June 25, 2025

President Trump’s proposed “Big, Beautiful Bill” has faced strong opposition from Democratic leaders and most major media outlets. Critics have portrayed it as extreme and harmful. But a closer look shows that not everyone on the left sees it that way. In fact, some Democrats—even those who don’t support the bill overall—are willing to admit that certain parts deserve serious discussion.

Dakarai Larriett, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Alabama, is one of those voices. Larriett has made it clear that he does not support the bill as a whole. But unlike many in his party, he’s not calling for it to be dismissed outright. “If we refuse to talk about the few parts that might help people,” Larriett said, “we’re doing more harm than good.”

That kind of honest, balanced view isn’t often heard in today’s political climate. Some Americans, including some Democrats, may be more open to parts of the bill than the media have led people to believe.

One section of the bill focuses on improving how federal agencies use taxpayer money. It proposes detailed audits of every department to reduce waste, eliminate overlap, and modernize outdated programs. These efforts don’t cut benefits. Instead, they aim to make sure public funds are being spent responsibly.

Larriett highlighted the need for better oversight, pointing to incidents like a $67 million fighter jet crashing into the ocean. “We keep arguing about tax brackets,” he said. “But nobody’s asking why billions of dollars disappear every year in defense spending and bloated contracts. Audits shouldn’t be controversial.”

Another part of the bill proposes cuts to Medicaid, raising concerns from Democrats about how these changes might affect people who still qualify. Larriett agrees that this section needs clearer language. “Right now, the eligibility standards aren’t well defined,” he said. “I support stopping fraud, but we need to be careful. You can’t just make broad cuts and hope it affects the right people.”

Instead of rejecting the proposal entirely, Larriett is calling for revisions—not removal. That’s a key distinction that many of the bill’s harshest critics ignore.

Perhaps the most promising section of the bill focuses on education. It offers a national tax credit for donations to Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs), which give private school scholarships to students from low- and middle-income families. These types of programs already exist in states like Florida, where organizations like Step Up for Students serve over 120,000 children, many of whom are Black or Hispanic.

Larriett sees this section as especially important. “If you’re a student stuck in a failing school just because of your ZIP code, a scholarship like this can change your life,” he said. “Wealthier families already have options. These programs give working families options too.”

The bill also expands 529 education savings accounts so that families can use them for things like SAT prep, tutoring, homeschooling supplies and job training—not just college tuition. These changes make education savings more flexible and help close the opportunity gap between high- and low-income families.

Finally, the bill invests in workforce development. It increases support for apprenticeships, creates partnerships between high schools and local businesses, and removes restrictions that keep Pell Grants from being used for short-term job training programs. The bill recognizes that not every student wants, or needs, a four-year degree.

Larriett agreed. “Skilled trades are in demand, but students don’t hear about them,” he said. “This bill supports practical paths—like HVAC, coding, or automotive repair—that lead to real jobs.”

“This bill supports practical paths—like HVAC, coding, or automotive repair—that lead to real jobs.”

Despite strong reactions from many in Washington, the “Big, Beautiful Bill” includes several ideas that could bring both parties to the table—if they’re willing to be honest. The bill is not perfect. Some sections need to be changed. Others may need to be removed entirely. But dismissing everything in the bill just because it came from Trump is short-sighted.

As Larriett put it, “If we can’t even say a single policy idea might be worth looking at just because of who proposed it, then we’re not solving problems—we’re just playing games. And the American people are the ones losing.”

Most voters aren’t looking for political drama. They want results. Even if this bill doesn’t pass in full, parts of it—on education, healthcare waste, and federal efficiency—could form the basis for future bipartisan reforms. But only if lawmakers are willing to talk—and to listen.

Gregory Lyakhov is the youngest nationally syndicated columnist in the U.S., with work regularly featured in the New York Post, Wall Street Journal, The Hill, and more.

The political challenge of the moment is clear: can longstanding opponents of President Donald Trump from the pro-Israel community loudly, unambiguously, say “Thank you for doing the right thing and attacking Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities”?

My daughter-in-law woke my son on Sunday morning in Jerusalem to Lee Greenwood singing “God Bless the USA.” Most Israelis woke up that morning – to another round of sirens blaring, yet another missile barrage, which makes many of us think, “It would be so much worse if we hadn’t hit Iran now and the Mullahs had nukes!” Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proclaimed: “President Trump is courageously leading the free world. He is a tremendous friend of Israel, an unparalleled friend.”

