http://www.jstandard.com en-us http://www.jstandard.com N/A editor@jstandard.com Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:43:30 MDT 20 http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4536/1/A-Muslim-king-and-three-rabbis-go-into-a-bar-in-Madrid%85 Once upon a time, the king invited the infidels to Madrid - but he invited only a handful of Jews who are all, rightly or wrongly, perceived as more critical of Israel and of Judaism than of Islam. The king did not invite any influential religious women. This did not stop any man of faith from attending. I am talking about Saudi King Abdullah's interfaith conference in Madrid that was attended by nearly 300 delegates representing Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and other faiths from more than 50 countries. King Abdullah opened the conference on July 16 in the presence of Spain's King Juan Carlos. Phyllis Chesler Phyllis Chesler Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4516/1/Releasing-terrorists-encourages-more-attacks I am writing from Israel as my government releases terrorists back to Lebanon in exchange for the return of two Israeli soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah and for information on the fate of missing Israeli airman Ron Arad. My government made this decision without knowing all the details and the exact price Israel will have to pay, without knowing if the captive soldiers are alive, without knowing if the report on Arad is reliable. Ron Kehrmann Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4515/1/Captive-soldiers-need-hope-of-return Sitting in a Syrian prison, I was kept alive by one thought: the knowledge that my country was doing everything possible to bring me back home to my family and homeland. At times I imagined a hole in the floor, with Israeli troops emerging from it to rescue me. In the Syrian prison, I recalled the images of our war captives from Egypt stepping off the plane. I remembered the efforts the state made to get back the bodies of its soldiers. Time and again I recounted the story of the hostage rescue in Entebbe. Chezi Shay Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4487/1/Conflicting-impulses-complicate-push-for-energy-independence-and-less-foreign-oil American politicians are not dumb. They know that most people don't like paying $60 to fill up a gas tank that could have been topped off for about $15 a decade ago. With the cost of gas at the pump over $4 and heading north, they know that Americans want somebody to blame for all of this. And so, in recent weeks, we have been treated to congressional hearings in which the ever-unpopular oil-company executives, and the more obscure but equally villainous "oil speculators," were pilloried. Jonathan S. Tobin Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4463/1/Americans%2C-Israelis-grapple-with-lessons-of-the-Holocaust JERUSALEM - Although more than 60 years have passed since World War II and the Holocaust, Americans continue to grapple with the history of that period and the lessons to be learned from it. From President Bush's recent remark about appeasing the Nazis in the 1930s, to Senator Obama's pride in his great-uncle's role in liberating a Nazi concentration camp, the Hitler era continues to figure prominently in American public discourse. Israelis, too, are actively debating the lessons of the 1930s and 1940s. In Tel Aviv last week, I joined Israeli scholars in addressing an unprecedented conference on "Rescue and Obstruction: The U.S. and the Destruction of European Jewry." David S. Wyman Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4415/1/Justifying-and-deconstructing-Hagee-and-ourselves Partisan political agendas and allegiances have, at times, seemingly overshadowed our commitments to God and to our faith. I find it confounding that so many purportedly Torah-observant Jews adhere to political pundit Ann Coulter's view that "the survival of Israel is inextricably linked to the survival of the Republican Party and its evangelical base." I, too, am concerned about the outcome of the presidential race and how it will affect Israel, but isn't it high time that the people of Israel learn how to roll with the punches and come up on top - regardless of shifts in American foreign policy and changes in the White House administration? Ellen W. Horowitz Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4408/1/Still-dancing-around-Jerusalem There are times when even the most ardent supporters of Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem wish the politicians would just shut up. Not that they mind it when people like Sen. Barack Obama, the putative Democratic nominee for president, wax lyrical about the Jewish state's capital. When Obama told the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington, D.C., earlier this month that "Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided," he was cheered to the echo. In doing so, Obama was following a long tradition observed by both Republicans and Democrats who have been feeding Jewish audiences with the proverbial red meat about this core issue. Jonathan S. Tobin Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4393/1/%91The-challenges-of-eradicating-torture%92 On either side of the pulpit in my synagogue are two flags. To my right is the American flag and to the left is the Israeli flag. I have always taken the position that I can be critical of the flag to my right because I choose to live in this country where I vote, and pay taxes. I cannot be critical of the flag to my left because until I am willing to move to Israel, fight in its wars, vote in its elections, I have no right to have a say in Israeli politics and policies. I do, however, take pride in the State of Israel because I have lived there, tilled holy soil in Ofrah, and have children, grandchildren, and relatives who live all over the Holy Land. I am proud of their commitment and respect their right to support or contest the decisions of their government through the democratic process which they entitle themselves to by fulfilling the mitzvah of living in eretz Yisrael. Rabbi David Senter Sun, 15 Jun 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4372/1/Misgivings-on-the-road-to-Damascus When you live in a dangerous neighborhood, having big, strong friends is a must. But what happens when you disagree with that friend over something important? The dilemma that is always faced by small nations that come to depend on larger friends is a delicate one. Even when such friendships are built upon a solid foundation of common values, such as those shared by the United States and Israel, sovereign nations are bound to find themselves marching in different directions from time to time. Jonathan S. Tobin Fri, 06 Jun 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4344/1/The-burning-of-Christian-Scriptures-in-Israel-must-be-condemned Yom Ha'Atzmaut - Israel's Independence Day - has come and gone. Together, Jews in North America and Israel joyously celebrated Israel's 60 years of achievement and success. What Israel has accomplished in its short lifetime is a source of pride to all of us. For six decades, Israel has distinguished itself as a bastion of freedom and democracy in a corner of the world where those values often are desecrated. It has been a haven of religious freedom and tolerance. It is worthy of note that Muslims, Catholics, Protestants, and Buddhists in the Jewish state are guaranteed by law the freedom to practice their religion openly. I am deeply proud of Israel. Rabbi Jerome Epstein Fri, 30 May 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4317/1/Postville-a-clarion-call-for-Jews-and-Americans NEW YORK - The recent raid in Postville, Iowa, on this country's largest kosher slaughterhouse, where at least 390 people were arrested on immigration charges, is troubling on many levels. As Jews, a collective shudder runs through the community whenever a business enterprise so closely connected with the community is raided by government agents. Because of the terrifying associations of other raids against Jews by uniformed personnel in Europe and elsewhere, we must take it seriously when the unprotected among us are subjected to single-minded enforcement policies. Gideon Aronoff Fri, 23 May 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4286/1/Arab-Jewish-equality-is-vital-to-Israel%92s-future Jewish Israeli children learn conversational Arabic, which is seen as an important step toward "building a culture of coexistence and equality." Courtesy Abraham Fund A quiet change is taking place in northern Israel among Jews and Arabs. Jewish and Arab municipal officials who only a few years ago resisted being in the same room together now are working on collaborative solutions to transportation problems, environmental cleanup, tourism development, and job creation. In cities and regions throughout Israel, thousands of young Jews are studying conversational Arabic language and culture, getting to know their Arab neighbors and finding common ground. Ami Nahshon and Mohammad Darawshe Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4285/1/A-15-year-plan-to-elevate-Israel Israel needs a new vision that not only will guide its priorities and inform its actions, but also will be relevant to the lives of all Israelis. This is why the ISRAEL 15 Vision, a Reut Institute plan that calls for Israel to become one of the 15 most developed nations within 15 years, is so compelling. It requires improving the quality of life of all citizens. Quality of life is a very elusive issue. Its definition changes by geography. The quality of life of a religious and spiritual person is different from that of a secular businessperson. Gidi Grinstein Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4223/1/We-may-never-know Some years ago, when I was a young assistant rabbi in a large congregation, I was having dinner with a man who had been widowed recently. He and his late wife were both Holocaust survivors. His son - who was away attending university - was interested in applying to the rabbinic seminary from which I had graduated a few months earlier. "I understand you have to write a thesis in order to graduate," the man said. "Tell me, what was yours about?" "Holocaust literature," I replied. "Oh?" he said, "And what did you learn?" "Well," I said, "I now understand what happened, how and why." "You must tell me then," he said, "because I was there, and I still don't understand." Rabbi Bruce S. Block Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4222/1/In-support-of-%91a-consistent-voice-for-moderation%92 Pictured at the 2007 New Jersey Region United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism Synagogues of Excellence Awards ceremony are, first row from left, Rabbi David Senter of Cong. Beth Shalom in Pompton Lakes, Father William Potter of S. Luke's Church in Hope, and Imam Mohammad Qatanani of the Islamic Center of Passaic County. In the second row, from left, are Mohamed El Filali, outreach director of the Islamic Center of Passaic County, and Larry Tornow, immediate past president of Beth Shalom. An award was presented to Beth Shalom for outstanding programming in interfaith work. Imam Mohammad Qatanani's immigration case has been the focus of recent media attention. Imam Qatanani is the spiritual leader of the Islamic Center of Passaic County. During the last four years I have had the privilege to work closely with him in the area of interfaith relations. Our congregations have joined with Christ Episcopal Church to sponsor the annual interfaith seder. In addition, the imam and members of his mosque have been part of an interfaith group (including members of Beth Shalom and the Episcopal Church) that meets to discuss a vision for future interfaith programming. We have seen members of our community and the Islamic community create social bonds bridging gaps perceived to be impediments to such relationships. Rabbi David Senter Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4221/1/With-dual-loyalty-in-the-wind%2C-due-process-goes-out-the-window Last week, the Jewish War Veterans of the USA suspended the membership of Ben-Ami Kadish, ex-commander of Post 609 in Monroe. The 84-year-old, accused of passing classified military information to Israel more than 25 years ago, is out on bail. He hasn't been tried, and he certainly hasn't been convicted. But does that matter to the JWV? No. JWV national commander Lawrence Schulman has begun organizational court martial proceedings to drum