Marc Mezvinsky and Chelsea Clinton during their wedding ceremony, July 31, 2010 (Genevieve de Manio) Millennia ago, before rabbis existed or conversion was invented, thousands who were not born Jewish became part of the Jewish community through a very simple act: They married a Jew. Sarah was the first, followed in turn by Rebecca, Leah and Rachel. Thousands more followed — both biblical characters… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) — The evening before we visited Auschwitz, over pizza with a group of young people in Oswiecim, the town on whose outskirts lies that infamous symbol, one of my students approached me with tears in her eyes. Tears are hardly uncommon to visitors of sites of… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — With the conclusion of a framework agreement over Iran’s nuclear agreement last week, many remain profoundly unsure whether the deal will successfully prevent Tehran’s acquisition of a nuclear weapon. Under the terms of the agreement, much of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure will remain in place. Its Shahab-3… Read more »
Georges Biard/Wikimedia Commons (JTA) — Last summer our family went to southern Europe on holiday. During our stay at a hotel, our son Dylan went to the swimming pool. A short time later he came running back to the room, upset. A man at the pool had started hurling insults at him.… Read more »
Amy Klein: A strong support system is vital for those going through infertility, IVF, miscarriage, egg freezing, surrogacy and adoption. (Michal Solomon)
(JTA) — I recently attended the bris of my friend’s son and it was the first such occasion at which I was not crying tears of sadness for myself. Two years ago I was at her older son’s bris, and I remember pretending my copious tears were of joy. In reality, all I could think was:… Read more »
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has apologized to Arab Israelis for his fear-mongering statement on Election Day last week. That should be the end of it, right? Not so fast! Let’s recall: as voting was proceeding, Netanyahu posted a video saying. “The rule of the right is in danger, Arab voters… Read more »
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clarified his position on the two-state solution in an interview after his election win with Andrea Mitchell of MSNBC, March 19, 2015. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)
(JTA) — There are two Benjamin Netanyahus. To his detractors, Netanyahu is arrogant, a dissembler and a racist. To his defenders, he is intrepid, politically astute and singularly devoted to Israel’s security. Netanyahu’s critics blame him for alienating Israel’s closest ally — snubbing the U.S. president, using Congress as… Read more »
The outcomes of the Israeli elections are a great personal victory for Benjamin Netanyahu, who, a few days ago, was already dismissed by pundits as a relic of the past. Indeed, this is a double victory: Not only will Netanyahu be able to form a stable, right-wing government, but… Read more »
(JTA) — When Hillel International President Eric Fingerhut announced his decision to withdraw a commitment to speak to over 1,000 students at the upcoming J Street National Conference, he expressed only one major regret. In his statement last week, Fingerhut lamented that he would miss the opportunity to “thank… Read more »
Now that the applause after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech in Congress has faded away, we are left with the question: Was he right or wrong to deliver that speech? Opponents of the move (like myself) believe that the speech has accomplished nothing except to further alienate the White… Read more »
A heavily damaged hotel near the airport in Donetsk, Ukraine, Feb. 26, 2015. Jews still living in the embattled city have become enormously dependent on foreign assistance, according to the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
NEW YORK (JTA) — Jewish perseverance, and more than a bit of chutzpah, lies at the heart of the Purim holiday we celebrate this week. It is one of the reasons we are instructed to mark this raucous holiday with boundless joy and why thousands of Ukrainian Jews, despite… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) — Dear Prime Minister Netanyahu: As American Jewish progressive Zionists, we are deeply worried about the threat that a nuclear-armed Iran would pose to Israel. We know you would like pro-Israel Jews to publicly defend your positions on Iran and your plans to speak to Congress next… Read more »
It is too easy to dismiss Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appeal for a “mass-immigration” of European Jews to Israel, following the recent terrorist attacks, as another one of his election campaign gimmicks. By invoking aliyah, the quintessence of Zionism, Netanyahu could have supposedly been trying to position himself as… Read more »
At the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, we welcome the introduction in Congress earlier this month of the Healthy Families Act and applaud Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro’s (D-Conn.) commitment to ensuring paid sick leave for American workers. The Healthy Families Act would set a… Read more »
Michael Paulson reported in The New York Times on the “Pay What You Want” model that some synagogues are implementing to reduce the financial barrier to membership. Paulson estimated that about 30 synagogues across the United States are trying voluntary dues. These changes, Paulson wrote Feb. 2, have come… Read more »
By now, it has become clear that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to address Congress on March 4 has become a disaster – not just for him but more importantly for the US-Israel relationship. From the beginning, one of the chief objections to the visit — and the… Read more »
The anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz on Jan. 27 was a cold, snowy, windy day. The slush surrounding the former concentration camp was frozen into icy slurry when I arrived by bus from Krakow in the early morning. It was on this day 70 years ago that Red… Read more »
For parents to have the support of the larger community is both a Jewish tradition and a universal need. That support should include families where children are cared for at home as well as those where parents pay for childcare. The childcare tax credit the president recently proposed to… Read more »
(JTA) — On a fall evening in 2014, more than 70,000 people gathered in New York’s Central Park for the U.N.-sponsored Global Citizen Festival. Another 3.6 million watched on national television as Alicia Keys, Israeli musician Idan Raichel and Palestinian artist Ali Amr sang “We Are Here” and called… Read more »
Rabbi Benjamin Blech, in “Before Hawking, Golem story warned of dangers of intelligent machines” (AJP, 1/9/15), ponders the possibility that the “artificial intelligence” that science and technology produces may lead to “creations capable of destroying our world because we doubt our creator.” Over the centuries millions of people have… Read more »
