Category
Commentary
Happy Campers
We are driving to pick up our son from camp. He\’s been there three weeks, the longest stretch he\’s been away from us since his birth.\n\nIn this age of e-mails and BlackBerrys and cell phones, the rule at Camp Alonim at the Brandeis-Bardin Institute in Simi Valley is no e-mails, BlackBerrys or cell phones. He\’s sent us a few postcards home, clearly written by an 11-year-old who has put away childish things, like parents.\n\n\”Dear Family: We prayed and prayed and had havdalah end of story. Love, Adi. P.S. I love you. P.P.S. Tomorrow\’s our overnight and we\’re creating our own fire and no letters on Sunday.\”
Did Feith Cross the Pro-Israel Line?
Intelligence sharing between America and Israel goes on at the highest levels and is remarkably intimate — but it is not, nor can it be supposed it ever will or even should be, complete.
I Love a Parade
What do we have in Judaism that comes closest to a military parade? It occurred to me that every Sabbath morning, when we take out the Torah and walk around the sanctuary, we are actually simulating a military parade. No guns, not tanks, no jet planes to impress onlookers.
From Durban to Beersheba
The horrid bus bombings in Beersheba on Tuesday, which claimed the lives of 16 Israelis, including a 3-year-old boy, are grim reminders that the war on terror continues to rage in Israel.
Persian Shul Adopts Membership System
For centuries, Persian Jews have traditionally raised funds for religious activities by auctioning off or bidding on aliyot, the bringing out of the Torah and other rituals during Shabbat and holiday services. But after 25 years in Los Angeles, Persian Jews are beginning to embrace the concept of membership.
Jewish Vote Polls Miss Big Picture
A new poll claims 75 percent of Jews favor John Kerry.
Anna Greenberg said her findings prove President Bush has made \”literally no progress\” among Jewish voters.
\”Something smells here,\” responded Matt Brooks.
Democrat Greenberg\’s poll was funded by the pro-Kerry National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC), and the NJDC published her poll. It predictably shows that Jews overwhelmingly back Kerry.
Spirit of Sportsmanship Boycotts Israel
The Olympic Games are, of course, more than just games. As Bob Costas and the event\’s organizers constantly remind the world, they are a festival of humanity, a great coming together, the one moment when the planet gathers in a friendly spirit of healthy competition. Dogging your viewing of pummel-horse routines and synchronized diving, there is ample talk of the \”Olympic movement,\” a phrase intended to highlight these aspirations.
Last week, however, as the Athens games got under way, an Iranian judo champion exposed the hollowness of this rhetoric. Rather than compete against an Israeli, Arash Miresmaeili quit the Olympics entirely. As he told the Iranian government\’s official news service: \”I refuse to fight my Israeli opponent to sympathize with the suffering of the people of Palestine, and I do not feel upset at all.\”
New Articles
The Holy See Who Won’t See
Rabbis of LA | For Rabbi Guzik, Being a Rabbi and a Therapist ‘Are the Same Thing’
Jay Ruderman: Meaningful Activism – Not Intimidation – Makes Change Possible
It’s Good to Be a Jew
