Blog
Tea party reflects nation’s health
September 2, 2011
During a forum for the unemployed in her home state this month, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., announced that “the ‘tea party’ can go straight to hell,” adding, “And I intend to help them get...
‘Sign here!’: Petition effort launched against likely unilateral Palestinian statehood bid
August 31, 2011
Sign here. That is what Jewish organizations across the country are asking people to do in e-mails and up-close-and-personal appeals in advance of next month’s opening of the United Nations General Assembly. In this area,...
Economy taxes agency resources: ‘Second wave’ of needy feared as nation’s financial picture worsens
August 25, 2011
In the wake of the economic downturn three years ago, many people in our area turned to local Jewish social service agencies for help, according to those agencies’ directors. Last week, as stock markets seesawed wildly, those same...
Iraqi human rights champion to Obama: stop Iran before it’s too late
August 17, 2011
Mithal al-Alusi, human rights leader and former Iraqi Parliamentarian, contacted me last weekend to convey his thoughts about the dire situation for proponents of human rights and liberal values in Iraq. He also urged President...
Triathlon Tribute: Bergenfield resident races to honor slain compatriots
August 7, 2011
Yitzhak Zahavy is competing this Sunday in a grueling sports event because he can. He can, he says, because three of his comrades gave their lives to save his. He is competing to honor them.
Zahavy, who was born in Rhode Island, moved to...
Signs of awakening in the Arab world?
August 7, 2011
More than 100 reportedly unarmed civilians in the Syrian city of Hama have died at the hands of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces since the start of Ramadan on Sunday in a crackdown some in the media have labeled the “Ramadan...
Club icon, man for all seasons, dies
August 6, 2011
The world sparkles a bit less brightly this week with the passing of a true individual. Last Thursday August 4, Walter Monheit, bon vivant and man for all seasons, died. He was 85. Michael Musto of the Village Voice eulogized him this week...
Hebrew charter school leaves teachers, parents in the lurch
July 23, 2011
Teachers and parents are scrambling to make alternate arrangements in the wake of the announcement July 15 by the New Jersey Department of Education that Shalom Academy, a Hebrew-language charter school, will not open in September....
Shock, sadness, and anger
July 23, 2011
In the wake of the murder of 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky in Borough Park last week, the Jewish community is reeling with shock, sadness, and anger. While we would not presume to fathom the depths of grief and horror experienced by the...
A thing of beauty
July 22, 2011
I’m off to Israel for a week as part of JNFuture’s first Jewish Leadership Institute mission. While I can’t wait to meet with members of the Knesset, enjoy the beach in Tel Aviv, and pray at the wall Friday night...