September 1, 2026 STAY INFORMED – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS TO CONSIDER – STORIES MAKING NEWS Alarming Levels of K-12 Antisemitism Demand Response A classmate told a Jewish ninth grader at a California high school that he hopes the boy’s “entire family burns in hell” and that Hamas kills them all. Administrators dismissed the student’s […]
Choosing to be a Blessing or a Curse Parashat Ki Tavo portrays a binary world: blessing or curse. The verses about the blessing include this exhortation: “And you shall enjoy, together with the Levite and the stranger [ger] in your midst, all the bounty that the Eternal your God has bestowed upon you and your […]
August 25, 2026 STAY INFORMED – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS TO CONSIDER – STORIES Antisemitism Moves from Encampments into Classrooms This summer, a college in Oregon agreed to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism and hire an independent outside monitor to keep watch over its campus – one of the most sweeping campus antisemitism settlements […]
Remembering to Reflect According to the Midrash “Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer,” the month of Elul is the month in which God called on Moses to return to the top of the mountain after the golden calf and the breaking of the tablets. As a result, we blow the Shofar in Elul as a reminder of the […]
August 18, 2026 STAY INFORMED – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS TO CONSIDER – VOICES – STORIES When Prayer Needs Protection, No Faith Is Truly Safe Prayers turned into shouts as an assailant forced his way into New York City’s Central Synagogue during Friday night Shabbat services on Aug. 14 and attacked a congregant and a guard. An […]
Expand the Fence, Strengthen the Commitment In a changing reality, every legal system needs to make adaptations. Parashat Shofetim emphasizes that one must turn to “the judge who will be in those days … and they will tell you the matter of the judgment” (Deut 17:9). In our time, in an open society, we live […]
August 11, 2026 STAY INFORMED – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS TO CONSIDER – VOICES – STORIES Never Believe Hamas, Except When It Comes to Murdering Jews Twenty-five years ago, at Jerusalem’s Sbarro pizzeria, 8-year-old Chaya stood in line to order beside her father, sister and brother on a family outing when an explosion ripped through the packed […]
Release Date: August 7, 2026 MERCAZ USA Welcomes New Executive Director: Rabbi Loren Sykes It is with great excitement that I share with you that our new Executive Director, Rabbi Loren Sykes, begins his tenure with MERCAZ USA today, August 7, 2026! The hiring of Rabbi Sykes comes after an extensive interview process, which was […]
The Road (Not) Taken “I have set before you this day… a blessing and a curse.” On this Shabbat Mevarekhim, the Shabbat when we offer a blessing for the new month ahead, the Torah reminds us that our journey in the world is not a predetermined destination, but rather an open invitation to choose our […]
August 4, 2026 STAY INFORMED – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS TO CONSIDER – VOICES – STORIES Antisemites Worldwide Grow More Brazen in Public and Online Attacks Hatred against Jews has moved from hateful words into violent action – in the U.S. and around the world – where Jews are blamed for everything from genocide to […]