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By Noah S. Friedland, Ph.D. , Special to JTNews Since the dust settled after the Six Day War, the main tenet of the Arab-Israeli peace process has been Land for Peace (LFP). Under this equation, Arab countries would enter into formal peace agreements in exchange for Israel ceding lands acquiredContinue Reading

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By Rabbi Simon Benzaquen , Sephardic Bikur Holim I want to share with JTNews readers the message I delivered to my congregation, Sephardic Bikur Holim, on Shemini Atzeret, Sukkot because it should be applied to our everyday life. The festival of Sukkot requires us to be happy. In Deuteronomy 16:14Continue Reading

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By Amy Hirshberg Lederman , Special to JTNews I was in the fourth grade, hiding in the girl’s bathroom with Fran Schneider, when the loudspeaker rang out: “All students are to return to their classrooms immediately.” We looked at each other and giggled nervously, afraid that we would get bustedContinue Reading

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By Alvin J. Ziontz , , Bellevue Robert Wilkes begins with the strange assertion that “America is British, not French” (“Why Jews Are Democrats, and Why I Am Not,” Oct. 31), praising the glories of British government and denouncing French political philosophers. Sorry, Mr. Wilkes, our form of government owesContinue Reading

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By Robert and Gail Stagman , , Mercer Island With all due respect for Rabbi Kletenik, we believe his reasoning on Initiative 1000 (“Life is sacred,” Oct. 17) is misguided. Clergy do not have the moral authority to dictate to others how they will make a personal life decision affectingContinue Reading

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By Midge Levy , , Seattle I applaud Rabbi Laytner’s letter on the Death with Dignity Initiative (“Freedom of Choice,” Oct. 17) in which he offers alternative views to Rabbi Kletenik’s perspective. Rabbi Laytner addresses the dilemma where prolonging life sometimes prolongs the dying process, which is “unacceptable” to JewishContinue Reading

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By Rabbi Moshe Kletenik, Congregation Bikur Cholim- Machzikay Hadath This November, Initiative Measure 1000 will appear on the ballot in Washington State. “This measure would permit terminally ill, competent, adult Washington residents, who are medically predicted to have six months or less to live, to request and self-administer lethal medicationContinue Reading

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By Murray Meld , Special to JTNews Both presidential aspirants agree: Let’s get out of the Iraq debacle. But they differ as to how and when — and neither forewarns us that withdrawal without safeguards might result in a Blackwater Company attempt to take over “security.” Given the number ofContinue Reading

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By Rabbi Ted Falcon, Bel Alef Meditative Synagogue Spiritual teachings sometimes flow from the most unlikely sources. One of my teachers this year has been Margo. I don’t actually know Margo. I’ve never seen her, never met her, and never will. Yet I often listen to her at crucial momentsContinue Reading

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By Joel Magalnick, Karen Chachkes ,   Sparked by reaction to an editorial cartoon appearing in the last issue of JTNews, our editorial committee met for a lively conversation. We discussed the cartoon specifically, and the larger issues we consider when developing content for our “Page 3″ (and beyond) ViewpointsContinue Reading

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By Rabbi Jacob Fine, Hillel at UW The air has become crisp with the smell of fall, and with the change in season comes the reminder that the High Holy Days are again upon us. Somehow, despite the fact that Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur arrive at the same timeContinue Reading

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By David Benkof , Special to JTNews Jews often complain that prayer is boring. Young people resist going to synagogue — and older people drift away from prayer altogether — because they find it to be a chore. In response to this claim, Rabbi Harold Schulweis, perhaps the longest-tenured pulpitContinue Reading

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By Rabbi Anson Laytner, American Jewish Committee Twentieth-century America was the era of civil rights. The National American Woman Suffrage Association was formed in 1890 by the merger of several smaller predecessors. In 1906, a group of German Jewish Americans came together to advocate on behalf of Russian Jewish pogromContinue Reading

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By Philip R. Scheier , , Shoreline There are growing questions surrounding the real sponsorship of the deceptive anti-Israel I-97 petition being peddled by for-hire signature gatherers merely as an “anti-war petition.” For many, there seems to be the stench of oil money permeating this so-called petition. Basically, what thisContinue Reading

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By Rabbi Harry Zeitlin , Congregation Beth Ha’Ari As the rhythm of the Jewish year flows from past setbacks, failures and disasters typified by Tisha B’Av to looking forward to Rosh Hashanah and the promise of the future, I personally find it a lot “easier” to accept that things haveContinue Reading

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By The Board of Rabbis , Va’ad HaRabbanim of Greater Seattle , The Va’ad policies for produce checking were formulated after months of investigation and collecting data concerning locally available produce. Our mashgichim, who were specially trained to check produce, checked the produce on a daily basis and kept recordsContinue Reading

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By George Guttmann , , Seattle Your recent article about I-97 (“Taking initiative,” July 25) classified the opponents of this initiative as “pro Israel,” suggesting that all those who support I-97 are anti-Israel. While I don’t like I-97 for a number of reasons, I also find your characterization of itsContinue Reading