Israel

Erel Margalit, one of Israel’s most successful venture capitalists, plans to apply his entrepreneurial acumen to Israeli politics as a freshman member of the Knesset.

Today, Israel’s 65th Independence Day, it is appropriate that we stop and take pride in the many strengths of this young nation, and what its existence and growth has meant for Jewish people not only in Israel but around the world. 2013 offers much for LGBT people to take pride in compared with 1948.

My sister in Israel is fond of saying that her least favorite Shabbat of the year (tongue firmly in cheek) is when we recite the blessing in anticipation of the new Hebrew month of Nisan (meaning, of course, imminent Passover and all that entails).  Conversely, her favorite Shabbat is when we recite the blessing in anticipation of the new Hebrew month of Iyar (meaning, of course, the end of the Passover season, and imminent celebration of Yom Ha’atzma’ut, Israel’s Independence Day).

Most Jews, both in Israel and overseas love the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). We donate to its support services, we say special prayers regularly for the well-being of the soldiers, we feel grief when soldiers are injured and, tragically, killed, and we rejoice when they return safely from their missions.

Charged by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to come up with a Solomonic solution to the growing controversy over women’s prayer at Judaism’s holiest site, Natan Sharansky, the chair of the Jewish Agency for Israel, is prepared to recommend a bold plan to allow any and all Jews to pray at Jerusalem’s Western Wall.

Yeshiva University's president, Richard Joel, has issued a statement on his disagreements with Jimmy Carter in response to a student group's April 10th forum with the ex-president at YU's Benjamin Cardozo Law School.

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