Kadish from the ranks. "There is no place in our organization for those who would seek to defend the interests of any country above those of the Unites States," Schulman proclaimed. "The alleged actions of Mr. Kadish must be condemned in the harshest of terms." Jeanette Friedman Sieradski Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4219/1/Jimmy-Carter%3A-So-what%92s-new%3F From time to time, someone will ask me, "What happened to Jimmy Carter?" The questioner is usually someone who thought highly of the former president and is now confronted with Carter's incessant anti-Israel bias, as reflected in his book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid" and his just completed trip to the Middle East. I respond to the well-meaning question that, in fact, nothing much has "happened" to Jimmy Carter, that the signs of what he has become were there all along. And I say that, fully aware of the role he played at Camp David to bring about the groundbreaking an Egyptian-Israel agreement and eventually a peace treaty. It now seems like ancient history, but troubles between Carter and Israel started early on in his presidency. Some attributed them to a difficult relationship between him and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and some cover those difficulties in ideological terms. Kenneth Jacobson Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4195/1/Palestine%3A-Peace%2C-not-hudna Jimmy Carter just doesn't get it. The former president has reported to Israel that Hamas has agreed to a 10-year truce if Israel withdraws to the 1967 lines - an offer the United States, Israel, and anyone with brains have written off as meaningless. The Nobel laureate may be the only president to have successfully negotiated a peace treaty between Israel and one of its Arab neighbors, but he does not understand that what worked in the 1970s will not work today.   Josh Lipowsky Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4193/1/Boycotting-Chinese-food%2C-ignoring-Chinese-repression American athletes are threatening to boycott this summer's Olympics in China - to boycott the food, that is. Human rights advocates around the world are urging athletes to boycott the games to protest China's repression in Tibet and support for the genocidal regime in Sudan. But so far the only cause sufficiently urgent to move American athletes to protest is the danger of unsanitary food in Beijing. Raphael Medoff Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4167/1/Carter%92s-Hamas-meetings--will-hurt-chances-for-peace Jimmy Carter's meetings with Hamas officials this week do not technically violate U.S. policy against negotiating with terrorists, but they do counter the principle and may well undermine the former president's professed desire to support Middle East peace efforts. It is longstanding U.S policy not to negotiate with terrorists. There are nuances to the policy; it does not preclude contacts and talks. But the bottom line has been that terrorists should not be rewarded for their criminal actions, such as taking hostages. Carter, of course, is no longer in a position to negotiate officially for the U.S. government. Nor he is carrying water for the Bush administration. Indeed, the State Department advised him publicly against meeting with Hamas officials.   Michael Kraft Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4140/1/Muslims-are-reaching-out%3B-we-should-reach-back Saudi King Abdullah's plan for an interfaith conference that would include Jews, announced last month, was the third Muslim gesture in six months aimed toward a Jewish-Muslim interfaith dialogue. The outreach began in October, when 138 Muslim clerics, scholars, and political leaders presented a document called "A Common Word," which directly addressed Christianity but implicitly addressed Judaism as well. By now, it has more than 240 Muslim signatures from a broad spectrum of Muslim countries, including Jordanian Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad bin Talal; clerics from Indonesia, Nigeria, Italy, and Bosnia; and even U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.). Rabbi Alan Brill Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4139/1/Swiss-foreign-policy-blunders-on-Iran-and-Israel-positions Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey's visit to Tehran was billed as an opportunity to deliver a stern message about the need for Iran to end its human rights violations and its threats to destroy Israel. This was according to the government's official announcement of her March 17 diplomatic visit. As a secondary matter, the announcement noted, Calmy-Rey would attend the signing of a gas deal between Iran and a Swiss energy company. But Calmy-Rey herself inadvertently exposed the flimsy human rights pretext when she acknowledged on the day of her departure that she was traveling to Tehran in response to Iran's invitation. Abraham H. Foxman Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4079/1/Neighborly-conversation Barack Obama is more than a presidential candidate to me; he's also my neighbor. The Chicago synagogue at which I've served for 27 years, KAM Isaiah Israel, sits across the street from Obama's home. As an Illinois state senator, Obama spoke to our members; since he hit the campaign trail, his Secret Service agents have occasionally had to visit our washrooms. But I support Obama not out of neighborly instincts. I do so because he stands for what I believe in, what my faith demands. Rabbi Arnold Jacob Wolf Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4067/1/Families-of-yeshiva-victims-inspire-with-their-love-of-faith Condolence visits are part of a rabbi's life, but no one ever taught us how to make nine visits in a 48-hour period.We arrived in Israel on the morning of March 11 and left the following night. Our mission, representing the Rabbinical Council of America, was to express solidarity with the families of the victims of the terror attack at Yeshivat Mercaz Harav, comfort the injured in the hospitals, and visit the yeshiva. Rabbi Hershel Billet and Rabbi Elazar Muskin Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4052/1/This-is-the-year-to-reflect-on-Purim%92s-darker-message Children dressed in costumes. Parents celebrating. Stories of massacres greeted with revelry. Sounds like a decent pitch for Hamas television - if you switch out the Hebrew for Arabic and ignore that it's the scene at most synagogues in the world on the night of Purim. To be fair, most of the Jews in the pews - and for that matter, the rabbis in the pulpits - don't think of it that way. Ami Eden Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4051/1/In-support-of-HR1746%3A-A-response-to-Jeanette-Friedman Jeanette Friedman's March 7 article on HR1746, the Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act, surprisingly fails to deal with the facts and relies heavily on comments by the German ambassador, who is naturally against the congressional act. The act is intended to overcome many of the deficiencies in the process to repay Holocaust victims or their heirs the numerous insurance policies stolen by the Nazis and their collaborators. The original idea for the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims to compensate Holocaust-era policyholders for unpaid insurance in a speedy fashion was a good one. But only about 3 percent of the value of the unpaid life policies was returned, no non-life policies were paid, and the process took nine years instead of the two or so originally anticipated. Sidney Zabludoff Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4050/1/Don%92t-panic-over-intermarriage Purim is a time to dull our senses with drink and cloak our identity by dressing in costume. We do so in order to confront a troubling part of our history and the threats to Jewish life and continuity in the diaspora. In our retelling of the Purim story, we sometimes forget that our heroine was intermarried. The Talmud teaches that she was forced to marry the king, but there is no doubt that Esther lived a wholly secular life, virtually cut off from her Jewish community. Her disengagement has much to tell us about not only the intermarried today but about the challenges of contemporary Jewish life. Leonard Saxe, Fern Chertok, and Benjamin Phillips Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4021/1/Yeshiva-massacre-struck-the-heart-of-Judaism A blood-stained Jewish text lies on a table at the Mercaz Harav yeshiva. Avi Ohayon/GPO When do we label an event "catastrophic"? We say that a wound is "catastrophic" when it is complex, when it involves many dimensions of injury. So, too, with tragedy. The tragedy of the brutal murder of eight students of Yeshivat Mercaz Harav is catastrophic because its meanings are multiple and complex, and can be viewed from numerous perspectives. Some of these meanings are apparent to all. Others are much deeper and must be contemplated from a variety of vantage points. Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4020/1/Attacks-on-Spitzer-reveal-America%92s-ethical-perversity The cross- the- political- spectrum attacks on Elliot Spitzer and demands that he resign his office show just how far the combination of right-wing sexual moralism and counter-cultural sexual-correctness have been able to trump any other kind of ethical reasoning in American society. Rabbi Michael Lerner Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/4019/1/Bulgaria%92s-rescue-of-its-Jews-provides-a-lesson-for-today Sixty-five years ago last week, in a simple act of decency, Bulgaria's 48,000 Jews were saved from deportation and certain death in Nazi concentration camps. How this singular act of heroism took place can be explained only by the broad involvement of Bulgarians at every level of society who joined the effort. Members of parliament, physicians, lawyers, the leadership of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, intellectuals, and ordinary citizens were the heroes of this story. Their example should be looked upon today in a world increasingly infected by intolerance and bigotry. Daniel S. Mariaschin Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3983/1/An-encounter-with-Sderot Two weeks ago I visited Sderot, joining thousands of Israelis on a solidarity "mission" to the embattled town to visit its residents and patronize its businesses that are on the brink of financial collapse. I wondered about the wisdom of the trip since the planned convergence on Sderot was covered widely by the major news outlets here and our neighbors in Hamastan know a few words of Hebrew. What better day for target practice than when thousands of solidarity shoppers were in town? Nonetheless, visiting Sderot has been something I have felt a need to do for a long time, and the time had come. Without any patronizing intent, it was akin to the mitzvah of bikkur holim, visiting the sick. Daniel Green Fri, 07 Mar 2008 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3980/1/It-hurts-converts%2C-disrespects-U.S.-rabbis-in-U.S. The Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the Rabbinical Council of America have concluded an agreement related to conversion that will allow the two groups to work together. This solves a problem that reached its peak when Israel's Sephardic chief rabbi, Shlomo Amar, announced in April 2006 that he would no longer automatically recognize conversions performed by rabbis belonging to the RCA, the main union of Orthodox rabbis in America. According to the terms of the agreement, the Chief Rabbinate approved a list of about 15 RCA rabbinic courts and approximately 40 rabbinic judges whose conversions will be accepted. From this point on, only conversions done by these rabbis or tribunals will be recognized. Any rabbi who wishes to be added to that list needs the approval of two leading Yeshiva University rabbis representing the RCA and one from the Chief Rabbinate. The RCA and the Chief Rabbinate also agreed that all conversions previously performed by rabbis, other than the 40, are subject to re-evaluation by the head of the RCA's Beth Din of America. Rabbi Marc Angel and Rabbi Avraham Weiss Fri, 07 Mar 2008 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3979/1/Conversion-deal%2C-pro-and-con It could diminish a major Jewish rift We are all too familiar with the stories. Someone who for his entire life considered himself Jewish is suddenly told by a rabbinical court that his Jewish identity is suspect. A woman adopted and converted as a child is informed that the conversion does not meet halachic standards. Beyond the personal, conversion to Judaism has in recent years been a painful and persistent issue confronting the Jewish world at large. It has pitted Jew against Jew, threatened to weaken Israel-diaspora relations, caused synagogue and communal strife, and, most importantly, has brought undeserved anguish upon sincere converts and their offspring Rabbi Moshe Kletenik Fri, 07 Mar 2008 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3954/1/Obama-spurned-some-supporters This week, Sen. Barack Obama (D.