I read the recent op-ed regarding BDS and my own childhood synagogue with sadness. While seemingly well intentioned, this wonderful shul made a serious mistake in inviting and promoting pro-BDS speakers. The op-ed makes two central, misguided arguments. First, as Jews we have some obligation based on “an inherent rabbinic tradition of debate” to give…
Many provisions of the proposed nuclear agreement with Iran are not satisfactory, which leads to the conclusion that the agreement itself is unacceptable. The most important issue is totally intolerable – namely, the proposed 10- to 15-year duration of the agreement. For some reason, opponents of the agreement don’t put this at the top of…
In response to Neal Pollack’s article The beauty of Judaism is that Elijah became bar mitzvah when he turned 13, whether he chose to mark the occasion with an aliyah or a celebration or not, just as he will be old enough to vote, drink or drive when he reaches those chronological milestones whether or…
Elan Ezrachi is correct in his assumption that teen trips to Israel must be subsidized if we want to see a significant increase in teen travel to Israel (“Why We Need to Subsidize Teen Travel to Israel”, August 24, 2015). However, based on our four-plus decades of running Youth to Israel Adventure (Y2I), our fully-subsidized…
For better or worse Israel Advocacy is now and must be on the agenda of nearly every Federation. We are with Israel in time of war and peace, advocating, lobbying, visiting and being supportive in every way we can. A Federation board can never reflect every perspective and we acknowledge the validity of many points…
What does Charles Schumer want from his — but hopefully soon-to-be-reconsidered — vote against the Iran deal? We used “distrust but verify” on all arms control deals with the Soviet Union — that is, with an untrustworthy “evil empire” that covered one sixth of the land surface of the entire earth — over decades, and…
The conflicts in Syria have increased the complexity of the Middle East and exacerbated the instability in the region. Terrorists have taken advantage of the instability, and have made dramatic territorial gains in Syria and Iraq. They now threaten two minorities — Kurds and Druze. The Kurds, who are non-Muslims, are starting to receive military…
Among the most potent logical fallacies available to the polemicist is the “appeal to authority,” by which one attempts to suggest that the opinion of an expert on a question within the general area of his expertise must be correct. An “appeal to authority” is at the heart of J.J. Goldberg’s column “Israel Security Establishment…
I am appalled by your portrayal of Faigy Mayer’s suicide. An event like this deeply saddens all of us, regardless of race or religious denomination. Yet it amazes me how you have used this woman’s story to wrongfully generalize about ultra-Orthodox Jews (specifically women) worldwide. Thankfully, as thousands of our success stories don’t end in…
The news that Rabbi Brant Rosen, previously at the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston, Illinois, has started a “non-Zionist synagogue” comes as no surprise, given his courageous stand against Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory. But the term, “non-Zionist synagogue” is problematic. If there can be a “non-Zionist synagogue,” the implication is that there are “Zionist…
In his op-ed, Rabbi Ari Segal portrays the quandary that most Jewish day schools, and especially Jewish high schools, find themselves in today in regard to their middle-income families (“The 1% Solution,” January 2). Tuition increases have well exceeded rises in wages, cost of living has increased greatly and middle-income families with multiple children in…
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