During the war in Iraq, when I was still living in London and coordinating news coverage of the overthrow of Saddam Hussein for various international media organizations, I was in regular contact with a brave Iraqi Kurdish journalist named Ayub Nuri. more

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should be happy the news of the Bergdahl release and the ISIS terrorist march on Baghdad overshadowed her gaffe-filled “Hard Choices” book tour. more

They were a small group of pioneers with a mission. The year was 1940, and Jews by the tens of thousands were being herded into the ghettos of Nazi-occupied Europe. And while the Nazi hierarchy was meeting to determine the “final solution to the Jewish problem,” this small group was preparing the groundwork for what they believed would be the influx of refugees who would need a home and a place to call their own. more

A few weeks ago, while driving my husband Jerry to the Valley Stream Station (after he managed to saunter and putter around, thereby missing the Woodmere train), I found myself stuck at a light at the intersection of Mill Road and Sunrise Highway. more

History has a unique way of both intruding on and inspiring current events. The recent trip to Israel by Pope Francis and his visit to the gravesite of Theodore Herzl is but one recent example of this phenomenon. more

Towards the end of Shlach, the Torah gives us instructions for a case of what Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan entitles, “Communal Sin Offerings for Idolatry,” based no doubt on Rashi’s explanation of the phrase, “When [the collective] you err and don’t do all of these commandments.” more

The school of thought that describes the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as “the Middle East conflict” is dangerously misguided, because it ignores other factors that are far more important, such as the historically violent schism between Sunni and Shi’a Islam, Iran’s renewed assertiveness in Syria and Lebanon, the shared strategic interests binding Israel and the conservative regimes in the Arab Gulf in confronting Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and the fragmentation of the various jihadi groups in Sinai, Syria, Iraq, and other territories. more

May saw a series of tweets by MSNBC hosts displaying a lack of sensitivity about the Holocaust which some would call anti-Semitic. more

It is a conversation I will remember forever. We were in the midst of basic tank training, enjoying a brief respite from the grueling pace of maneuvers and marches. more

Who we are as a people begins with what we hold dear and what we truly value. There are many burdens we carry in this world. The challenge may well be in how we choose to carry them. This week’s portion, Naso, contains a case in point. “Ki avodat HaKodesh Aleihem ba’katef yisau’.” (“For the holy [items of] service they shall carry upon the shoulder.”) (Bamidbar 7:9) more