-Ill.) decided to stop letting others speak for him when it came to his position on Israel. Given the range of views imputed to or associated with him by a wide variety of sources, it wasn't a moment too soon. Rather than allow the debate be defined by urban legends spread via e-mail about his Muslim ties or the identity of his foreign-policy advisers, Obama was wise to get people to stop talking about Zbigniew Brzezinski and Robert Malley, and to start parsing his own words. Obama's question-and-answer session with members of the Jewish community in Cleveland was fascinating and remarkably candid. It also should go a long ways toward reassuring voters that an Obama administration would not rupture the U.S.-Israel alliance. Jonathan S. Tobin Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3953/1/State-Dept.-must-not-succumb-to-pressure-in-terror-lawsuit In a leap of logic, the State Department has been forced to reveal by leap-year day whether an important element in the "war on terror" - the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1990, which enables victims of terror to sue in federal court - has teeth or is little more than a sound bite. Much is at stake. By today, the State Department must advise a federal court if it will succumb to Palestinian pressure - read: blackmail - and take the side of murderers by sabotaging a final judgment of $174 million against the Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization. The judge overseeing the case, which was brought in 2003 by the widow of a man killed by Palestinian terrorists in Hadera, Israel, has asked the State Department to declare whether or not it intends to file a Statement of Interest to the effect that enforcing the judgment would be harmful to U.S. national interests. It's something the Palestinians feverishly have been demanding. Neal Sher Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3952/1/Bush-must-join-activists-in-pressing-Olympics-host-China-on-Sudan-ties Steven Spielberg announced recently that he had resigned as the artistic director of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, writing in a public statement, "I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue with business as usual." Later the Hollywood mogul would add, "At this point, my time and energy must be spent not on Olympic ceremonies, but on doing all I can to help bring an end to the unspeakable crimes against humanity that continue to be committed in Darfur. Sudan's government bears the bulk of the responsibility for these ongoing crimes but the international community, particularly China, should be doing more to end the continuing human suffering there." Rabbi Or N. Rose Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3927/1/More-tourists-arriving-at-Auschwitz%3B--what-kind-of-experience-are-they-getting%3F SAN FRANCISCO - In the past two years, the number of visitors to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi death camp in southern Poland, has nearly tripled to an unprecedented 1 million people annually. These astounding statistics comprise an international phenomenon - one that highlights the continued significance of Auschwitz as a memorial site, a museum and now a growing tour destination. But the unanticipated influx of visitors seriously taxes the Auschwitz Museum's resources, challenges the integrity of the visitor experience, and begs the question of who is coming - and why? Tad Taube Fri, 22 Feb 2008 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3894/1/What-is-Israel-to-do%3F-Ignore-the-attacks%3F Israel faces difficult choices in Gaza. There is no off-the-shelf remedy for the unprecedented situation, no playbook to follow. Consider the picture. Israel withdrew all its forces and civilians from Gaza more than two years ago. It created the first opportunity in Gaza's history for self-governance. Never before, certainly not during Egyptian military rule till 1967, did local residents have their fate in their own hands. What direction would Gaza take? Would it recognize that a peaceful approach was likely to accelerate a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by convincing Israelis of Palestinian sincerity? Would it take advantage of widespread international interest in underwriting economic and social development? David Harris Fri, 15 Feb 2008 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3893/1/What-is-Israel-to-do%3F-Ignore-the-attacks%3F Israel faces difficult choices in Gaza. There is no off-the-shelf remedy for the unprecedented situation, no playbook to follow. Consider the picture. Israel withdrew all its forces and civilians from Gaza more than two years ago. It created the first opportunity in Gaza's history for self-governance. Never before, certainly not during Egyptian military rule till 1967, did local residents have their fate in their own hands. What direction would Gaza take? Would it recognize that a peaceful approach was likely to accelerate a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by convincing Israelis of Palestinian sincerity? Would it take advantage of widespread international interest in underwriting economic and social development? David Harris Fri, 15 Feb 2008 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3892/1/A-miscarriage-of-understanding In case you missed it, a couple of weeks ago three Republican congressmen representing America's pro-life (anti-abortion) camp paid Israel a visit. Cong. Chris Smith (R-NJ-Dist. 4), leader of the Pro-life Caucus in the House of Representatives, led the group that met with Shas Party officials, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger, and others in order to bolster Israeli legislative efforts in the battle against abortion. The U.S. lawmakers expressed concern over Israel's declining birth rate when compared to the growing birth rate among Palestinians. They also discussed the possibility of holding a conference in Washington that would host rabbis, academics, and Israeli members of the Knesset from the anti-abortion lobby. Shas MK Chaim Amsellem announced plans to establish a parliamentary lobby against abortions that would work closely with Smith's.   Ellen W. Horowitz Fri, 15 Feb 2008 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3855/1/Putting-a-distorting-myth-to-rest If Jews around the world do not want Holocaust history distorted, then perhaps we should examine how we create our own myths - and lay those distorting myths to rest, once and for all. One such myth is particularly egregious, since it deals with Israel and the Holocaust. A day after the United Nations Holocaust Commemoration on Jan. 28, an e-blitz from Barbara Wind, the director of the Holocaust center at United Jewish Communities of MetroWest, contained the following statement: "Amb. Dan Gillerman spoke eloquently, saying that if Israel had existed[,] the Holocaust would have been averted. (This will be the theme of our "One School Remembers" exhibit that will be on view Apr. 6-May 3.)" Jeanette Friedman Fri, 08 Feb 2008 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3854/1/Know-nothing-flameout Instead of a ticket to the White house, immigration phobia was a primary failure This is not a good week to be Lou Dobbs. After spending the last few years beating the drums for a nationwide political insurrection, CNN's favorite alarmist must face up to the fact that voters have rejected his polemics in which global trade and immigration are the twin evils threatening America. Indeed, the failure of supporters of his views to gain control of either major party was enough for poor Lou to want to dump cold water on the entire spectacle that has transfixed Americans in a red-hot primary season. This past weekend, as that certainty left Dobbs fulminating, many of us who have looked on his jeremiads with increasing dismay, are merely answering: "Amen!" Jonathan S. Tobin Fri, 08 Feb 2008 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3809/1/Testing-responsible-journalism%3A-A-tribute-to-Daniel-Pearl This week will mark the sixth anniversary of the murder of our son Daniel Pearl, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal. It is a fitting ocassion to step back and reflect on the what this tragedy has taught us in the past six years. I am often asked why Danny's death has touched so many people and why he, of all victims of terror, is so often singled out as an icon of the troubled journey of the 21st century. Judea Pearl Fri, 01 Feb 2008 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3780/1/%91Dividing-Jerusalem-is-unacceptable%92 It is written in tractate Berachot page 5B of the Talmud that "a captive cannot release himself from prison." There are many reasons given for this phenomenon. A prisoner is often incapable of effecting change on his own behalf. He may be overcome with grief and closed from supporters or paralyzed by fear of retaliation from his captors. One may suggest that the prisoner lacks the proper information to effect change, and lives on perceived hope alone, while an outsider may be better informed and unfettered and therefore able to respond and act accordingly. Rabbi Pesach Lerner Fri, 25 Jan 2008 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3749/1/George-Bush%2C-George-McGovern%2C-and-the-bombing-of-Auschwitz This photo viewed by President Bush at Yad Vashem was taken as U.S. planes flew right over Auschwitz in 1944, taking surveillance photos in preparation for bombing-not for bombing the gas chambers or crematoria, but for bombing German oil factories less than five miles away. President George Bush, conservative Republican, and former Sen. George McGovern, liberal Democrat and 1972 presidential candidate, finally have something in common other than their first names: they both believe the United States should have bombed Auschwitz. Visiting Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial last Friday, President Bush viewed an enlargement of an aerial reconnaissance photograph of Auschwitz which was taken in the spring of 1944. The president remarked, "We should have bombed it," according to a Yad Vashem official who was with him. Rafael Medoff Fri, 18 Jan 2008 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3712/1/The-Jewish-lobby%3A-Exposed Last week, the Wiesenthal Center took a high-minded, utterly rational, and insanely expensive full-page ad in The New York Times and in the International Herald Tribune in which it denounced "Suicide Terror." The ad calls upon the "world to act" against the "plague" of such attacks that have "murdered thousands of innocents," and it displays the photo of the late Benazir Bhutto, whose claim to innocence has been widely disputed but whose assassination, in my opinion, was utterly tragic. The ad is bravely naïve. For example, it calls upon the U.N. General Assembly to hold a "special session to deal exclusively with the scourge of suicide terror." Phyllis Chesler Fri, 11 Jan 2008 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3687/1/Thou-shalt-not-lord-your-piety-over-your-opponent In American democracy there is a rule: You shall not lord your piety over your opponent. To understand how this American taboo used to work, let's take a trip down memory lane. In 1990 Rudy Boschwitz lost his Senate seat in Minnesota when his supporters violated an American taboo. They stepped across a boundary when they sent out a letter to Minnesota's Jewish community saying that Boschwitz was a better Jew than his opponent, Paul Wellstone. Boschwitz, they said, helped young Jewish singles in Washington meet and marry other Jewish singles. Wellstone, on the other hand, they said, was married to a non-Jew. Vote, they said, for Rudy, the better Jew.   