In an ironic convergence, one day next week has significance — with divergent symbolism — for the Jewish community, for the Muslim community and for our entire country.
Saturday, Sept. 11 — Tishri 3 on the Hebrew calendar, Shawwal 2 on the Islamic calendar — is the date of the Fast of Gedalia, a minor fast in Judaism immediately after Rosh HaShanah.
As direct negotiations resume this week between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government, there is a degree of optimism in Washington, though it is hard to say whether that is the result of signs of progress or naivete.
It’s hard to find Middle East experts who believe that the direct Israeli-Palestinian talks set to be launched in Washington on Sept. 2 are likely to produce breakthroughs anytime soon.
The government of Israel will be losing a key and effective diplomat in New York just when it needs her most.
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gabriela Shalev, highly praised for her low-key, thoughtful and compassionate work these last two years, is returning to Israel and her academic life at the end of this month on the eve of what some Israeli officials here are already predicting will be a “Black September” for the Jewish state at the UN.
If for no other reason, The Atlantic, and its national correspondent Jeffrey Goldberg, deserve much credit for putting the threat of a nuclear Iran front and center in the mainstream media, with Goldberg’s cover story this month, “The Point Of No Return.”
There is a great deal of talk about Jewish Peoplehood these days, some of it abstract, some of it philosophical. But one of the most practical and hopeful examples of Jewish Peoplehood in action today is Limmud, a loose network of grassroots, non-denominational, multi-generational and volunteer-driven, informal Jewish learning experiences that has become one of the most compelling success stories in Jewish life.
U.S. military aid serves a variety of purposes. Sometimes – as in the case of Israel – it is intended to help a close ally defend itself; other times, it is meant mostly to keep a bad situation from getting worse.
Vigorous debate about the many challenges that face America is welcome. But there is something disturbing about the extremes to which so many of today’s radio and television talk show hosts go in tapping deep wellsprings of rage as part of the all-important quest for top ratings.
The ongoing conflict between Fox News host Glenn Beck and the Jewish Funds for Justice offers a window into this dynamic.
It’s an old joke with a not-so-funny punch line: the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. Sadly, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is giving new credence to the cliché as he is pressed from all sides to begin direct peace talks with Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he wants them, and he has convinced President Barack Obama that face-to-face negotiations are preferable to the unproductive, indirect “proximity talks” now underway under the auspices of U.S. envoy George Mitchell.
This long hot summer is a lot more than just sweltering temperatures on America’s East Coast. New rocket attacks against Israeli targets and Tuesday’s big flare-up along the Israel-Lebanon border point to a region precariously close to yet another deadly war.
