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…
I read with great disappointment Jane Eisner’s piece, “Chasing Ghosts, Reviving Spirits: The Fall and Rise of Poland’s Jews” (December 5). The feeling that Jews have toward Poland is understandably painful, because millions were killed there. But most of that anger is misplaced. And, the Jewish perspective on Poland is not the only one. For…
In its April 4 issue, the Forward reported that some Philadelphia Jewish officials objected to the March 27 screening of our film, “The J Street Challenge,” in the City of Brotherly Love (“Tough Road for J Street as It Bids for an Official Place Within the Communal Tent”). We are perplexed. We made the film…
Martin Buber tells the story of Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berdichev. Before Passover, the great rabbi was inspecting the local matzo factory to make sure it was kosher. Afterward, he said, ”This factory is not kosher.” When the shocked factory owner said, “We have followed all of the laws of kashrut,” the rabbi explained: “The…
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