Category Archives: Uncategorized

Be kind to your rabbi

08 Sunday Sep 2019

Posted by in American Jewish Life, Ethics, Holidays, Musings about God/Faith/Religious life, Social Justice, Uncategorized

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We need our rabbis to speak to us as honestly, eloquently, and inspirationally as they can during this season. Doing so, however, is not easy. I hope that all congregants appreciate their rabbi’s efforts whether or not they agree with what their rabbis say.

If your rabbi inspires you to think and reflect deeply – if he/she elevates your spirit and helps you to see the world as if with new eyes – if your rabbi touches you and you feel renewed as a consequence of his/her words – tell them so and offer them your gratitude. They will appreciate that simple gesture more than you can know. They write for you and a good/great sermon is a veritable gift offered from heart to the heart and soul to soul.

For my complete Times of Israel Blog – see https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/be-kind-to-your-rabbi/

 

In Defense of Congressman Adam Schiff against an immoral President Trump

01 Monday Apr 2019

Posted by in American Politics and Life, Ethics, Uncategorized

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Anyone who knows Congressman Adam Schiff recognizes the quality of the man, his intelligence, dignity, integrity, and seriousness as a public servant. Modest, refined, distinguished, thoughtful, and professional – these are the adjectives that immediately come to mind when I think of him.

See my blog at The Times of Israel – https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/in-defense-of-congressman-adam-schiff-against-an-immoral-president/

Anti-Semitism from the Extreme Right Wing and not the Left!

25 Monday Mar 2019

Posted by in Uncategorized

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Rabbi David Teutsch, who shares the co-chairmanship with me and Rabbi Andrea London of the J Street Rabbinic and Cantorial Cabinet, has written an authoritative piece that will appear in the Times of Israel detailing how the extreme right-wing is the greatest anti-Semitic threat and NOT the extreme left wing. Though there are concerns about a growing anti-Israel sentiment on the left, these people are not violent. The right wing is.

David shows us why and is to be complemented.

http://evolve.reconstructingjudaism.org/dangers-antisemitism

Two States for Two Peoples – Congresswoman Ilhan Omar

18 Monday Mar 2019

Posted by in American Politics and Life, Israel and Palestine, Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Anyone who supports the right of the Jewish people to a state of our own and calls for a two-states for two people’s resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not an anti-Semite.

Congressman Ilhan Omar has now laid her cards on the table. Her support for the rights of the Jewish people for a state of our own in Israel and the Palestinian people for a state of their own should satisfy doubts we might have had about her position vis a vis the Jewish people and Israel.

Ilhan Omar: We must apply our universal values to all nations. Only then will we achieve peace, Washington Post –

Rep. Ilhan Omar writes, “U.S. support for Israel has a long history. The founding of Israel 70 years ago was built on the Jewish people’s connection to their historical homeland, as well as the urgency of establishing a nation in the wake of the horror of the Holocaust and the centuries of anti-Semitic oppression leading up to it. Many of the founders of Israel were themselves refugees who survived indescribable horrors. We must acknowledge that this is also the historical homeland of Palestinians. And without a state, the Palestinian people live in a state of permanent refugeehood and displacement. This, too, is a refugee crisis, and they, too, deserve freedom and dignity. A balanced, inclusive approach to the conflict recognizes the shared desire for security and freedom of both peoples. I support a two-state solution, with internationally recognized borders, which allows for both Israelis and Palestinians to have their own sanctuaries and self-determination. This has been official bipartisan U.S. policy across two decades and has been supported by each of the most recent Israeli and Palestinian leaders, as well as the consensus of the Israeli security establishment. “

For full article go to https://wapo.st/2ub60vk

 

Gallup poll on attitudes towards Israel and Palestinian Authority

11 Monday Mar 2019

Posted by in American Jewish Life, American Politics and Life, Israel/Zionism, Uncategorized

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Americans’ overall views toward Israel and the Palestinian Authority have changed little in the past year, with roughly seven in 10 viewing Israel very or mostly favorably and two in 10 viewing the Palestinian Authority in the same terms.
At the same time, the new poll finds a slight softening of Americans’ partiality toward Israel in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, particularly among moderate/liberal Republicans and, to a lesser extent, liberal Democrats.
 
While liberal Democrats are no less favorable toward Israel today than they have been over the past two decades, they have grown more favorable toward the Palestinians and, perhaps as a result, less likely to side with Israel in the conflict. On average from 2017-2019, liberal Democrats have been nearly as likely to be pro-Palestinian as pro-Israeli in their views on the conflict, and that is very different from Republicans, and to a lesser extent moderate/conservative Democrats who remain more solidly in Israel’s corner.
 
Note: The question was not asked “Do you believe in the right of the State of Israel to exist as a Jewish and democratic state according to its Declaration of Independence even if you disagree with policies of the Israeli government vis a vis the Palestinians.” I suspect that had that question been asked, the numbers in support would be much higher for Israel.
 

Young people remembering Holocaust Survivors

05 Tuesday Mar 2019

Posted by in American Jewish Life, Jewish History, Jewish Identity, Uncategorized

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This week I received an email announcement of an 8-minute animated video created by a group of 12-year old students at a local middle school, one of whom is an upcoming bar mitzvah at my synagogue. The film is based on an interview of an Auschwitz survivor, Erika Jacoby, who tells her story. The students created the visuals.

The film is astounding in its own right, beautifully executed and moving to watch, and even more so given that it was created by very young Jewish and non-Jewish students.

Given the diminishing and aging community of Holocaust survivors, we in the Jewish world have worried how younger generations of Jews would come to understand and regard the Holocaust and its significance in Jewish history.

This film ends on a vision of hope and is worth seeing.

To read more and find the link to the vimeo go to my blog at the Times of Israel –

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/young-people-remembering-holocaust-survivors/