A central image this week is the seven branched menorah, which focuses our thoughts on the land of Israel. The menorah is unusually botanical: “There were six branches stemming from its sides, each with three almond shaped calyxes with knob and flower.” (Exodus 25: 31-38 and 37: 17-24). A plant native to Israel resembles the […]
STAY INFORMED – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS TO CONSIDER – STORIES MAKING NEWS What Hamas Holds Hostage: 10/7 Victims, Gazans and Public Opinion While Iran continues to weave its global web of terror, its apprentice, Hamas, continues to hold Israelis, Americans and foreign nationals hostage. Hamas leverages skillful propaganda and manipulates media to stoke the flames of antisemitism worldwide, […]
Advocating for Democracy, Pluralism, and Inclusion at WZC Thank You for a Historic Victory! Last night, we received the preliminary results of the World Zionist Congress election, and we’re overjoyed to report that we nearly doubled our vote total from the last election. MERCAZ USA is one of three existing slates that ran in 2020 […]
For Immediate Release June 6, 2025 Media Contact Zack Cohen, zcohen@westendstrategy.com, 404-821-0572 MERCAZ USA Applauds Historic Victory for Conservative Movement, Reaffirms Commitment to Election Integrity NEW YORK – Following last night’s release of the preliminary vote totals from the American Zionist Movement, MERCAZ USA celebrates a successful campaign for the World Zionist Congress. In a […]
In folk medicine there is a belief in the efficacy of leaves from the bush known as trigose bugloss or prickly alkanet, which is common around the Eastern Mediterranean. Skin wounds can be healed by placing beaten leaves on the wound. Burns and infections on skin can be treated with a salve made of beaten […]
STORY MAKING NEWS: Fiery Attack on Jews in Colorado A terrorist in Colorado attacked a group of Jews marching in support of Israeli hostages who are still held in Gaza – stunning the nation and the Jewish community worldwide. The attacker, an Egyptian national who spent a year planning the assault, screamed “Free Palestine” as he was […]
The weekly portion, Be-midbar, begins with taking a count — counting the male Israelites able to go to war, divided according to tribes. Today we are in the midst of several counting activities at once: We are counting the days between Passover and Shavuot, the“counting of the omer,” and we are almost finished. We are […]
STAY INFORMED – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS TO CONSIDER – STORIES MAKING NEWS From Rhetoric to Tragic Reality: The Murders at Capital’s Jewish Museum Shockingly, in the nation’s capital, an enraged gunman brutally murdered an American Jew and an Israeli Christian on the street in front of the Capital Jewish Museum – little more than […]
May 22, 2025 | New York, NY Last night, our community lost Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, two shining lights who believed in service to their communities, to a cowardly act of hate-fueled domestic terrorism. The tragic murders of these two innocent young Israeli embassy employees, who were attending an American Jewish Committee event at […]
“And the man Moses was very humble, more than any person on the face of the earth.” (Num. 12:3) Thoughts in advance of the Festival of the Giving of the Torah We are used to regarding humility as a moral attribute in interpersonal relationships, but one can also take note of intellectual humility, expressed through […]