June 07, 2017
By RABBI JACK MOLINE
(JTA) — That small little law known as the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits electioneering by houses of worship and other charities and which President Trump has vowed to repeal, is exceptionally important to preserve. Even if it is not widely enforced, the permission it grants to the Internal Revenue Service to pursue violators is critical to the protection of religious communities and the integrity of government....
June 02, 2017
By STEPHEN M. FLATOW
It was heartening to hear that President Donald Trump privately confronted Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas on his incitement of terrorism and payments to terrorists. The question is whether the Trump administration will confine itself to rhetoric or follow up with concrete steps regarding the Palestinians and terrorism.
An unnamed “Palestinian official” has told various media outlets that during the recent Trump-Abbas meeting in Bethlehem,...
May 30, 2017
By ROBERT BANK
NEW YORK (JTA) — This week, President Donald Trump proposed radical and cruel cuts to U.S. foreign aid. If his budget for 2018 is approved by Congress and implemented, it would slash crucial aid and development programs and weaken key institutions upholding human rights worldwide. As the head of the leading Jewish organization that works to end poverty and support human rights in the developing world, I...
May 26, 2017
By ALAN SMASON
I just returned from the National Annual Meeting of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and an opportunity for the National Jewish Committee on Scouting (NJCOS) to meet and consider its impact on the Scouting program. The news is that we are seeing attitudes change toward Jewish Scouting, but the numbers of new Jewish Scouts and new Jewish adult leaders and parents involved with the BSA has...
May 19, 2017
The news this week is very good. Good for the Jewish community. Good for the New Orleans community. And especially good for the future of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans.
After an exhaustive nationwide search, the committee charged with finding the replacement for the retiring executive director of Federation, Michael Weil, has finished its work. They announced the news on Wednesday. Arnie (as in former NFL Saints franchise...
May 17, 2017
By SIMONE RODAN-BENZAQUEN and JULIE DeCROIX
PARIS (JTA) — In the French presidential campaign just concluded, discussion of foreign policy was largely forgotten. Nonetheless, Emmanuel Macron, France’s new president, faces several critical global issues, among them the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
If France would like to play a role, she must rebuild the credibility that was diminished in January when the Paris Peace Conference concluded with declarative statements but no tangible results...
May 15, 2017
By LEWIS J. BERNSTEIN and SHIRA ACKERMAN
(JTA) — You’ve seen the advertisements: A fit young woman pedals a stationary bicycle while an instructor on a video screen shouts encouragement. The company, Peloton, promises “fitness at your fingertips,” and both “live and on demand” spin classes and “world class instructors,” all from the comfort of your own home.
What does a stationary bike company have to do with Jewish education?
We believe...
May 09, 2017
By LAWRENCE KOHLER-BERKOWITZ
(JTA) — In a recent analysis of U.S. religious groups, the Pew Research Center reported that the most educated American Jews are also the least religious.
In considering these findings, it’s tempting to think that secular education leads to assimilation among American Jews (I want to be clear that Pew, a leading source of data on contemporary Jews in the U.S., Israel and globally and a non-advocacy fact tank, did not put forth this reading of the data)....
May 05, 2017
By RABBI JOSHUA HAMMERMAN
(JTA) — As Israel turns 69, world Jewry is in a state of crisis. Israel and American Jewry are drifting apart, and within each of those groups we’re seeing increased polarization on fundamental issues like the two-state solution, Israel’s democratic vs. Jewish nature and the definition of who is a Jew.
Rather than wallowing in malaise, I’d like to propose a solution that could resolve many...
April 28, 2017
By MORTON KLEIN and DANIEL MANDEL
Discussion of the Arab/Israeli situation is often unilluminating because so much of it is based on groundless assumptions and stubborn fictions. Perhaps the most pervasive one today afflicting the international political class is the notion that Palestinian Arabs primarily desire a state of their own, living peacefully alongside Israel.
Some examples in recent years:
- December 2016, then-Secretary of State
