prime Minister’s response to Khamenei’s statement: “‘Tyrant’ Khamenei is wrong, Israel is here…
The Jewish festivals are more than food and family gatherings. They are both spiritually profound, and more relevant to our lives today than most people realize. The Jewish festivals are a trajectory of the nation’s destiny, a cardiogram of our…
This year, Rosh Hashanah could not come at a better time. With the American Jewish community being torn between support and rejection of the Iran deal, the growing rift between supporters and opposers of the policies of Israeli Prime Minister,…
On August 19, the Reform Movement published its official Response to Iran Deal. It expressed a great deal of concern and uncertainty about the future, but it seemed intent on refraining from making any clear statements because “At this time, there…
Cannabis, also known as marijuana, was not invented in the 1960s. It’s been around for at least 10,000 years. It was just as widespread then as it is today, and for most of that time, it was legal. Cannabis has…
A year after the 18-year-old unarmed Michael Brown was shot to death by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, the town is once again in turmoil. A lot has happened since Brown’s killing last year. Today’s America is not as it…
The recent hate crimes perpetrated by Israeli Jews against Jews and Arabs have opened a bleeding wound in the Israeli society. It is not the first time that Israelis carry out such crimes against Jews or Arabs. In 1983, peace activist, Emil Grunzweig, was…
I landed back in Israel last Monday after having been abroad nearly two weeks for congresses with my students in South and North America, a (very successful) lecture in Queens, NY, and meetings with media personnel and opinion leaders. It…
Last night, I gave a lecture at the Rego Park Jewish Center in Queens, New York. The topic was “What makes people single out Jews, and what can counter anti-Semitism’s sharp rise.” Admittedly, I was not very hopeful. I had…