Israel@70: Israel’s Tougher Neighborhood
In January this year, the veteran Arab journalist Rami Khouri made this assessment of the Middle East as a region, “Never before has the Arab region been so fractured, violent, volatile and vulnerable to the…
Two State Solution: Why Not Now?
The notion of a two-state solution remains front and center as the most often discussed and endorsed solution to the Palestinian-Israeli dimension of the conflict in the Middle East. So why has it not happened?
One Tribe, Multiple Minyans
Four out of every five Jews in the world live in the United States and Israel; 6.3 million in Israel, 6.7 million in the US. According to Pew Research Center Studies, 7 in 10 American Jews feel attached or very attached to Israel.
Trump’s Recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital Has Merit, Not Harm
Whether you hate or love President Trump, don’t let it blind you from the meaning of the words he utters, or the tweets he sends. Regardless of your emotions or strong political leanings, his words are decisively important; he is President of the United States.
Trust, Embrace and Own Israel’s Story
In two books written sixty years apart, When Prophecy Fails, 1957 (Festinger, Riecken and Schachter) and The Influential Mind, 2017 (Sharot, an Israeli neuroscientist), the conclusions were the same.
Zionism and Israel Are Pro-Choice: Embrace Them Both
Rabbis who attended the AIPAC-sponsored National Rabbinic Symposium Association meeting in Washington at the end of August sat in my sessions on Zionism with common interests.
Making Wise Choices in College
Scrutiny and planning prove essential when selecting college courses.
What Works in Zionist Education
In teaching history, the most difficult task remains creating context:catapulting students back into a different time frame and having them disregard their contemporary historical perspective. The goal is to witness history as it unfolded, not as it concluded.
Tell the Whole Story, Not as You Want It to Be
For the last several years, I have heard and witnessed personal stories about Israel (dis)engagement. Everyone asks how to stem distancing from Israel.
Sovereign Israeli Rights
Placing Jewish destiny into Jewish hands was why Zionism emerged at the end of the 19th century. Acquiring political power to promote Jewish security is how a Jewish state was created.
Israel Education and the College Campus
Published by JESNA, Jewish Education Service of North America ISSUE #18 WINTER 2004 Israel Education and the College Campus, “Awake ye from ye slumber, the call that is heard, oh my people.” Agenda: Jewish Education,…
The June 1967 War: Actions with Unfinished Consequences
Coming up, fifty years after the June 1967 War. How many times have I taught the causes and effects, or written about the War? Hundreds of times in forty years.
Kerry’s Frustration About Arab-Israeli Negotiations
In the aftermath of UNSC Resolution 2334 condemning Israeli settlement construction, Secretary of State John Kerry publicly blamed Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank for being the major barrier to a two-state solution to resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Palestinian Authority to Sue British Government Over Balfour Declaration
For almost 100 years, the Declaration has represented, for the Palestinians, the political beginning of Palestine falling out of their influence and into the control of the budding Zionist movement.
Articles and Books on BDS and Antisemitism on U.S. Campuses
There are many publications that appear in national and international outlets and think-tanks that deal with BDS and antisemitism on campus.
Antisemitic Activity in 2015 at US Colleges and Universities
The report, clearly a snap shot, conveys a picture of anti-Semitic activities on US campuses. A strong correlation is found between the occurrence of BDS activity and the occurrence of anti-Semitic expression where incidents were reported.
Presidential Promises and Platitudes
In 2008 and again in 2012, President Barack Obama made lofty promises and gallant assessments about Iran and the Middle East respectively. His remarks to the annual AIPAC conference four years ago about Israel and Iran have proved to be out and out fictions. Who will hold the 45th President accountable for promises made but not kept?
American Jewish party preferences and Jewish voting percentages for presidents over time
Candidates that speak forcefully about a strong US-Israeli relationship and a need to provide Israel with a qualitative military advantage over any array of adversaries, secure the attention of American Jewish voters who put Israel at the top of their list in determining who should receive their vote in congressional and presidential election contests.
Ken Stein: Stopping an Ominous Iran
In the interest of securing any deal rather than the right deal – politics over principle – the president and the diplomats he sent to negotiate seem to have forgotten or perhaps never learned why Iran must not get a nuclear weapon.
Beyond Birthright and Advocacy
At Seattle’s Temple de Hirsch Congregation a week ago, the audience audibly gasped when I told them that the next day I would be giving a noon talk at Evergreen State College.
Alliances of Convenience Alongside Alliances of Conviction
Alliances of convenience alongside alliances of conviction: when do the first become the second? Who is telling the story that we read?
Hamas Doctrine: Detest Israel, Part 3 — Hamas Principles for the Liberation of Palestine and Jihad Against Zionism
Just as al-Qaeda seeks the total destruction of western democracies, Hamas seeks Israel’s total demise. Since its inception in 1988, Hamas has been crystal clear about its opposition to Zionism and Israel.
Hamas Doctrine: Detest Israel, Part 2 — On Israel and Israel’s Illegitimacy
As it has in the past Hamas may accept a tahdi’a or calming down of tensions, or even a temporary truce or hudna, negotiated by a third party, but for it to accept Israel as a reality is totally contrary to its ideological outlook.
Hamas Doctrine: Detest Israel, Part 1
Hamas has opposed all agreements and cooperation which either the PLO or the Palestinian Authority have signed with Israel. “Hamas will never recognize Israel. This is a red line that cannot be crossed.