Nevertheless, so many American Jews and non-Jewish members of the pro-Israel community detest Donald Trump. Too many stayed too quiet when he moved America’s embassy to Jerusalem in 2018 and brokered the Abraham Accords two years later, let alone spearheaded an overdue fight against campus antisemitism. But, now, with Trump’s base splitting, with most journalists prereporting the troubles Trump’s “gamble” will cause as he “Pulls U.S. Military Back into Middle East Wars,” those who care about Israel should stand up for Israel – and applaud Trump’s noble action, which put America First, too.

In a healthy, sophisticated democracy, it’s possible to agree with a president sometimes without betraying your best friends, your party, your country. Moreover, there was an American tradition, especially during the Cold War, of bipartisanship in foreign policy, consecrated by the expression, “politics stops at the water’s edge.” It’s also basic gamesmanship – you gain credibility to fight on other fronts by sifting, not being fanatic. Saying “thank you” when your president does good, buys street cred to blast him when he doesn’t.

In his fascinating, timely new book, “Beyond Dispute: Rediscovering the Jewish Art of Constructive Disagreement,” Israel’s former ambassador to the U.K., Daniel Taub, urges us to recreate the Talmudic approach to argument, politics and life, which involves living humbly with complexity, ambiguities, even contradictions. The typical political argument, these days, Taub laments, “is not really an argument at all, but rather a form of political performance art or a protestation of identity, such that it might be better avoided.”

Here, then, is a compelling opportunity to resist the all-or-nothing polarization of today, which is hurting America’s body politic and Americans’ souls. Go deep and be bold. Don’t just approach this transactionally, thinking, “Okay, I’ll thank Trump today so I can blast him tomorrow.” The most ardent never-Trumpers should be asking themselves, without abandoning valid criticisms of other actions, if there’s anything good about Trump, especially regarding foreign policy. It’s worth contemplating what positive impulses and insights led him to make this move that few believe Kamala Harris would have made.

Many Americans – and American Jews especially – should scrutinize their current worldviews, which often rely too much on diplomacy, underestimate the evil of some enemies, downplay genuine threats to America, and don’t appreciate the power of a little unpredictability at the top. Start this long-term reevaluation with so many Americans’ refusal to see how deranged, dangerous, and dishonest the Iranian Mullahs and Revolutionary Guards have been for decades.

In the short-term, however, there’s a crisis and a need to stand tall. Give this whole debate an ally-check.  The far-Left and far-Right horseshoe alliance opposing Trump’s Iran bombing provides moral clarity. Who wants to ally with Tucker Carlson, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib? If they all agree on something – that’s a warning to reevaluate that position!

Wouldn’t you rather join the Muscular Middle supporting Trump in degrading a regime that has killed as many as 1,000 Americans, spread terrorism worldwide, threatened America, Israel and the West with destruction, is rushing to go nuclear, and amassed hundreds of ballistic missiles it’s now aiming at civilians who live 1,000 miles away?

Most Israelis don’t take this war – or any military action – lightly. We know what it’s like to see wonderful young people die just because we want to live in the Jewish homeland. In the last week alone, we’ve seen apartment towers collapse, hospitals bombed, research labs destroyed, hundreds injured, and, so far, 24 holy souls — Arabs, Jews, and Ukrainians seeking cancer treatment —  murdered.

So, it’s ironic – at the risk of over-generalizing: Israelis know what war is like, yet don’t avoid it when it’s justified … most American Jews have no experience with war but abhor it far more categorically. Since my children enlisted, many American Jews ask me, “How much longer do your kids have to serve,” as if their sacred army service is a prison sentence; most Israelis ask, “Where are your kids serving and is it mashmauti, meaningful?”

These days my most loving, supportive American Jewish friends say, “Boy, I hope this war ends quickly.” Most Israelis say, “I hope this war ends successfully.”

America’s Silenced Majority must stand up against the fanatics from both extremes and explain why Israel’s actions, and America’s follow-up, sadly, became unavoidable. Make the case for a surgical attack degrading Iran’s nuclear and ballistic power.  Learn the Iranian dictatorship’s aggressive history, count up its massive weaponry, analyze the perverse, illiberal, inhumane ideology.

Speak to friends in the Persian community if you believed diplomacy was working or ever would work with Iran’s Islamist theocrats. Speak to friends in the Israeli community if you want to better understand how a justified war can potentially create a more just world.

