Opinion (Page 9)

By Rabbi Moshe Kletenik and Rabbi Barry Freundel ,   Recent allegations of impropriety on the part of the founder and head of Eternal Jewish Family, an organization involved with potential converts to Judaism, have again focused the attention of the Jewish community on the conversion process. Rather than dwellContinue Reading

By Dr. Rafael Medoff , Special to JTNews “Just kids being kids.” That’s what one grandparent said after learning that students at a middle school in Naples, Fla. last month staged “Kick a Jew Day.” “Not anti-Semitic behavior at all.” That’s what the principal of a middle school in aContinue Reading

By Paula Begoun , Special to JTNews Editor’s Note: Seattle businesswoman Paula Begoun, founder of Paula’s Choice skin care products, regularly travels to remote destinations and has often visited Chabad Houses in different countries. Before leaving for a trip to Mumbai, her second, at the end of last month, sheContinue Reading

By Richard Silverstein , Special to JTNews On Oct. 21, several Jewish organizations will host a community conference, “Understanding the Iranian Threat.” The Web site of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle notes it “Will provide a look at Iran’s history and political landscape; an in-depth analysis of the dangersContinue Reading

By Edwin Black , Special to JTNews During the first months of the Hitler regime, in 1933, leaders of the Zionist movement concluded a controversial pact with the Third Reich, which, in its various forms, transferred some 60,000 Jews and $100 million — almost $1.7 billion in 2009 dollars —Continue Reading

By Alison Eisinger and Sally Kinney , JTNews Columnist Our Jewish traditions are deeply rooted in the concept of home. Our most beloved holidays center around the home, both literally and metaphorically. On Passover,  we gather at home — not in the synagogue — to celebrate our release from EgyptContinue Reading

By Mark Richard Schuster , Special to JTNews Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur provide a time for each of us each year to reflect upon ourselves and our place in the world. It is during these times we address issues within ourselves that are not necessarily pleasant or easy. However,Continue Reading

By Rachel Goldberg , JTA World News Service There’s a lot of noise about health care — wildly false claims, meetings being disrupted, shrill voices shouting down legislators. Amid the din, real ideas and concerns are getting lost. It’s easy and lazy to criticize something. What’s difficult and bold isContinue Reading

By Larry Greenfield , JTA World News Service Government insurance for health care — the public option — is an inappropriate cure that the American body politic is rejecting. Canadians spend 10 percent of their annual GDP on health care, while Americans spend 16 percent. However, Canadians experience long waitingContinue Reading

By Stephen J. Savitsky , JTA World News Service NEW YORK (JTA) — I was most privileged on July 13 to be invited along with 16 other Jewish leaders to meet with President Obama at the White House. Much has been written about this historic meeting; it’s hard to believeContinue Reading

By Gila Orkin , JTA World News Service JERUSALEM (JTA) — The gains made by far-right parties across Europe in the recent European parliamentary elections are certainly cause for concern. But Europe is not the only place Jews should be concerned about the far right rising. It’s happening in Israel,Continue Reading

By Joel Magalnick , Editor, JTNews The Anti-Defamation League’s national director Abe Foxman has a mantra, “Never again,” that he calls upon constantly to remind us of the dangers of complacence in the face of the drumbeat of racism that led to the Holocaust. So why is it, when we’reContinue Reading

By Dee Simon and Laurie Warshal Cohen , Special to JTNews The recent fatal shooting at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. is a stark reminder that each of us has the responsibility to stand up to prejudice and hate whenever and wherever we encounter it. SaraContinue Reading

By Matthew Brooks , Special to JTNews While Americans examine the first 100 days of the Obama administration, it is important to make a candid assessment of the president’s actions so far. These first months are widely considered an indicator of the policies the president will pursue in the yearsContinue Reading

By Marc R. Stanley , Special to JTNews During his first 100 days in office, the American Jewish community has already taken great pleasure with the performance of President Barack Obama. He has begun to develop a deep and substantive relationship with the Jewish community by, among other things, hostingContinue Reading

By Howard M. Lenhoff and Nathan Shapiro , Special to JTNews Today, Ethiopian Jews rescued from Africa during Operation Moses in 1984 and subsequently educated in Israel are returning to Africa to help educate orphans who survived the genocide in Rwanda. Is this the start of a unique new stageContinue Reading

By Edward Alexander , Special to JTNews The enemies of Israel neither slumber nor sleep. Right now they are engaged in “Israel Apartheid Week,” spewing fire and vitriol at the Jewish State and calling for its elimination from the family of nations; as the Nazis sought to make Europe JudenreinContinue Reading

By Richard Silverstein , Special to JTNews Gerald Steinberg is the director of the right-wing Israel group, NGO Monitor. His mission is to “expose” the “perfidy” of supposed liberal or dovish Israeli, European and Palestinian NGOs which claim to advance Middle East peace but which really, in his opinion, advanceContinue Reading

By Dan Kosky , Special to JTNews Israel’s achievements in the face of acute challenges over the past 60 years are unparalleled. Yet the sobering reality also exists that the Zionist project is a work in progress — we see a society still striving to “uphold the full social andContinue Reading