Someone Finally Gets It — Again
Joel Alperson is a highly-respected, prominent person within the Federation world — he was a past national campaign chair for United Jewish Communities, now known as the Jewish Federations of North America. He is...
Hearing Voices
So many tears shed, so many words spoken, so many hearts twisted tight over the weeks, now, since the horrific, confounding, harrowing murder of Leiby Kletzky, a”h. With that distance of days, though— while...
A Kosher Book If There Ever Was One
WHATEVER our slice of Jewish culture, we all live within certain boundaries. As religious or secular or Democrat or Republican or young or old or skilled or unskilled, few can live and speak without...
A Message For the Nine Days From a Moderate Muslim
Eager as always to rouse myself from yawning indifference before the Nine Days, my first welcome stirrings came compliments of a moderate Muslim. He reminded me of an aspect of national memory that I...
Blasting the Borough Park Shomrim
One of the regular weekly features I write for Ami Magazine is a “News and Analysis” piece. Although I don’t usually post those offerings here on Cross-Currents (and even though Marvin Schick posted a...
Not Getting What We Didn’t Pay For
Last week, as the mercury soared to record highs across much of the United States, electrical demand rose with the temperature as air-conditioning systems ran full blast. Years ago, Baltimore Gas & Electric created...
Jews and Civilization
Tonight, the 26th day of Tammuz in the Hebrew year 5771, is my father’s ninth yahrzeit. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t think mournfully of all the questions I would like to...
New Poll Reveals What Everyone Knows, or Should Know
An important new poll of Palestinian opinion was released last week to minimum fanfare. The poll confirmed what no one wants to hear: the Palestinian population of the West Bank and Gaza is far...
Canadian Jews Change Course
Stephen Harper’s Conservative Party massive victory in the recent Canadian elections and the virtual disappearance of the Liberal Party, which has dominated Canadian politics for seventy years, was accompanied by sea change in Canadian...
A New Low at the Jewish Week
As the Kletzky family began the shiva period and Jews everywhere joined in their mourning, and as millions of persons who are not Jewish felt the pain, there was one notable exception to the...