The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) agreed last week to the removal of a small number of headstones in U.S. military cemeteries that were engraved with the Nazi swastika and the Iron … more

The most scathing book review I have read in a very long time appears in the Sept.18 edition of the London-based journal, the Times Literary Supplement. You might want to read it, too, if only … more

Many articles are published on how to talk to children about anti-Semitism, but nobody has explained why doing so is so important. Some 88 percent of American Jewish adults surveyed in 2020 by … more

The two old men couldn’t have been more different from each other, yet they both taught me the identical life lesson. The first, a cagey old Irishman, was one of my mentors in postgraduate … more

Shortly after the Oslo Accords were signed, Yasser Arafat made his intentions clear. He said that the agreements were nothing more than a “Hudabiyah,” a temporary arrangement … more

B less President Biden: For two months he’s been steadfast and vocal in his support of Israel’s right — and need — to destroy the Hamas terrorist group. Yet all around him … more

I'm thinking by Micah D. Halpern Issue of August 6, 2010/ 26 Av, 5770 Last week, the unthinkable occurred in the most explosive location in this world. The M. Star, a Japanese mega tanker … more

Winds of change are blowing across the Five Towns as candidates emerge from our community asking the most basic of questions: Where is our money going? Is it being used efficiently? Where can cuts be made? more

Chapter 23, verses 2-4 list a number of male types who may not enter “k’hal Hashem,” the community of G-d. On a simple level, the verses seem strange. The first two individuals – men who have become sterile on account of external, or unnatural incidents – are likely Jewish men. As is the “mamzer,” the product of two Jewish people who participated in a Torah-forbidden relationship. Don’t they enter the community of G-d the moment they are born? more

There are differences of opinion as to the origin of the word Afikoman--the most common suggestion I’ve seen is that it is a Greek term--and, as far as its translation goes, while it is not entirely clear, it is largely considered to mean “dessert.” more