Act of War
As if the barrage of Kassam rockets were not enough, Hamas operatives — in conjunction with other factions — conspired to dig a tunnel in order to attack soldiers at the PA-Israel border at...
Category: Israel
The Vote Against Divestment: Three Reasons to Cheer
By now, most of our readers have certainly heard of the momentous victory for fairness at the Presbyterian General Assembly in Birmingham. Because I spent considerable professional time working on this issue for two...
The Meaning of Pluralism
My post of Sunday evening on the limited tolerance expressed by a Reform Rabbi has drawn many comments. Surprisingly, the bulk of these have gone towards debating the meaning of the word “pluralism.” I...
Gay Parade in Jerusalem: Nuanced or categorical opposition?
25 bSivan Why did a prominent writer of over 50 juvenile books in the Orthodox world, whose essays have also been published, write against the upcoming parade this summer in Jerusalem promoting homosexual activity?...
Free Speech for Me, But Not for Thee
The Torah contains many prohibitions against speaking derogatorily of others. When it comes to the laws of lashon hara – bad mouthing – even truth is not a defense, except in certainly narrowly defined...
Yisrael Valis: Shoe on the Other Foot
In a fascinating article in Ha’aretz, Uzi Benziman explains why “the state authorities… have acquired for themselves a shady reputation when it comes to their credibility.” Meanwhile, in the Jerusalem Post, the Mayor of...
A Reform Rabbi’s Tolerance Only Goes So Far
Yediot Acharonot’s YNet carries an opinion piece on the subject of an Orthodox synagogue at Kibbutz Degania, written by Reform Rabbi Dr. Dalia Sara Marx, a teacher at the Hebrew Union College. Considering that...
The controversy over Holocaust, Fallen Soldiers, Terror Victims memorials
6 bIyyar 5766 Last year on May 6,2005, Toby Katz posted a thoughtful essay in Cross-currents titled Yom HaShoah explaining why the Israeli Holocaust Remembrance day is deeply problematic. I reread her essay and...
A Jerusalem Yankee in the King of Sweden’s Court
Motzei Shabbat 9 bKislev Luckily for Jews, Alfred Nobel passed away on December 10 and not during the summer over a century ago. The King of Sweden awards the Nobel Prizes annually on December...
“He didn’t get to say the Shma”
Saturday night 12 bMarHeshvan Two brief comments on the Rabin memorial (the Hebrew yahrzeit is tonight) which is taking place in Tel Aviv as I write these lines, in the square where the Prime...
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