Israel Rescues Hostages but World Blames Rescuers BACKGROUND – TALKING POINTS – DISPELLING MYTHS – ACTIONS – VOICES – STORIES For rescuing its own hostages, Israel is now under attack by the United Nations, international leaders and many anti-Israel voices in America. Israeli commandos launched a meticulously planned operation to free four hostages held by […]
by Rabbi Alan Silverstein, PhD In the spring of 2021, following 11 days of violence between Hamas in Gaza and Israel, President Joe Biden, when asked at a White House press conference if there had been a change in the Democratic Party’s position on Israel, Biden replied, “There is no shift in my commitment to […]
Just what was heard on Mt. Sinai? Our tradition offers several answers: that we heard the Ten Commandments in full, that we heard only the first two Commandments, that we heard only the sound of the first letter, the aleph of Anokhi. The late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks wrote that each person heard something different. […]
Wars Against Evil are Necessary – from D-Day to 10/7 BACKGROUND – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS – VOICES – STORIES 80th Anniversary of D-Day: ‘Into the jaws of death’ Allied forces launched Operation Overlord, a daring and pivotal assault on Nazi-occupied France, known as D-Day, which was June 6, 1944. As dawn broke over the Normandy […]
by Rabbi Alan Silverstein, PhD Listen to an audio version of this article by clicking here. May was American Jewish Heritage Month, in 2024 celebrating the 370th anniversary of the arrival of permanent Jewish settlers on these shores. In September 1654, 23 Jews fleeing the oppression of the Roman Catholic Inquisition in Portuguese Recife, Brazil, […]
BACKGROUND – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS – VOICES – STORIES The challenges Israel is facing are increasingly complex in Gaza and on the world stage. Hamas use of civilian neighborhoods and tent encampments to harbor their fighters and missile launchers complicates the ongoing mission to rescue hostages and endangers civilians in Rafah. Despite mounting evidence of […]
by Rabbi Alan Silverstein, PhD Listen to an audio version of this article by clicking here. In the aftermath of Iran’s shocking launch of 350 attack drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles against Israeli population centers, “Times of Israel” blogger Chavi Feldman asked: “What is resilience?” She herself responded: “I can pretty much guarantee that […]
“The Eternal said to Moses…. ‘None shall defile himself for any [dead] person among his kin’.… You shall not profane My holy name’” (Lev. 21:1, 22:32). The shocking experiences we have undergone and continue to undergo this year contain a double danger. Of the first danger, the physical danger of war, none of us needs […]
BACKGROUND – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS – VOICES – STORIES Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu and his defense minister could be subject to arrest if an international court has its way. Three leaders of the notorious Hamas terrorist organization also have been accused. This equal footing overlooks the fundamental differences between a democratic state defending its citizens […]
Five hundred, twenty five thousand, six hundred minutes. Five hundred, twenty five thousand moments so dear. Five hundred, twenty five thousand, six hundred minutes. How do you measure, measure a year? Those are the opening lyrics of the song I like most from the musical, “Rent.” How do you measure, how do you count, and […]