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By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, Though there always seems to be some controversy du jour in the Jewish community, of late there is much ink being spilled over conversion issues. My concern is not the current dispute over whose conversions are acceptable, but more the intrinsic mattersContinue Reading

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By David Brumer, Executive Committee StandWithUs Northwest, Seattle JTNews’ coverage of Norman Finkelstein’s May 8 University of Washington lecture (“A question of motives, not of legitimacy,” May 16) raises questions the Seattle Jewish community would do well to ponder. Why would a failed academic, a proud Hezbollah collaborator (“we areContinue Reading

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By Jeffrey Weiser , , Redmond I don’t have a problem with Prof. Finkelstein criticizing Israel’s policies regarding the occupied territories, the Security Wall, or the settlements lecture (“A question of motives, not of legitimacy,” May 16). These are legitimate topics of discussion and reasonable men can differ as toContinue Reading

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By Rabbi Bruce Kadden, Temple Beth El We are approaching Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, as we continue to count the omer, taking us from the Exodus from Egypt to the revelation at Mount Sinai. God freed the Israelites not so that they would wander aimlessly in the wilderness, butContinue Reading

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By Edward Alexander , Professor Emeritus of English, UW, Since it is now a core belief of academic “progressives” that Israel is the world’s most wicked country, and responsible for all the globe’s miseries except (perhaps) avian flu, it’s hardly surprising that the very day of that country’s 60th birthdayContinue Reading

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By Raffi Wineburg , Special to JTNews What is education? To some, to many, to me, it used to mean no more than a desk and a textbook. Education did not extend beyond the classroom. It did not extend past several hours a week on the source praying for thatContinue Reading

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By Rabbi Josh Hearshen, Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation We are in the season of saluting parents. We have Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. We are also in the season of saluting education, as the school year comes to a close and we thank our teachers for all that they do.Continue Reading

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By Akiva Kenny Segan , , Seattle Many thanks for the reproduction of my drawing “Bar Mitzvah-Age Boy in the Warsaw Ghetto.” As an artist working in old-fashioned traditional media like pen holders with metal points dipped in India ink (used for this drawing), it is dazzling that computers todayContinue Reading

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By Rabbi Avrohom David, The Seattle Kollel “Rabbi, are you growing a beard?” It’s a question I hear often at this time of the year. The period between Pesach and Shavuot is marked by the counting of the omer. This time is know as Sefirah, the time of year thatContinue Reading

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By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy: I love Pesach — once I’m sitting at the seder, that is. Until that point, the rush and the panic are so difficult to handle. Is it just me? Why does our tradition have such stressful ritual as part of its modusContinue Reading

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By Julian Sandler and Wayne L. Firestone, Chairman and President of Hillel: The Foundation for for Jewish Life, The JTA article “Hillel’s new strategy” (April 4) has led some readers to conclude that Hillel has shifted its central focus away from Jewish students. Let us be very clear: Our raisonContinue Reading

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By Delila Simon, Co-Executive Director Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center, For our Board of Directors, our staff, our supporters and the many students, teachers, and community members who use our resources to teach the Holocaust, tomorrow will never be the same. With the passing of this year’s state budget,Continue Reading

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By Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky, Chai Center of Seattle As I prepare to sit down to the seder again with family and guests, I think about a question one of my dear friends asked me recently. “Rabbi,” he wanted to know, “what is so important about all the minutiae of theContinue Reading

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By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist It’s sometimes hard for me to ignore the bad news about young people — often involving drinking and drugs, or bullying and other abuse — reported in the media. However, life is neither all bad nor all good. (I’m sure there are Jewish teachings onContinue Reading

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By Eric Leibman, , Portland, Oregon Regarding Miriam Swedlow’s letter about the Torah Day School (March 7): I suspect having a school in Seward Park has a great deal to do with the idea of being able to send your kids to a school within a couple of minutes’ driveContinue Reading

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By Sydney Stock, , Bellevue Professor Derek Penslar’s views at the University of Washington, “Sovereigns & Subjects: Jewish Political Thought in the 20th Century.” (“Fighting for their countries,” March 7) were dangerous. He claims that stereotyping Jews as Woody Allens, or as “pink” liberal radical pacifists, requires responding how JewsContinue Reading

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By Rabbi Chaim Levine, LivingJudaism o·pin·ion (e-pin`yen) n.— Belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty. Once every four years we run into an election year Pesach. At first glance, they may seem completely disconnected; however, one just may have some relevance for the other. RecentlyContinue Reading