Noam Neusner
By Noam Neusner
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Opinion Prophecy Is Not Policy
Liberal Jewish activists profess a great regard for the prophetic tradition and its message to the modern world. In these weeks leading up to our traditional day of mourning, Tisha B’Av, our weekly haftarot are peppered with messages of disapproval for a society deaf to God’s word. And it is hard to read those messages…
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Opinion Carving Our Niches at Summer Camp
I owe my life to Jewish summer camp — literally. I met my wife when we were counselors at Camp Ramah in Massachusetts. My in-laws met as staffers at Camp HES (Hebrew Educational Society) in Suffern, N.Y. My father met my mother when he was a camp teacher and she a camper, also at Ramah….
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Opinion Was the Right Right About Obama?
During the 2008 campaign, there were many Jewish Democrats who said — and probably believed — that Barack Obama would be a better friend to Israel than would John McCain. They argued that Obama would cement friendships with moderate Arab states and extricate us from the Iraq adventure that had done so much to antagonize…
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Opinion As Miriam’s Cup Runneth Over, Jewish Men Go Missing in Action
The feminist project of rethinking the Seder has begun — and my home is its next front. My eldest daughter, who recently became bat mitzvah, received as a gift a Miriam’s Cup. I’m not wild about such feminist flourishes, but as a father of three daughters, I dare not oppose them even if I find…
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Opinion Saving Our Money for Madoff?
Of all the shocks of the Bernie Madoff heist, perhaps none was more stunning than the list of victims. Among them were several Jewish foundations and many of our community’s most prominent nonprofits. The losses were staggering, and in some cases crippling. Yet the real Madoff scandal isn’t the losses; it’s that our community was…
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Opinion Let Obama Be Obama
Pity President Obama and his speechwriters, for they are cursed with reputations of great skill and talent as wordsmiths. Imagine the weight they labor under as they begin each speech, look at the blank screen or page, and say: “How can we top ourselves?” No matter what they do, however, many people will say their…
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Opinion The Clichés of Our Lives
At a recent bat mitzvah party, as the Village People’s “YMCA” played, my wife remarked to me that it may be time to retire that unique piece of American kitsch. Give it a rest for a decade. After that, if we think it’s still amusing to spell out letters with our arms, fine, bring it…
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Opinion Watching Blue America Celebrate
These days of Obamamania are dusting off the memory chips of my childhood. It is late fall, and the holidays of Christendom are upon us. There is great anticipation — and for the children in particular, great hope. In a few weeks, there will be joy and celebration, song and dance, drink and good cheer….
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