‘The Jewish Question’: Discriminating Against Jews in Schools BACKGROUND – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS – STORIES Ethnic Studies Curriculum: ‘The Jewish Question’ How to address the “Jewish Question,” a phrase used by the Nazis during the Holocaust, is now being debated in a California school district. Evidence uncovered during the discovery phase of a lawsuit […]
Irony Lost: Activists Protest U.S. and Israel, Ignore Hamas Aggression BACKGROUND – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS – STORIES The Democratic National Convention in Chicago kicked off without incident despite the presence of thousands of pro-Hamas activists marching outside the security perimeter. The anti-Israel demonstrators descended on the convention to pressure the U.S. Administration to end support […]
by Rabbi Alan Silverstein, PhD | President of Mercaz Olami (Representing the global Masorti/Conservative movement) With the withdrawal of the British mandatory authorities, the State of Israel emerged in 1947-49 into a military conflict, its War of Independence. In a battle for survival, able-bodied Jews were expected to serve in self-defense of the new country. […]
Taylor Swift, Too? Threatened by Same Extremists Targeting Jews. BACKGROUND – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS – STORIES Three Taylor Swift concerts in Austria were abruptly cancelled because of an imminent terrorist threat. The main suspect, 19, was radicalized by online terror propaganda, and “thinks it is right to kill infidels,” according to Austrian security services. […]
Jewish Students Brace for Hostile Fall Semester BACKGROUND – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS – VOICES – STORIES Even with the imminent threat of a severe Iranian attack against Israel and possibly America looming on the near horizon, students and parents are preparing for the return to class at universities and K-12 schools. The spring semester […]
by Rabbi Alan Silverstein, PhD | President of Mercaz Olami (Representing the global Masorti/Conservative movement) “If the core of the Arab-Israeli dispute is the Palestinian refugee problem, once the Palestinian issue is solved, would not everything else fall into place?” The core of the Arab-Israeli dispute is neither the “Palestinian problem” nor the issue of […]
It is not in the heavens (Deteronomy 30:12) This biblical verse makes a radical claim: divine wisdom is available to all of us. We do not need heroic feats in order to make God’s word accessible. For the sages of the Talmud the verse came to mean that the authority of interpreting the Torah resides […]
July 30, 2024 | A Bloody Game: 12 Children Killed on Israeli Soccer Field by Hezbollah BACKGROUND – TALKING POINTS – DISPELLING MYTHS – ACTIONS – VOICES – STORIES While the Olympic Games captivate the attention of a worldwide audience, 12 innocent children were killed by Hezbollah missile fire while playing soccer in Israel. An […]
by Rabbi Alan Silverstein, PhD | President of Mercaz Olami (Representing the global Masorti/Conservative movement) As a child I remember bringing a UNICEF canister door-to-door to support the good work of the United Nations. Along with many other American Jews, my family believed in the value of international collaboration in furthering acts of hesed. Over the […]
The Torah portion, Balak, which we read this past Shabbat, is among the most amazing in the Torah: Bil’am emerges, a prophet not of the Israelite people, and pronounces deeply true things about us. He sees the people Israel in the desert, and ostensibly delivering a curse, he blesses: How good are your tents, Jacob, […]