We are proud to publish our fifth annual “36 Under 36” special section in this issue, highlighting the achievements of a diverse group of young Jews — including artists, educators, social justice activists and philanthropists — making an impact, and a difference, in our community.
The notion of 40,000 haredi and chasidic men coming out on a lovely Sunday evening to Citi Field — a sell-out crowd — not to watch a Mets game but to decry the evils of the Internet makes the attendees of this week’s rally an easy target for ridicule to many people. After all, the Internet is a reality, and prayer and preaching won’t make it go away.
It was deeply frustrating, though not surprising, to see The New York Times, in its high-profile coverage this past week of abuse in the ultra-Orthodox community, neglect to credit The Jewish Week — or The Forward — for taking the lead in reporting on these issues for years.
Palestinians marked Tuesday as the day commemorating the Nakba, or “catastrophe,” by protesting in Israel, some throwing stones and Molotov cocktails in what has become an annual ritual of anger, frustration and violence. The real catastrophe is that the Palestinians continue to mourn the past and forfeit the future by refusing to acknowledge the present — the reality of the State of Israel and its right to exist.
The stunning, late-night move in Israel this week that cancels early election plans and creates a strong national unity government is an example of the best and worst in Israeli politics.
In recent months there has been much reporting in the Jewish and mainstream media on the Brooklyn district attorney’s claims of success in bringing charges against and prosecuting Orthodox sex offenders.
Jewish organizations were gratified when in 2010 the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights broadened its interpretation of Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. In addition to prohibiting discrimination based on race, national origin or color in federally funded programs, the provision added protection against “harassment of members of religious groups based on shared ethnic characteristics,” which in practical terms includes Jews.
It is more than disconcerting to read daily reports of high-level Israeli officials publicly and sharply criticizing each other in disagreeing over whether Israel is or isn’t prepared to attack Iran’s nuclear program, whether it should or shouldn’t go forward with the plan, and whether the motives of the prime minister and defense minister are based on security or politics.
Surely the folks at CBS do not think of themselves as biased against Israel. On the contrary, they surely see their work as thoroughly professional, fair to the bone. Nevertheless, last Sunday night’s “60 Minutes” report on Israel’s supposed oppression of Christianity was deeply flawed and failed the fairness test.
As the State of Israel marked its 64th anniversary of statehood this week, with its population approaching 8 million, it has never seemed as powerful — or as vulnerable.
The Jewish state is a vibrant, messy democracy. It is the spiritual center of the Jewish people, having fulfilled one of Zionism’s key missions in providing a haven for persecuted Jews from around the world despite being in a state of war with Arab neighbors since the day it was founded.