Tzvee Zahavy Fri, 04 Jan 2008 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3660/1/The-party%92s-over-for-the-last-of-his-kind On the eve of the brief caucus and primary season that will probably determine the two major-party presidential nominations by mid-February at the latest, most members of Congress are playing their cards close to their vests. The reason is there's a lot to be lost in backing the wrong horse. Of the few congressional endorsements in this campaign, none is as interesting as the decision of Sen. Joseph Lieberman, the self-styled Independent Democrat from Connecticut, to back Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona for president. Jonathan S. Tobin Fri, 28 Dec 2007 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3659/1/Conservative-shuls-should-not-be-afraid-to-promote-Jewish-living Conservative Judaism was born out of the desire to conserve authentic traditional living Judaism. That's where its name comes from. It was not born as a reaction to Orthodoxy but as a response to the widespread disregard for Jewish living and the lack of Jewish practice prevalent in the late 19th century, when the term first was used. The initial premise of Conservative Judaism was that its ideology and approach to Jewish living would conserve authentic Judaism. That remains our mission today. Disaffected Conservative Jews often claim they don't live as Conservative Jews because we are not clear about what we stand for. Rabbi Jerome M. Epstein Fri, 28 Dec 2007 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3635/1/It%92s-time-to-stop-the-hypocrisy-of-U.S.-Saudi-relationship King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia was stunned at the hostile reception he received during a recent visit to London. It seems our British friends are much more attuned than we to the nefarious role the Saudis continue to play in financing and fomenting terror. As Middle East policymakers and experts focus their efforts on Iraq, Iran, and recently the Annapolis gathering, the nation that is best described as the epicenter for terror continues to fly under the radar screen, at least in the United States. Neal Sher Fri, 21 Dec 2007 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3634/1/U.S.-must-work-to-restore-image%2C-credibility-around-the-world Sen. Carl Levin, who voted against authorizing the Iraq war, says the way the war has been conducted has hurt U.S. credibility abroad. Photo courtesy U.S. Congress During a recent visit to a hospital in Michigan, I stopped and asked a veteran who was lying on his bed, "What can we do to help you?" "Win back the respect of the people around the world for America," he answered. Terrorism is the greatest threat to our security since the Cold War. But the struggle against terrorism has been undermined by how America is viewed in the world. To deal with that threat, we need respect and we need allies. Carl Levin Fri, 21 Dec 2007 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3633/1/Do-not-make-Jerusalem%92s-division-a-self-fulfilling-prophecy Imagine the scene centuries ago as the prophet Isaiah mounts a platform to exhort the people. But instead of trying to rally the listeners to mend their ways to deserve God's aid, as well as prepare for battle against those who would sack Jerusalem and send them into exile, the prophet suggests they ought to surrender Jerusalem willingly. In recent weeks, political leaders and other prominent members of the Jewish community have done exactly that. They say that redividing Jerusalem is inevitable and that we modern Jews should begin adjusting to that reality. No suggestion could be a greater betrayal of Jewish history or a more wrongheaded notion of how to conduct diplomacy.   Nathan J. Diament Fri, 21 Dec 2007 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3604/1/Religion-in-the-presidential-race%3A-A-troubling-new-precedent Republican candidate Mitt Romney's speech to the American people about his Mormonism and faith in America was an important contribution to our ongoing national dialogue regarding the appropriate role of religion in politics. We agree there is no place in our society for bigotry and that someone's religion should never be a test for political office. We also realize that Gov. Romney is fighting an unacceptable prejudice against him because of his faith and understand his need to proclaim himself a Christian. Abraham H. Foxman Fri, 14 Dec 2007 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3602/1/U.S.-Jews-must-be-ready-for-Israeli-deal-on-Jerusalem My first visit to Israel was in 1969, only two years after the Six Day War, and soon after my arrival I was walking through narrow Jerusalem streets on my way to the Western Wall. This was without question an emotional and spiritual encounter with history. Before our trip back to Rishon LeZion, my host family took me to Abu Shukri's restaurant, where I enjoyed what still may be the best hummus in Jerusalem. It was not hard to see, even as a 17-year-old, that there were more than just Jews inhabiting this holy city. Three more wars and two intifadas have not altered the fact that Jerusalem is the spiritual and political center for both Jews and Palestinians. Kenneth Bob Fri, 14 Dec 2007 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3574/1/Blame-Bush%2C-not-Rice%2C-if-you-don%92t-like-Annapolis What's a conservative to do if he views the Annapolis peace push as a dangerous exercise in foreign policy naiveté but still clings to the image of George W. Bush as Israel's best friend and the only Western leader who knows how to get tough with Islamic extremists? Blame Condi. Bret Stephens, the foreign affairs columnist for The Wall Street Journal and the former editor of the Jerusalem Post, managed to produce two columns slamming U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her "pointless Middle East conference." Ami Eden Fri, 07 Dec 2007 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3573/1/Needed%3A-A-miracle On Sunday, some 200 people gathered at Barnert Temple in Franklin Lakes to hear Karnit Goldwasser talk about her struggle to release her husband, Udi, and his comrades, Eldad Regev and Gilad Shalit, from captivity. The three Israeli soldiers have been held for more than 500 days. A letter and a tape of Gilad's voice arrived earlier this year, but not a word on the fate of Eldad and Udi has arrived since the day they were kidnapped on July 12, 2006. David Hyman Fri, 07 Dec 2007 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3571/1/Take-pride-in-your-particularism There are many dimensions to Chanukah and many lessons are derived from this holiday annually. There is one lesson, however, that jumps out at us from the Torah reading that occurs two weeks prior to Chanukah, which is central to our understanding of this celebration. In Genesis 34 we read that after Jacob had settled down with his family following his turbulent experiences with Laban and Esau, his daughter Dina was kidnapped and raped by Shechem, a favorite princely son of Hamor, chieftain of the area. This episode has generated much commentary. However, Rabbi Saul Berman focuses on an overlooked aspect of this narrative. He midrashically analyzes the behavior of Hamor and seeks to derive a significant lesson for us from this pagan. Wallace Greene Fri, 07 Dec 2007 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3536/1/Nuts-to-cards%3B-give-%92em-soup It's Act III of the triannual postal inundation - the third time this year that our mailbox will be stuffed with holiday greeting cards. To everyone who plans to write my address on a greeting card: Thank you for thinking of me, I appreciate your thoughtfulness. But please do not send a card. Not for Chanukah or Pesach or Rosh HaShanah. Please give your card money to soup kitchens and food banks. I do not want to offend anyone, but I have to confess that when I see the holiday greeting cards - especially the ones with the beautiful embossed print, with silver-foil paper lining the classy envelopes that weigh too much for a first-class stamp - I do not think that it was nice that someone thought of me. I think: "Someone could have had a bowl of really good soup for what this cost." Marilyn Henry Fri, 30 Nov 2007 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3511/1/Recalling-our-greatest-triumph The words "Let My People Go" and cries for "Freedom for Soviet Jewry" are expressions that still set many hearts racing. But those battle cries are now as much the property of historians as entreaties to "Remember Pearl Harbor." The reason is that, contrary to the expectations of a largely skeptical world, the Soviet Jewry movement won. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet empire, the Jews were free to go. And go they did, to both Israel and the United States. Jonathan S. Tobin Fri, 23 Nov 2007 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3510/1/Jewish-organizations-should-rally-behind-Annapolis-push-for-peace The call for American Jewish organizations to support the current peace efforts came from an unexpected direction: Israel's Chief Rabbi Yonah Metzger. For years closely associated with the right-wing National Religious Party, Metzger recently asked representatives of American Jewish groups in Washington to "influence the American administration" to do their utmost for the success of the Annapolis peace conference. He even had a specific idea: American Jewish organizations should use their political influence to arrange for Israeli and Palestinian religious leaders to be present in Annapolis, at the time of the conference, to give the conferees spiritual support. Ori Nir Fri, 23 Nov 2007 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3471/1/Holocaust-resisters-weren%92t-only-those-who-carried-weapons Eta Chajt Wrobel, Holocaust survivor and Jewish activist, learned how to steal guns from the Germans in Lodz, and smuggled them - and her family of 12 - back to their hometown, Lukow. In "Daring to Resist: Jewish Defiance in the Holocaust," the catalogue that accompanies the exhibit of the same name, the director of the Museum of Jewish Heritage-A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in New York puts into print the question on everyone's lips when the survivors were liberated. "Context is everything," David Marwell writes. "In trying to understand the study of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust, this dictum becomes especially critical. If the reader has any doubts, he or she need only think about the oft-repeated question, 'Why did the Jews go like sheep to the slaughter?'" Jeanette Friedman Fri, 16 Nov 2007 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3470/1/A-Thanksgiving-plan-to-save-Europe%92s-Jews The autumn of 1938 was a grim time for the Jewish people. The Nazis' Kristallnacht pogrom had devastated German Jewry. The Evian conference, which was supposed to find havens for Jewish refugees, had proven to be a farce. And Britain was preparing to shut the doors of Palestine. But on Thanksgiving Day, one courageous U.S. official proposed a bold rescue plan, offering American Jews a glimmer of hope and reason to give thanks. The plan's target: Alaska. Rich in natural resources but badly underpopulated, the vast northern territory, which the U.S. had purchased from Czarist Russia for $7.2-million, was the unlikely refuge suggested in 1938 for Europe's Jews. Raphael Medoff Fri, 16 Nov 2007 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3435/1/President%92s-plan-to-put-more-weapons-into-the-Middle-East-is-madness As Americans we have good reason to be deeply concerned about the Bush administration's plan to complete a $20 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia. This proposed sale of high tech weaponry is not only objectionable inasmuch as the Saudis have been dubious allies, but because it will only further tensions within the already volatile Middle East. The idea of adding even more weaponry to the Middle East is akin to adding more kindling to a blazing fire. This administration has sought for more than four years to fight an ill-conceived war in Iraq that has only further destabilized the Middle East. In fact, this administration's foreign policy has emboldened our adversaries in the region, including Iran and Syria. In turn this has left our ally in the State of Israel to contend with the increased threat from the regimes in Tehran and Damascus as well as fighting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Now President Bush seeks to battle these antagonist nations and extremist elements by arming other nations in the region through a multibillion dollar arms deal that will have ramifications far beyond the original sale. Rep. Bill Pascrell Fri, 09 Nov 2007 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3434/1/When-there%92s-a-will%85 