Do your homework. Read about Iran’s terrorist crimes over decades, its Ring of Fire strategy to overwhelm Israel, its assaults on the Great Satan – America – in Lebanon, Iraq and elsewhere. Imagine the inhibiting impact Trump’s actions had on China’s hunger for Taiwan, and other bad actors globally. And before you echo the sloppy talk about the “War Powers Act,” note that Trump has 48 hours to notify Congress of what he did, cannot keep armed forces in action for more than 60 days without Congressional authorization, and has not brazenly violated the act as Bill Clinton did in Kosovo and Barack Obama did in Libya.

Finally, as the therapists say “do the work” – on yourselves, individually and collectively. Examine your own “conceptzias,” blinding conceptions. Why have so many underestimated the mullahs’ manipulations and overestimated the efficacy of diplomacy for so long? How is it that so many American Jews are still desperately seeking “dialogue” with pro-Palestinian activists who target them, call them “genocidal,” or, as fellow Jews, use sacred Jewish prayers to pray for Hamas terrorists or Iranian Revolutionary Guards?  Tolerance, respect for others, empathy, are all noble – but so are solidarity, caution, and self-preservation.  

I have no predictive powers. Trump’s bombing and Israel’s war may prove disastrous. But leaders in tough situations have to make the tough calls. Both Israel and America did what they needed to do, when the opportunity was ripe – and the Iranians were weak yet still unrelenting in their dastardly plans.

In wartime, mere inches – and sheer luck – determine whether you’re a live hero or a dead fool. Iran seems debilitated and the American-Israel alliance seems headed toward victory. Regardless of tomorrow, Donald Trump’s decision and America’s firepower have brought us closer to that goal – and are worthy of bipartisan celebrations today.

Gil Troy, a senior fellow in Zionist Thought at the Jewish People Policy Institute, is an American presidential historian. His latest books, “To Resist the Academic Intifada: Letters to My Students on Defending the Zionist Dream” and “The Essential Guide to October 7th and its Aftermath” were just published. 

A few days before Israel began Operation Rising Lion, Facebook blocked my account. I cannot thank Mark Zuckerberg enough for that mitzvah. Instead of having to watch neo-Hellenistic Jews do anything possible to hide their Judaism and vapid “Instaporners” do everything possible to steal the spotlight, I got to witness an endless array of Iranian dissidents thanking Israel on X. 

They post Persian graffiti blessing Israel, the horrific history of the 46-year-old Islamic Republic, as well as what little protests they are able to engage in. And they remain as stunned as the rest of us at the protests both here and in Europe — in favor of the sociopathic, homophobic, misogynistic regime that is stifling not just their freedom but the lives of their families.

Qatar, China, Russia and Iran have been unquestionably successful at one thing: the colonization of the American mind. Through antisemitic professors, “ethnic studies,” infiltration of leftist media (Shalom, Washington Post), and an intense disinformation campaign on social media, leftists have been fed a steady stream of lies and propaganda to the point that the protesters are ardently embracing a regime that kills women for showing their hair in public, hangs gays and considers child rape sacred.

In 2018, Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff published “The Coddling of the American Mind.” They discussed how a culture of “safetyism” interferes with social, emotional and intellectual development. In retrospect, that seems to have been Stage I of what’s now called the red-green alliance.

Stage II is a complete colonization — OK, obliteration — of brain cells. Disinformation so steeped in anti-facts it makes the Soviets look like amateurs. All of which led to a cognitive dissonance so septic some protesters simultaneously hold up posters celebrating both gay pride and the mullahs who would hang them.

It also led to a mass conformity during precisely the period when most healthy teens and 20somethings rebel. There is only one word for this level of mass conformity: cult.

But for the moral inversion to be complete — for young women in the West to support the most evil patriarchy that has ever reigned — something else had to happen: a complete soullessness. Morality begins in our souls. If you choke off the soul — through a negation of spirituality, creativity, nature — you can easily be convinced to do anything and feel nothing. Thus, the increasing political violence here and in Europe.

Meanwhile, on the far right, Qatar has exerted a different sort of disinformation trap: buying off “influencers” to mouth jihadist talking points without even flinching. A recent exchange between Tucker Carlson and Glenn Greenwald over an alleged Osama bin Laden letter is truly jaw-dropping. The mastermind of 9/11 didn’t hate the U.S. or the West, according to these two pundits. Three thousand Americans lost their lives because of U.S. support for … Israel. 

I would say that they both should win Academy Awards for their performances — but I actually think they believe it. We always knew that the Arab world excelled at propaganda. But this surpasses the KGB in its ability to turn formerly mildly intelligent men into Islamist puppets.

All of this will no doubt get far worse, even after Iran is freed. But we’re already seeing hopeful signs in Gen Z. Yes, older Gen Zers can barely be distinguished from their millennial teachers. But at least in New York City, millennials took leftism to such an extreme — trying to use Gen Z as their own puppets — that younger Gen Zers have begun to rebel: pushing back against the lies even in the classroom. 

