Kerry, Halachic Israel, and Safety
By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5TJT.com In the past few months, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has occupied entire floors of hotels in Jerusalem. In early March, Mr Kerry is expected to...
Category: Israel
Vive la Différence
When MK David Rotem, of the Yisrael Beytenu party, said that the Reform movement is “another Jewish religion,” and then added that the Charedim [which Times of Israel translates as “ultra-Orthodox,” but I have...
The Road to Heil
If ever there were a question to inspire ambivalence it might be whether the current push in Israel to outlaw the word “Nazi” and Holocaust-era German symbols is a good idea. On the one...
Obama and the Orthodox, Revisited
In a recent article in HaAretz, reprinted here on Cross-Currents, Rabbi Avi Shafran offered several explanations why there seems to be an Orthodox “animus” against President Obama. He discounts theories like racism and Obama’s...
Obama and the (Orthodox) Jews
(The article below appeared earlier this month in Haaretz. I share it here with that paper’s permission.) The gabbai at the shul I usually attend on Shabbos is something of a comedian. When I...
Where is “Moving Traditions” Moving People?
If you’ve been following the saga of the “Women of the Wall” and the “Women for the Wall,” you know that WOW is doing everything it can to bolster its numbers and coverage. W4W...
Where Are The Red Carpets?
The letter below appears in today’s (Jan 2) New York Times: To the Editor: I’m neither an “Israel right or wrong” person nor a supporter of what has come to be called “the Palestinian...
The Peril of Pluralism
The essay below appeared under a different title in Haaretz earlier this week. I share it here with that paper’s permission. Those of us who believe that the Torah, both its written text and...
Why the Radical Politics of WoW’s Leaders Matter
Is it merely a coincidence that so many of Women of the Wall’s leaders have numerous close associations with radical, anti-Israel groups? Or could it be that WoW is a useful vehicle for advancing...
So, You Thought It Would Never Happen?
A private business owner in Seattle has been told that he will face fines and penalties if he refuses to bake “wedding” cakes for deviant couples in violation of his religious faith. If it’s...
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