Leonard Fein
By Leonard Fein
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Opinion For a Two-State Solution? Boycott Ariel
A while back, I wrote a column in which I urged people to boycott Ariel. An explanation is in order here: Ariel is a town of some 18,000 people that juts 16 kilometers (10 miles) beyond the Green Line. It is, in other words, rather deep within the West Bank. It is 25 miles from…
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Opinion Finding a New Room in the Jewish House
My original thought had been to follow up my column on the year now ending by writing about the year that will soon begin. But twist and turn as I did, I found that I had very little to say about the 12 months ahead. Robert Frost’s last poem comes to mind: “The prophets really…
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Opinion The Good, the Bad, and the Indeterminate of 2013
It’s that waning time of the year again, a time to look back at the events that informed and shaped the last twelve months. Obviously, the overwhelming news of the last year was the victory of the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. But, this being a serious newspaper, we cannot be distracted by…
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Opinion ‘Bethlehem’ a Film About Israeli Agents and Their Assets
“Bethlehem” is this year’s Israeli entry in the foreign film Oscars. Having won the Ophir award for best Israeli feature film at the Haifa International Film Festival, it went on to win the best director, best actor, best supporting actor, best editing and best casting awards as well. “Bethlehem” will not be generally available for…
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Opinion Why Thanksgiving May Be More Miraculous Than Hanukkah
This year’s convergence of Hanukah and Thanksgiving, which, we’re told, will not be repeated until 70,000 years from now, leads to a question: Which celebrates the greater miracle? The question may seem misplaced, even impertinent. We understand Hanukah as a celebration of miracle; no miracle is associated with Thanksgiving. Yet I mean to argue that…
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Opinion Edward Snowden Should Be Praised — Not Pilloried
Remember J. Edgar Hoover? Of course you remember Hoover, and the inordinate power he attained — and employed and abused — during his 37 years as the founding Director of the FBI. (This followed eight years as Director of the Bureau of Investigation, precursor to the FBI.) Hoover collected massive amounts of information (by long-ago…
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Opinion Laughing Until We Cry (Thanks, Pew Survey on #JewishAmerica!)
And what do American Jews view as “essential” to their sense of Jewishness? Large majorities of U.S. Jews say that remembering the Holocaust (73%) and leading an ethical life (69%) are essential. More than half (56%) say that working for justice and equality is essential to what being Jewish means to them. And about four-in-ten…
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Opinion Emailing With the Pope
Given the explosion of interest — and research — into neurochemistry, we may before too long end up with an entirely mechanistic theory of being. If a lie detector, why not a love detector? Professions of love will be trumped by chemical analysis; proof is not in the sonnets or the roses but in the…
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Opinion What it means for Jews when Trump administration officials misquote the Bible
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Yiddish לזכּרון יעוואַ ביידער, דער געטרײַער אלמנה פֿונעם שרײַבער חיים ביידערRecalling Yeva Beider, devoted widow of the writer Chaim Beider
נאָך איר מאַנס טויט אין 2003 האָט זי געהאָלפֿן אַרויסגעבן זײַן לעקסיקאָן פֿון די ייִדישע שרײַבער אין ראַטן־פֿאַרבאַנד.