The recent conflict among rabbinic authorities in Israel regarding observance of the shmitta year point up some interesting contradictions. How do rabbinical authorities respond when ancient religious strictures come up against their practical consequences in the modern world? Can the rabbinical authorities find or create loopholes to alleviate the painful consequences of strict observance? Do they have the willpower or even the courage to do what is necessary? The answer, it seems, is: It depends on whether it affects them personally. Barry A. Wadler Fri, 09 Nov 2007 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3403/1/The-attitudinal-prism-of-Condoleezza-Rice Last month in Jerusalem, U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, articulated some of her personal views that ultimately found their way into the press. For Dr. Rice the struggle of the Palestinians is analogous to that of the Afro-Americans for civil rights, and she identifies with the Palestinians. She recalled what it meant to travel in segregated buses as a little girl in Alabama. She also compared the head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, to the Rev. Martin Luther King, because, in her mind, both were committed to peace. According to reporter Aluf Benn, Rice views Abbas as committed to the struggle for Palestinian independence and, like Martin Luther King, opposed to terror and violence (Ha'aretz, Oct. 16). Independently, David Bedein reported Rice's statements in The Bulletin (Philadelphia, Oct. 17). Joel Fishman Fri, 02 Nov 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3402/1/%91We-cannot-be-safe-with-a-nuclear-Iran%92 Last week, as the Bush administration was preparing to impose unprecedented unilateral sanctions on Iran, the Iranian leadership and military were demonstrating precisely why such steps are not only necessary, but perhaps a little late in coming. Several news programs showed a disturbing video of a military drill in which Iranian soldiers holding colored flags created an American flag with a swastika on it and a large star of David. Other soldiers created a saber that they marched through the flag and star, tearing them in two. It was an eerie look into the psyche of those in charge of this would-be nuclear power. This type of saber-rattling cannot be ignored. And its message must be remembered: Iran will stop at nothing to wipe Israel off the map and bring the United States to its knees. Rep. Scott Garrett Fri, 02 Nov 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3377/1/Remembering-a-song-cut-short And Lois Goldrich Twelve years ago this week, according to the Jewish calendar, Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was murdered - while he was singing a song of peace - by an ideologically driven assassin, Yigal Amir. These 12 years have seen hamatsav - "the situation," as Israelis call the ambiguous and stressful state of the nation - deteriorate from that "one brief shining moment" when Rabin sang, along with thousands of hopeful Israelis, these stirring words of "Shir LaShalom": "Do not say the day will come - bring that day!" Rebecca Kaplan Boroson Fri, 26 Oct 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3374/1/Save-the-chastising-of-Jews-who-give-to-non-Jewish-causes Jewish foundations are growing by leaps and bounds, giving away billions of dollars, and supporting practically every cause and organization that you can imagine. This is good news, unless of course you are in the camp that believes Jews and the foundations they create are misguided if they give to non-Jewish rather than Jewish organizations. We examined about 50 of the largest and most prominent foundations established by Jews and looked at where they made their more than 8,000 grants in 2004 and 2005, the latest years for which comprehensive information is available. Gary Tobin Fri, 26 Oct 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3340/1/Coulter-shock Ok. So some Jews who were enamored with Ann have just found out that those spindly legs that graced the cover of Time are made of clay. Others, like David Horowitz, are doing their best to make repairs on a very flawed "Ms. Right" by propping her up and declaring her an honest Christian woman. How about an honest assessment from the right-wing Jewish pundits who, in light of over-the-top U.S. Christian nationalism, may have to reassess their loyalties and direction. Ellen W. Horowitz Fri, 19 Oct 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3339/1/SCHIP-bill-is-vital-for-health-care%2C-so-Congress-must-override-veto After months of debate, negotiation, and compromise, Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Congress sent to President Bush a bipartisan bill that would reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program. That SCHIP measure would have provided much-needed health insurance to 10 million children who otherwise would be uninsured. Regrettably, however, the president chose to compromise the health and well-being of the youngest and most vulnerable Americans by vetoing this vital legislation. Phyllis Snyder Fri, 19 Oct 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3338/1/Jewish-leaders-should-reject-gamesmanship-on-SCHIP Now that the battle between President Bush and Democrat leaders in Congress over a federal children's health program has heated up, it is important that Jewish leaders - even those who affiliate with a different political party than the president - not rely on biased or simplistic accounts of what's at issue in this showdown. The State Child Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, was enacted by a Republican-led Congress and signed into law by President Clinton in 1997. Its mandate was to help states finance health insurance for children in families that lack private coverage but earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. Michael David Epstein Fri, 19 Oct 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3311/1/Desperate-for-a-deal One of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's deputies said earlier this week that Olmert was considering dividing Jerusalem in a peace deal. This idea was slammed hard by the majority of the Israeli population, led by the once - and perhaps future - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Olmert later said he was not considering re-dividing the city. At the same time, a member of the Palestinian Authority said that without all of east Jerusalem, there can be no deal, and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said that his goals are all of the west bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem - but he's willing to trade some settlement blocs for land inside Israel to connect Gaza and the west bank. Josh Lipowsky Fri, 12 Oct 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3310/1/Setting-the-record-straight Journalists have a professional responsibility to present the news accurately. Period. And Jewish leaders have a moral responsibility to accurately characterize the statements of public figures, even when they are offended by a speaker's remarks. Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, crossed a line when he paraphrased Archbishop Desmond Tutu in 2002, incorrectly quoting him as having equated Israel with Hitler and apartheid. Lois Goldrich Fri, 12 Oct 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3306/1/Eliezer-Ben-Yehuda%3A-Walk-his-street-and-speak-Ivrit One way of defining a people is that they share a language. Unfortunately only half the world's Jewish population share a spoken language, that being the half that lives in Israel, and the language, of course, is Hebrew. For us Israelis, Hebrew is not just the language of the Torah, of the prayer book, and the language of the sages, but it is the essence of our Israeli existence, our entity, and our self-definition. The miracle of the revival of the Hebrew language, making it once again a language spoken by the people, is one of the greatest achievements of the Zionist movements and is credited to one extraordinary individual, Eliezer Ben Yehuda. David Hyman Fri, 12 Oct 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3272/1/We-should-never-forget-the-lessons-of-Nuremberg Elie Wiesel once wrote: "There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest." Let history show that at this moment, we are failing that test. Half a century before the most terrible attacks our homeland has ever known, my father, Thomas Dodd, reluctantly left behind my mother, my four brothers and sisters, and me to confront unspeakable horrors of another time. Thousands of miles away from Lebanon, Conn., in the "dead city" of Nuremberg, Germany, he would serve as executive trial counsel under Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson, chief prosecutor at the trials of Nazi leaders. Sen. Chris Dodd Sat, 06 Oct 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3271/1/Misunderstanding-Hitler-in-Bayonne The savants of Columbia University, one of the major intellectual and cultural centers of New York City, might assume they have little in common with the residents of blue-collar Bayonne, N.J. But last month, woeful ignorance of the Nazi era was on display in both communities. In Bayonne, two elementary school students triumphed in their legal struggle to wear protest buttons comparing their school's mandated uniform policy to the ways of the Hitler Youth. One of their parents explained that they chose a photo of the Hitler Youth for the button to illustrate "what can happen when we turn children into 'uniform' followers." Rafael Medoff Sat, 06 Oct 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3242/1/Columbia-%91invites-Hitler-to-campus%92-%97-as-it-did-in-1933 columbia University invited a representative of the world's most anti-Semitic regime to speak on its campus. This week's news? Try 1933. Seventy years before this week's invitation to Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Columbia rolled out the red carpet for a senior official of Adolf Hitler's regime. The invitation to Iran's leader may seem less surprising, but no less disturbing, when one recalls that in 1933, Columbia president Nicholas Murray Butler invited Nazi Germany's ambassador to the United States, Hans Luther, to speak on campus, and also hosted a reception for him. Luther represented "the government of a friendly people," Butler insisted. He was "entitled to be received ... with the greatest courtesy and respect." Ambassador Luther's speech focused on what he characterized as Hitler's peaceful intentions. Students who criticized the Luther invitation were derided as "ill-mannered children" by the director of Columbia's Institute of Arts and Sciences. Raphael Medoff Sun, 30 Sep 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3241/1/UJC-funds-needs-far-and-wide%3B-Birthright-is-one-of-many-causes Every day, United Jewish Communities, the Jewish federations of North America, and our partner organizations work hard to fund, organize and run an extraordinary network of essential programs that make Jewish life in North America, Israel, and around the world vibrant, meaningful and secure. From New Orleans to Kiev to Jerusalem, UJC works to ensure a fundamental Jewish priority - the existence of a caring and supportive community. Countless deserving individuals, groups, and programs throughout the Jewish world require help from our system - and they get it. This support comes in the way that is consistent with our values, giving to clients who don't know the donor, in a manner that assures dignity and pride. Howard Rieger and Joseph Kanfer Sun, 30 Sep 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3206/1/All-must-step-up-funding-to-Birthright Although the High Holidays have always been a period of introspection, the Jewish community - at least those in it who care deeply about its future - could stand to do some especially vigorous soul-searching this year. The results of a new study - "Beyond Distancing: Young Adult American Jews and Their Alienation from Israel" - on young American Jews' attitudes toward Israel were released earlier this morth, and the news is disheartening. These Jews, who represent American Judaism's prospects in the next generation, are growing increasingly alienated from Israel, the study finds. They are less concerned with its welfare than previous generations and, unbelievably, less comfortable with the very idea of a Jewish state. Charles R. Bronfman Fri, 21 Sep 