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So Far So Good (Mostly)
I could not be more pleased with what President Trump just did for the Jewish people. Which underscores why I keep saying I like his policies even as I dislike many of the things he has said and done...
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The Value of Jewish Day Schools and School Choice
At first glance, I thought, What’s the surprise? Prizmah has concluded that Jewish day school alumni in college are more connected to their Judaism than are Jewish public school alumni? Are they...
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On Being Gay and Restoring America's Biblical Values
Wearing a 'pride' Kipa (JTA)Should gay and trans people be shunned? Honestly, that question offends me. On the contrary, the struggles that some people have with their sexual identities should inspire...
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Closing the Age Gap is Not a Magic Bullet
I know they are trying, but these rabbinic leaders are now dealing with a situation of their own making.Well… maybe not exactly of their own making, but certainly due to a Hashkafa they doggedly...
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The Absurd Extent of Charedi Resistance to the Draft
It seems absurd on its face. It isn’t as if the IDF is asking that the many tens of thousands of Charedim learning full-time in Yeshivos should shut their Gemaras and start praying at the altar of the...
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Is Trump Good for the Jews?
In the category of Trump’s support for Israel and the Jewish community, several things have recently happened. All of which should put to rest the dire predictions of those who thought Trump would...
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The Extent of Palestinian Hatred
The war with Hamas has revealed just how deep and widespread Palestinian hatred of us is. In fact, I believe that their hatred of us surpasses their desire to have their own state.I was again reminded...
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Trump's Marshall Plan
Condemnation of Trump's Gaza proposal (NBC)Now that the initial shock is over, perhaps we can take a closer look at what - on the surface - seems like a ridiculous idea.In what has to be the most...
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Empathy is Good. But Not Enough
Rav Asher Weiss - What does he really believe?Sometimes, outrage can be misplaced. At least on a wholesale level. The Charedi world is not as callous as one might think about what their non Charedi...
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Why Are They Silent?
There is a reason Lakewood is called the City of Torah. Deservedly so. Lakewood, New Jersey, is home to the largest and most prestigious yeshiva in the Western Hemisphere. The amount and depth of Torah...
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Hostages Now - Gaza Later
3 hostages - after captivity and before (VIN)One of the things I learned from experts about the nature of torture is that even in its most extreme form, people can often withstand it in order not to...
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Religious Schools as Government Funded Charter Schools
The Supreme Court (JTA)At the founding of this great nation, Thomas Jefferson insisted that freedom of religion be an integral part of its ethos. This principle was put into writing in the First...
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Expressing Justifiable Outrage the Wrong Way
Scarlett JohanssonI don’t know why Kanye West harbors such hatred toward Jewish people. I cannot imagine what must have happened to him to make such an antisemite.But there is no doubt that he has an...
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Are Centrists All That Different From the Right?
Rabbi David Bashevkin’s essay last year about the controversy over Torah U’Mada has reappeared this year. This got me thinking about whether it was worth revisiting the issue. Have there been any...
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An Objective View of Trump's End Game for Gaza
Secretary of State Marco Rubio was recently quoted saying the following to the people of Israel:"You are an extraordinary country. You rose from the ashes of a low moment in the history of humanity,...
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Progressivism is Not Judaism
I considered it. I don’t recall if I was specifically asked or if it was simply a matter of responding to a general call by the Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV) for Orthodox rabbis to join a new...
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Daas Torah and Chilul HaShem
Rav Dov Landau (Jerusalem Post)Israel is Evil – Free Palestine: From the River to the Sea! This is not my view. It is the view of Rav Dov Landau, one of only two people considered to be the Gadol...
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The New Jewish Caucus in Congress
There was a time I might have welcomed something like this. Jewish Insider reports that Jewish members of the House have, for the first time, decided to create a Jewish caucus. The purpose of this, I...
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Not a War on Yeshivas
Well, it finally happened. JTA reports the following:The New York State Education Department is cutting off public funding to two Brooklyn yeshivas and ordering parents to find alternative educational...
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Time to Take Off the Gloves!
Militants? Can anyone imagine calling Nazi Germany militants? And yet, this is how the mainstream media refers to Hamas terrorists. The reason is that they want to appear even-handed, meaning they see...
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