You can tell much about a politician from the donations he accepts. Where I live, my representative in Congress is Steve Israel. He is also the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Mr. Israel accepts money from at least one donor who should make people wonder about his support for his eponymous ancestral nation. more

A large chunk of my career (16 years) was spent in the world of advertising. I worked for various advertising agencies planning, negotiating and recommending the placement of media for many top advertisers. Once I explained my job as spending money, but since it was other people’s money I had to make sure my clients were getting the best possible deal. more

When Anthony Weiner resigned from Congress, it was assumed that whoever got the Democratic Party nomination would win the race to replace him. But you cannot assume when it comes to special elections, remember in 2009 when Ted Kennedy was replaced by a Republican? more

On 9/11/01 I was in my office and received an IM from my brother telling me of the first plane crash. Taking advantage that my employer was Nickelodeon and there was a TV in my office, I tuned into the news and saw what I thought was a replay of the crash…it wasn’t a replay, it was the second plane. more

Three hours after the tragic crash, 29-year-old Australian Jewish scholar Yankel Rosenbaum was attacked by a gang of black teens. He was stabbed four times. Cops quickly arrested Lemrick Nelson, who was identified by Rosenbaum as his attacker. more

Southern Israel was attacked by four different terrorist cells today resulting in at least seven dead six were civilians (two young children aged 6 and 4) and one was a soldier. At least another 40 have been injured. more

Letters to the Editor more

Twenty years ago a tragic car accident in Crown Heights Brooklyn escalated into a pogrom against the Jewish people. The media described it as violence between the area’s blacks and Jews. However the violence was not two-sided. The Crown Heights riot was an attack on the Hasidic community by some in the Caribbean community fueled by rumors and anti-Semitism. more

A famous hasidic tale teaches: A man once went around spreading lies about the rabbi. Eventually he began to feel remorse for the wrong he had done. He went to the rabbi and begged his forgiveness, saying he would do anything to make amends. The rabbi said, “Take a feather pillow, cut it open, and scatter the feathers to the winds.” more

In a few days we observe the fast of Tisha B’Av, mourning the loss of the two Jerusalem Temples. The Talmud tells us the cause of the Second Temple’s destruction was senseless hatred and political insults. A man threw a party and intended to invite his good friend Kamtza. His servant erred, mistakenly invited the host’s enemy, Bar Kamtza. This led to the insulting of Bar Kamtza, his slandering of the Jewish people to Caesar, and Bar Kamtza’s wounding of an animal Caesar sent to the Temple as a peace offering. The sacrifice was rejected as unfit, which Caesar took as a political insult and rebellious move so he invaded, resulting in the destruction of the Holy Temple. more