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3205/1/The-sukkah-still-stands There is simply no describing the plaintive, moving melody to which Yiddish writer Avraham Reisen's poem was set. As a song, it is familiar to many of us who were introduced to it by immigrant parents or grandparents. And, remarkably, the strains of "A Sukkeleh," no matter how often we may have heard them, still tend to choke us up. Based on Reisen's "In Sukkeh," the song, whose popular title means "A Little Sukkah," really concerns two sukkot, one literal, the other metaphorical, and the poem, though it was written at the beginning of the last century, remains tender, profound, and timely. Rabbi Avi Shafran Fri, 21 Sep 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3177/1/Many-paths-to-one-important-goal The headline news coming out of the 2007 National Survey of American Jews - namely, that fewer than half of Jews under the age of 35 believe Israel's destruction would be a personal tragedy - was shocking, but, sadly, not surprising to those of us in the Jewish communal field. Yet some of the responses from leaders of the Jewish community were also shocking, in that they called for merely strengthening existing programs such as Birthright Israel and similar initiatives. While Birthright has had a significant initial positive impact and should indeed be expanded, we also need to engage multiple approaches that will facilitate interest in and support for Israel and Jewish continuity. I was acutely disappointed that there were not more voices advocating a much more serious investment in community-based programming, as a way of connecting and inspiring children from a young age, through their families and communities, to internalize and strengthen their personal connection to Israel and its people. Harold Benus Sat, 15 Sep 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3148/1/%91A-fragile-time-for-our-people%92 As Jews around the world come together to celebrate the High Holy Days, we pause to reflect on the year that has passed and that which lays ahead for the Jewish people, the State of Israel, and the world. This is a fragile time for our people. It is a time of great optimism, of hope for the future, and at the same time it is a chapter in our existence with many shades of gray. While many Jewish communities around the world are thriving in a state of safety and security unprecedented in our history, the ever-present and pernicious threat of anti-Semitism remains. So, too, remain the many threats, from all sides, to Israel. So our optimism as a people, as always, is tempered by the realization that while we may be safe in our homes, places of work, and houses of worship, there are others who feel the familiar pressures and threats of old. Glen S. Lewy and Abraham H. Foxman Fri, 07 Sep 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3124/1/CNN-and-Christiane-Amanpour-defamed-Israel-on-television CNN's Christiane Amanpour has set a new standard - and not the kind a news network usually trumpets. "God's Jewish Warriors," her two-hour screed against Israeli settlers and American supporters of Israel, is the most poisonously biased and factually shoddy feature to air on mainstream American television in recent memory. The Aug. 21 broadcast was the first of "God's Warriors," a three-part CNN series, ostensibly examining the role of people who want "God back in their daily lives, back to the seat of power." In actuality, the deeply false premise of the programs, established in the opening scene, is the equating of Jewish (and Christian) religious fervency with that of Muslims heard endorsing "martyrdom," or suicide-killing. There is, of course, no counterpart among Jews and Christians to the violent jihadist Muslim campaigns underway across the globe, whether in numbers of perpetrators engaged, magnitude of death and destruction wrought, or the widespread support of their co-religionists. To demonstrate the supposed threat of Jewish fundamentalism, the few cases of Jewish terrorism - a handful spanning decades with each one overwhelmingly denounced by Israeli society and with those involved arrested, tried, and jailed - are elaborated on at length and cast as a profound peril. But it's Israeli settlements, in the Amanpour script, that are the great enemy of mankind and all those with any link to them, however indirect, whether Christian or Jewish, secular or religious, are part of a putatively evil nexus. This dark alliance is said to include Jewish fund-raisers stumping the U.S. for money ("defiance of international law comes dressed in diamonds") and Jewish organizations with an alleged stranglehold on Congress. Throughout, Amanpour hammers the claim that Jewish settlements violate international law, and she seeks to paint this position as a universally accepted view with a lopsided parade of like-minded commentators. Yet apart from any judgment about the political advisability of building or not building settlements, many legal scholars argue these communities are, in fact, legal and do not violate Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention as the detractors claim. Such experts include Meir Shamgar, former Israeli Supreme Court justice, internationally renowned legal scholar Julius Stone and former Undersecretary of State Eugene Rostow, among others. But not one scholar of this viewpoint is given voice in a two-hour feature largely devoted to decrying settlements and their residents. Also consistent with Amanpour's propaganda-style use of images and editing is her grossly misrepresenting American presidential views of settlement legalities. A video clip shows former U.N. Ambassador William Scranton saying: "Substantial resettlement of the Israeli civilian population in occupied territories, including East Jerusalem, is illegal." Amanpour then declares: "Ever since, American presidents both Democrat and Republican have spoken from virtually the same script." The next image is Ronald Reagan making a tangential comment framed as agreeing with Scranton. But Reagan explicitly did not speak from the same script. "As to the west bank," he said in a February 1981 New York Times story, "I believe the settlements there, I disagreed when the previous [Carter] Administration referred to them as illegal, they're not illegal." Nor, contrary to Amanpour's gloss, have other presidents, including Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, termed settlements "illegal." Amanpour is similarly deceptive and manipulative in other depictions of nefarious Jewish power, respectfully interviewing both Jimmy Carter and John Mearsheimer, and giving not the slightest hint of the gross factual errors in the charges leveled by the two controversial figures whose recent incendiary allegations against Israel have been extensively debunked. Carter declares absurdly that no member of Congress could vote against aid to Israel "and hope to be re-elected." Amanpour does not, of course, remind him or viewers of the numerous members who have opposed aid to Israel and been repeatedly re-elected, including Senate majority leader Robert Byrd and more than a dozen representatives. In another sequence meant to demonstrate the vast, coercive powers of the Jews, she claims the first president George Bush opposed loan guarantees for Israel but collapsed under the weight of Jewish pressure and backed down. In fact, Yitzhak Rabin was elected as prime minister to replace Yitzhak Shamir and offered concessions that satisfied the administration. Israel back-tracked - not Bush. Numerous other falsehoods and distortions mar the production. Amanpour declares bizarrely that "the 40-year tug of war over Jerusalem began when Israel bulldozed the Arab neighborhood next to the Western Wall and built a plaza where Jews now pray." Obviously, the modern battle over Jerusalem "began" 60 years ago when the Arabs attacked in 1948 to destroy the newborn state of Israel, seizing the eastern side of Jerusalem, including the Jewish quarter of the Old City. Every Jew was expelled or killed and all synagogues destroyed. Thereafter, for 19 years, no Jew could pray at the Western Wall and Christians had limited access to their holy sites. Such obtusely uninformed and biased claims betray Amanpour's agenda and reveal a derelict network where editorial oversight failed shockingly. CNN needs to correct every error and slander against Israel and its American supporters. More important, it needs to air an accurate and contextual documentary on these subjects, just as lavishly funded and promoted as Amanpour's, that will set the record straight. Andrea Levin Fri, 31 Aug 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3120/1/American-Jews-have-an-extra-reason-to-thank-unions-this-Labor-Day Stuart Appelbaum As is the custom, millions of families will soon flock to beaches and backyard barbeques to celebrate Labor Day. Unfortunately, the reason for the holiday, recognizing the value of the labor movement, is too often forgotten. Of course, every family has reason to salute the contributions unions have made to our country. After all, it was organized labor that introduced the idea of the weekend and the eight-hour workday. However, this year there's one group of Americans who have special reason to be thankful for organized labor - those of us in the Jewish community. At a time when many in business, the media, and other institutions are too timid to challenge the rising tide of anti-Semitism abroad, America's labor leaders did something extraordinary this summer. In a stunning show of solidarity with Israel, the presidents of virtually every major U.S. union signed on a declaration denouncing anti-Israel boycotts and divestment campaigns like the ones that have been endorsed by several British unions. Stuart Appelbaum Fri, 31 Aug 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3095/1/British-boycotters-ignore-facts-%28and-people%29-on-the-ground Nearly 300 American university presidents recently took a bold stand in stating their opposition to the vote by the British University and College Union to boycott Israeli academic institutions. In an ad sponsored by the American Jewish Committee, these university leaders not only threw their support behind their sister institutions in Israel, but did so by telling their counterparts in Britain that "if you discriminate against Israeli academics, then you effectively discriminate against us." Nancy Falchuk Fri, 24 Aug 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3064/1/The-imperative-to-heal I am no relation to Prof. Noah Feldman, so I can speak my mind about his provocative article in the New York Times Magazine. And since not long ago I published a book which addresses a dominant issue in that article, I feel impelled to speak. The issue is the matter of the halachic and social question of a Jewish doctor treating a non-Jewish patient on the Sabbath, a question with far more significance - and even glory - than may appear at first glance. As I point out in my book, "Where There's Life There's Life" (Yashar Books, Brooklyn, N.Y.), the development of the entire concept is remarkable. Rabbi David M. Feldman Fri, 17 Aug 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3032/1/Assuring-rights-of-Arab-citizens-is-essential-for-Israel%92s-security It is a common belief among those who care about the future of Israel that the Jewish state is in danger. From the security perspective, the dangers seem obvious. Hamas' supremacy in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah's dominance in Lebanon and Iran's nuclear ambitions pose dangers that cannot be ignored.   Larry Garber Fri, 10 Aug 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3030/1/JNF%92s-defense-of-Jewish-rights Imagine the following scenario: Italy's Parliament passes a law that restricts the sale of public lands to Christians. Government officials rush to justify the measure, citing historic ties between Italy and the Roman Catholic Church. Nonetheless, the consequences of the legislation are clear: Italian Jews and Muslims are to be denied fundamental rights that Christian citizens alone will enjoy. Rabbi Eric Yoffie Fri, 10 Aug 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3029/1/Israel%92s-Arabs-reject-the-Jewish-state Like the rest of my circle of Israelis who have seen war as kids and soldiers, and then as undergraduates attended peace rallies before establishing families and joining the middle class, I also assumed that Israel's Arabs were part of the solution.   