But the onus for real change begins in the home, where morality is either learned or spat on. And of course houses of worship, which needed to be depoliticized yesterday. We need to return to a world that privileges values over politics, education rooted in facts not opinions, a media that returns to objectivity.  

We need to return to a world that privileges values over politics, education rooted in facts not opinions, a media that returns to objectivity. 

A millennial here recently said to me: “There’s no such thing as objectivity.” I responded: “Is this a table?” She nodded. “Is it made of wood?” She reluctantly nodded again. “So can we agree on the fact that this is a wooden table?” She got angry. “Yes, but so what? That’s basic.” Yes, I said. But that’s where we are: returning to the basics. Facts, values, morality — all represent the foundation of this great country. And if we’re ever going to return to it, we need to start there.

Just as the Iranians are about to do.

Karen Lehrman Bloch is editor in chief of White Rose Magazine.

As ballistic missiles rain down from Tel Aviv to Tiberias, Haifa to Herzliya, we are in an apocalyptic moment of survival once again. There are many things about this situation that could have irked me this week, but oddly, it was the mad dash of Jews to get out of Israel that got under my skin.

Don’t get me wrong — it is a scary place to be right now. But as various messaging channels lit up with Diaspora Jews scrambling to get out of Israel, it took my breath away: “Stranded.” “Evacuate.” “Flee” and “Escape” were all added to the new lexicon of reverse exodus.

Of course, if you are a parent with a child in a war zone, your fear is valid. Your instincts are human. But Israel cannot be our spiritual Airbnb — a place we visit to “feel Jewish,” to snap the perfect sunset over the Kotel, to send our teens for a year of hummus and high school — only to call Uber when the heat gets turned up.

We survive because we choose to stay together. That purpose has carried us across deserts and continents, through pogroms and partitions, ghettos and gas chambers, expulsion and exile. We are here not because we were the strongest, but because we held fast to who we are—and taught it to our children. You don’t get to be a fair-weather Zionist. That’s not how survival works.

We are here not because we were the strongest, but because we held fast to who we are — and taught it to our children. You don’t get to be a fair-weather Zionist. That’s not how survival works.

Let me be clear: I’m not saying we send our children into harm’s way without thought or conscience. I’m not saying parents shouldn’t worry. What I’m saying is that if our children are going to inherit Jewish identity, they must see what it costs — not only to others, but to us all. We can’t outsource Jewish continuity to the IDF, who after all are a group of some other Jewish parents’ kids. Our Jewish identity cannot be vicariously lived through Israeli families sheltering in bunkers lit up by the Iron Dome, while Diaspora families’ Whats App channels light up with exit plans. We must participate — in presence, in voice, in investment and yes, sometimes in the kind of commitment that asks something of us. Because the real Diaspora crisis is this: we are raising our children to believe that Jewish life is supposed to be easy.

Jewish identity is built on endurance — on staying rooted when it is easier to run. Everyone is different, so we do not all need to move to Jerusalem, or Israel, or agree on politics. But it does require that we all share in our shared Jewish story we are still writing.

It has been a frightening week, but let’s not pull away. Let’s draw closer. Let’s not create fear; let’s reassure each other. Let’s talk about why this time in history matters. Remind our children that solidarity must endure when tested.  We are not here by accident. We have been here before.

It’s worth being reminded that for 2,000 years Jews prayed every day for a return to Ha’Aretz — the land of Israel — and now that land is a place to which we can all return, at any time of our choosing. It exists because young men and women die to defend it. They are defending your right to call Israel home over the skies of Iran right now.

Our ancestors chose conviction over comfort, courage over fear. They stood firm in exile, in hiding, in resistance, in faith. They upheld their identity when it would’ve been easier to forget it. They preserved belief when belief came at a cost. They held on to the hope that one day we would have a homeland to fight for. That is the lineage we inherit. That is the standard we are called to meet. And that is why we are here.

Survival is measured by what we’re willing to stand for — and stay for — when the stakes are high. It’s measured in presence. In responsibility. In whether we show up when it counts—and for each other.

This is one of those moments that will define how the next generation understands what it means to be Jewish — not in theory, but in practice. We survive — because we choose to belong to something that doesn’t retreat when it’s tested.

And remember: No Jew is “stranded” in Israel. Ever.

Stephen D. Smith is CEO of Memory Workers and Executive Director Emeritus of USC Shoah Foundation.