Amotz Asa-El Fri, 10 Aug 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3028/1/JNF%92s-land-should-be-leased-to-Jews Israel's democratically elected Knesset is right to be pushing forward with a bill reaffirming that all lands belonging to the Jewish National Fund should continue to be leased to Jews in accordance with terms of the organization's charter. Critics of the measure, which the Knesset recently approved 64 to16 in the bill's first reading, misconceive the function and purpose of the JNF, a body funded by private donations to purchase and develop land for Jewish settlement. The critics do not seem to understand that JNF land is private land, not state-owned public land. Morton A. Klein and Irwin Hochberg Fri, 10 Aug 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3000/1/Welcoming-intermarried-couples-lowers-the-gravity-of-intermarriage One can't help but feel sad for Noah Feldman. In spite of his considerable professional accomplishments - a law professorship at Harvard, three books, a slew of well-received essays, and a fellowship at the Council on Foreign Relations, to name a few - the young Jew is clearly stewing. A bubble of his own imagining has burst in his face. Rabbi Avi Shafran Fri, 03 Aug 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2973/1/A-Tisha-B%92Av-lament-for-Israel-and-us Commemorating Tisha B'Av in Jerusalem is a bit of an exercise in paradoxes. On the one hand, the remains of the Holy Temple whose destruction we lament on this national day of fasting and mourning are just a stone's throw away, on the same hallowed ground where generations of Jewish soldiers died fighting for their land. Uriel Heilman Fri, 27 Jul 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2972/1/Steinhardt%92s-message%3A-Survival One thing I discovered while listening to Michael Steinhardt at the Aleph Society dinner on June 18 was that I am far more optimistic about the Jewish future than I had realized. Given his overt challenge to the halachic rabbinate, that may seem puzzling. But there was an implicit message in the discussion that not everyone heard, to which I will return below and which I found very comforting. Rabbi Ronald D. Price Fri, 27 Jul 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2944/1/%91One-of-the-finest-hours-of-the-State-of-Israel%92 Giving shelter to Sudanese refugees Many of you throughout the world and in Israel are aware of the bloody war that has been taking place for some time in the Sudan. This is a war that has claimed hundreds of thousands of victims and spawned a vast number of refugees, particularly in the Darfur region. In recent weeks since hundreds of refugees from Sudan have crossed the Egyptian border, after an arduous journey on foot, and have entered the areas of the State of Israel, we have been exposed to the terrible tragedy and by force of events have become parties to finding a solution to the problem of the refugees who have arrived in Israel. Zeev Bielski Fri, 20 Jul 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2942/1/Give-the-money-to-those-who-need-it%3B-it%92s-theirs%2C-anyway and David Gold In the 1950s, Israeli Holocaust survivors signed over their restitution monies to the Israeli government, which, in return, promised to care for them in their old age. The logic was that the state needed the money to establish itself and protect its citizens. At the same time, when the state was created, the British handed Israel all the assets and bank accounts that belonged to Holocaust victims and their heirs. But the Israelis have never returned the assets in their custody, and continued to thwart the attempt to return them. Bank Leumi, which had custody of these assets, had no right to transfer those assets to the state. In 2004, a committee chaired by MK Collette Avital, a daughter of survivors, was established to look into the matter and located 2,500 Leumi accounts. The committee established that the bank owed the survivors in excess of 300 million shekels (about $68 million). Jeanette Friedman Fri, 20 Jul 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2917/1/Wider-use-of-Latin-Mass-threatens-gains-of-past-40-years With anti-Semitism resurgent in the world, one of the encouraging elements for the Jewish people, particularly if one is to compare things today to the 1930s and 1940s, is the remarkable change in the Catholic Church's attitudes toward Jews. In the past four decades, a conceptual revolution has taken place in the Church's relationship with the Jewish people. The first step came with Vatican II and its landmark document Nostra Aetate in 1965, which repudiated the centuries-old "deicide" charge against all Jews, stressed the religious bond shared by Jews and Catholics, reaffirmed the eternal covenant between God and the People of Israel, and dismissed Church interest in trying to baptize Jews. Abraham H. Foxman Fri, 13 Jul 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2890/1/Words-and-deeds Hamas is a band of "murderous terrorists," the embattled leader told his deputies. There will be "no dialogue" with them. This statement did not come from the prime minister of Israel, or even the president of the United States. The words were those of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who was speaking in the wake of Hamas' recent bloody takeover of the Gaza Strip. Howard Kohr Fri, 06 Jul 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2888/1/One-person-can-make-a-difference-%97-and-did Many Holocaust survivors did not know Rabbi Abraham Klausner, a Reform rabbi who died last week, but he had a profound influence on those who lived in post-war Germany and Austria. Klausner, who was an American Jewish chaplain, arrived at Dachau during the third week of May 1945. Convinced there would be nothing for him to do in Europe at the end of the war, he volunteered for duty in the Far East. After being assigned to Dachau, he began signing death certificates and burying the dead. Just before his unit was ordered out of the camp on June 2, 1945, a man who was so ill that he was restricted to the barracks asked in a very distinctive voice if Klausner knew his brother. He did. Chaplain Abraham Spiro had come to Europe with him on the same ship. Alex Grobman Wed, 04 Jul 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2859/1/Shame-on-America Dr. Wally Greene works with UJA-NNJ volunteers to repair buildings damaged during Hurricane Katrina. When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, my wife and I were vacationing in Maine. I can still recall my anguish, revulsion, and horror as day after day on the television we witnessed terrible devastation and suffering in New Orleans without any visible signs of rescue or major assistance. This distress has never been addressed. There is still devastation and suffering throughout the area almost two years later, and all levels of government have callously and cavalierly ignored the human tragedy taking place. Wallace Greene Fri, 29 Jun 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2857/1/Welcome-news-from-Congress Good news is tough to come by these days, as we are inundated with truly harrowing negative headlines about war, terrorist threats, and hate crimes. Indeed, the battle for security, justice, and peace seems so hopeless to some that I've heard many say they don't even know where to begin. That's why I am pleased to report a little good news. This month, the U.S. Congress made progress on two initiatives to prevent anti-American and anti-Semitic hate speech. Steve Rothman Fri, 29 Jun 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2830/1/A-Pyrrhic-victory-for-Hamas%3F Perhaps, if Israel plays its cards right The Hamas coup in Gaza last week may seem like a victory for Iran and its followers, who now have a foothold on Israel's doorstep. But if Israel plays its cards wisely, it may turn things around. Gidi Grinstein Fri, 22 Jun 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2805/1/Leadership-battles-in-life-and-Torah In one of those biting and perhaps ironic alignments of Torah and public Jewish life, we read Parashat Korach as three contemporary rebellions came to a climax this week in contested Jewish leadership battles. Moshe Katzav, the embattled and discredited president of Israel, at long last finished his term. Amir Peretz's successor as head of the Israeli Labor Party was chosen in a runoff election. And after 27 years at the helm, World Jewish Congress President Edgar Bronfman presided over a contested election for his successor after the WJC could not shake a series of ongoing public accusations and challenges. Yosef Abramowitz Fri, 15 Jun 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2806/1/The-louder-Finkelstein-got%2C-the-less-we-discussed-the-Shoah There was no doubt that DePaul University would be charged with stifling free speech and academic freedom for its decision last week to deny tenure to Norman Finkelstein, a political scientist better known for his ruthless personal attacks and contempt for critics than for his scholarship. On the matter of Holocaust reparations, however, Finkelstein himself is at the root of a certain collective Jewish censorship. Marilyn Henry Thu, 14 Jun 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2776/1/When-peace-seemed-possible Just before 8 on the morning of June 5, 1967, my friends and I gathered in our high school cafeteria waiting for the bell to ring sending us to homeroom. We were 10 days from graduation, so the banter was hardly focused on anything serious. Amid this typical teenage jocularity came this comment from one of my closest friends: "Boy, you guys are really giving it to the Arabs." "What?" Daniel S. Mariaschin Fri, 08 Jun 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2745/1/The-parallel-universes-of-Tel-Aviv-and-Jerusalem How Israel is viewed by diaspora Jewry as well as how Israel presents itself to the world are manifestations of a cultural schizophrenia that needs to be addressed. I recently attended a week-long arts institute sponsored by the Jewish Agency's Strategic Innovations Fund and Makom Israel Engagement Network. Forty representatives from North American communities that are engaged with Israel on various levels were invited to Tel Aviv to learn about the Israel of the Israelis. Aside from all the historical, religious, archeological, commercial, gastronomical, and tourist attractions of Israel, there is also an indigenous Israeli culture to which non-Israelis are not exposed. Wallace Greene Fri, 01 Jun 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2714/1/The-Six-Day-War%3A-40-years-later As complicated as the Israeli-Arab conflict has become for Israel, externally and internally, there has been a tendency to look back at the consequences of the Six Day War through negative prisms. Issues surrounding the moral and political implications of occupation, the impact of settlements, the demographic threats, and the critical reactions around the world seem to dominate discussions. Abraham Foxman Fri, 25 May 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2712/1/%91We-are-at-the-birth-of-an-important-movement%92 I recently came across a sentence that was recited regularly in the Jewish towns of Eastern Europe where my father and, I imagine, many of your own parents and grandparents were born. It seems that whenever a family or a couple lost their home, the shtetl would be responsible for building them a new one. After the house was built but before it was moved into, the town would gather, often early in the morning, and utter the following words. More than an aphorism but less than a prayer, it went something like this: "May we live on our own, and may we live together - but never one without the other." Bill Kaplen Fri, 25 May 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2688/1/Dogs-welcome%3B-Jews-not-allowed Americans would care more about the genocide in Darfur if the victims were puppies, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof claimed in a provocative May 10 op-ed. Is he right? Rafael Medoff Fri, 18 May 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2687/1/Give-us-the-chance-to-rebuild Metro is really the least superficial school in the world. The kids are mostly all chill and down to earth. Money gives no status. Everyone is OK with everyone. And it's like that nowhere else." These words, from another senior at Metropolitan Schechter High School, struck a chord within me. This close-knit Schechter community has remained constant throughout my four years at the school. It is, however, important to distinguish between Schechter Regional High School, which was an outstanding school for three years, and Metropolitan Schechter, which is in danger of closing. Rachel Steinbach Fri, 18 May 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2654/1/Debating-a-lack-of-debate-on-Israel It seems hardly a week passes now without someone writing an article complaining that there is no debate in America about Israel and that AIPAC and other Jewish establishment organizations don't represent the majority of American Jews. What is particularly comical about these complaints is that the people whining that dissent is being stifled manage to keep getting their views aired in every media outlet. Mitchell Bard Fri, 11 May 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2626/1/U.S.-taxpayers-should-not-pay-to-air-terrorist-tirades U.S. taxpayers should not pay to air terrorist tirades. Yet, that is exactly what happened at Alhurra, an Arabic-language television network for the Middle East that is completely funded by U.S. tax dollars. Alhurra exists to counter the anti-American biases that pervade the Arab world's news media. However, the station's recent broadcasts have instead provided platforms for terrorists to spew hate directed at the United States and Israel. U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman Fri, 04 May 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2592/1/Imus%2C-Corzine%2C-and-Virginia-Tech Within a short period, we in our northern New Jersey community experienced natural disaster through the winds and rain of the nor'easter of 2007 and were also witnesses to both the massacre of innocent students and faculty at Virginia Tech and to the self-destructive acts of radio personality Don Imus and of New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine. The Torah portion for last week was Tazria Metzorah, Leviticus 12 to 15, which focuses upon plagues. One way to view the series of events I have just described is to see them as plagues, and question why God has allowed these things to happen. An alternative response is for us to question the human responsibility for each of these tragic occurrences. Rabbi Neal Borovitz Fri, 27 Apr 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2591/1/Time-to-fight-back-against-assault-on-women%92s-rights The Supreme Court has made it clear that ideology trumps women's health in the nation's highest court. On April 18, the Supreme Court made it clear that respect for legal precedent is dead. Clear that Roe v. Wade's protections are no longer immutable. Clear that it doesn't mind letting its own self-described "moral concerns" trump constitutional protections. Clear that the religious right has ascended to the federal bench. Clear that it favors politics over safety and science, leaving doctors with fewer options - and women at risk for their health and safety. Phyllis Snyder Fri, 27 Apr 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2590/1/Supreme-Court-ruling-upholds-Jewish-value-of-life The U.S. Supreme Court's upholding of the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act has elicited the usual cries of protest from abortion rights advocates and, also as usual, they include an assortment of Jewish groups and The New York Times. That latter institution characterized the term "partial-birth abortion" itself as a "provocative label" for the presumably more descriptive "intact dilation and extraction." As it happens, the Times and the other advocates are correct about the inaccuracy of the term "partial-birth abortion," but not because it exaggerates the repugnance of the procedure in question. Rabbi Avi Shafran Fri, 27 Apr 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2557/1/One-day%2C-one-meeting%2C-one-miracle In 1939 when Germany and Russia invaded Poland, the Russians got control of the area where our family farm was located. My grandfather was sent to a Russian prison because he was a Jewish landowner. My grandmother bought his temporary freedom with 60,000 rubles. There was, however, no country willing to take in Jews, and when the German army moved east, only three members of a large family survived. Ben Chouake Thu, 19 Apr 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2525/1/Russia-again-blurs-Jewishness-of-Holocaust-victims On the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Russian government is once again trying to blur the Jewish identity of Holocaust victims, resurrecting a discredited and shameful practice of the old Soviet regime. Raphael Medoff Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2524/1/Fidelity-must-join-the-growing-numbers-divesting-from-Sudan On October 2006, at a meeting of the Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur, an active member of the volunteer organization shared some disturbing news with the group. Eric Cohen, a retired businessman, said he had learned recently that the Boston-based mutual fund giant Fidelity Investments had nearly a billion dollars invested in two of the most unscrupulous companies operating in Sudan, PetroChina and Sinopec. Rabbi Or N. N. Rose Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2494/1/A-stranger-in-a-strange-land Does our own historic wandering make us more sensitive to the plight of today's immigrants? Mamadou Soumare, center, is pictured at a press conference at the Islamic Center in the South Bronx before he left for Mali to bury his wife and four children, who burned to death last month. Michael Wildes, his lawyer, is at left. Jews around the world gathered at their seder tables this week to tell the story of Yitziat Mitzrayum, the exodus from Egypt. We were slaves; the Almighty removed us from our servitude and ultimately brought us to a new land. But while we in North Jersey eat our matzoh and hide the afikomen, we also need to be cognizant of Washington's continuing failure to enact comprehensive law reform to eliminate another kind of slavery. The failure to enact such legislation unfortunately contributes to the loss of life, most recently in the Bronx, and affects such cities as Englewood where I am privileged to sit as mayor. Michael Wildes Thu, 05 Apr 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2468/1/Free-them-now Preparations for Pesach have been completed. Soon we will celebrate with family or friends, gathered together around our festive tables, and about to read the Hagaddah. However, a few families will have a very sad seder this year, the Israeli families who lost their loved ones over the summer turmoil in the north of Israel. David Hyman Thu, 29 Mar 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2440/1/What%26%2339%3Bs-ahead-for-Singerless-WJC%3F Last week, for that small section of the Jewish world that cares about Jewish organizational politics, came the stunning news that Israel Singer was fired from the World Jewish Congress. What made it astonishing is that the World Jewish Congress is a world congress in name only, and for several decades it was almost exclusively the province of two men: Singer, the public face, and Edgar Bronfman, his long-time major benefactor. It was hard to imagine Singer's brash independence without the luxury of Bronfman's checkbook. It was harder to imagine Bronfman's comfort in a Jewish milieu without Singer, an unconventional Orthodox rabbi from Brooklyn who preferred politics to a pulpit. Marilyn Henry Thu, 22 Mar 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2408/1/A-call-for-hope On Oct. 6, 1973, as Jews throughout the State of Israel were engaged in the prayer and penitence that usher in Yom Kippur, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was leading 300,000 Egyptian soldiers through the ceasefire lines of the Sinai Peninsula. At the same time, Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad led a Syrian attack to recapture the Golan Heights. The Arab armies made a strong showing in the early days of the Yom Kippur war, and many Jewish lives were lost. A little over four years later, on Nov. 20, 1977, Sadat stood before the Knesset in Jerusalem and said, "No one could have ever conceived that the president of the biggest Arab state, which bears the heaviest burden and the main responsibility pertaining to the cause of war and peace in the Middle East, should declare his readiness to go to the land of the adversary while we were still in a state of war." Stephen Glicksman Thu, 15 Mar 2007 00:00:00 MDT http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2382/1/Wakeup-call-for-the-world%3A-Don%92t-ignore-Iran%92s-threats R. Marsh Starks Las Vegas Sun Then Muslim terrorists stormed the B'nai B'rith International headquarters on March 9, 1977, the notion of a terror attack on U.S. soil was a still unfamiliar concept. As we look back on that time, it's enlightening to note that Iran helped end this volatile hostage situation involving Jews. On that day 30 years ago, hiding behind rifles and machetes, a dozen Hanafi Muslim terrorists held hostage more than 139 people at the then-B'nai B'rith International headquarters on Rhode Island Avenue in Washington. The group said it was avenging the murders of seven members of a Hanafi leader's family four years earlier at the hands of a rival Muslim group. Daniel S. Mariaschin Thu, 08 Mar 2007 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2362/1/A-better-way-to-help-Israel%3A-Don%92t-subsidize-settlements At an Orthodox synagogue in Teaneck, Israeli west bank settlers last Sunday made their most blatant attempt yet to harness Americans to support their effort to thwart a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Representatives of the settlers' council came to Cong. Bnai Yeshurun to try to entice American Jews to purchase homes in west bank settlements. In a flier they prepared for the housing fair, the settlers described their enterprise as "the Zionist horse pulling the State of Israel's cart up the hill." . Ori Nir Thu, 08 Mar 2007 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2361/1/U.S.-Jews-have-abandoned-Pollard March 4 marked the 20th anniversary of the unprecedented life sentence meted out to Jonathan Pollard. The date is a most appropriate moment to take stock of the response of the American Jewish community and the government of Israel to his arrest, sentencing, and continued incarceration. Jonathan, a civilian naval intelligence officer, transmitted to Israel in the mid-1980s classified documents concerning Iraq, Syria, and other hostile Arab states. The information he transmitted was part of a vital intelligence flow previously shared by the United States with Israel, but then cut off upon orders of the then-deputy director of the CIA following Israel's destruction of Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981. David Kirshenbaum and Morris Pollard Thu, 08 Mar 2007 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2313/1/When-skepticism-becomes-dangerous The passage last week in the U.S. House of Representatives of a nonbinding resolution opposing a troop buildup in Iraq was pure symbolism. But in modern war, such symbolism is often as powerful as an exploding car bomb. Whatever its ultimate place in the account of the stunning decline in American public support for this war, it does serve as an adequate barometer of the fact that most politicians feel there is more danger in being labeled as a war supporter than one of its opponents. But perhaps no one has a right to feel as exposed by this turn of events than one of the men labeled as the war's architects, former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith. Jonathan S. Tobin Thu, 22 Feb 2007 00:00:00 MST http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2312/1/Despite-efforts-at-reconciliation%2C-%91never-again%92-divides-Germans%2C-Jews We sat at a bonfire at the foot of Masada under the stars, discussing the existential threat to Israel from Iran. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had made headlines again as he threatened to wipe Israel off the map and denied the Holocaust. The 30 German and Israeli journalists and policymakers - and I as the only North American - were united that night in our outrage but animated in our discussions. Would the civilized world permit a nuclear-armed Iran? Were warnings of a potential nuclear strike on Israel and the next Holocaust mere hyperbole? Was Israel suffering from a "Masada Complex," where every threat from a Muslim dictator or terrorist was interpreted as a danger to her national existence? Mark Dubowitz Thu, 22 Feb 2007 00:00:00 MST