After the outcry of groups, including leading Jewish ones, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has announced that it will remove language from a new document that said interfaith dialogue was an opportunity to convert people to Catholicism.

This is a positive development in ties between the two communities. Yet, one is still troubled… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/05/09 at 02:41 PM | Comments (0)

Anti-Semitism Drops

Despite what sometimes seems to be the case, anti-Semitism in this country has just reached its lowest level in the 45 years that it has been tracked. That is reason to celebrate. At the same time, anti-Semitic acts of violence do seem to be increasing, which gives one reason for both concern and precautionary measures.

Last… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/03/09 at 02:38 PM | Comments (0)

Tevye As Teacher

How can it be that an “old, tired play,” one seen by everyone so many times, can still be performed so well and spark Jewish identity anew?

I had that thought Tuesday night after taking my 11-year-old daughter to the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore to not only see “Fiddler On The Roof,” but to see… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/22/09 at 11:11 AM | Comments (0)

Rabbi Mark G. Loeb’s Funeral

Funerals are not supposed to be enjoyable, and I would not call today’s final send off for Rabbi Mark G. Loeb a party. However, it certainly did provide as many profound and reflective moments as chuckles and warm feelings.

That’s because Rabbi Loeb – a man as complicated as he was diverse – touched a remarkable… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/15/09 at 04:41 PM | Comments (1)

Bipartisan Error On Iowa

Leading American Jewish groups are asking the Iowa Democratic and Republican parties to change the 2010 causes to avoid Shabbat. That’s a mistake as it’s not necessary.

Last week, major national Jewish groups representing Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist Jews, as well as the National Jewish Democratic Council and the Republican Jewish Coalition sent a… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 09/29/09 at 02:23 PM | Comments (1)

Irving Kristol: Neo-Con’s Jewish Godfather

Irving Kristol, the “godfather of the neo-conservative movement,” died Friday, Sept. 18 at age 89. The life story of the son of non-observant Eastern European Jewish immigrants reveals how American Jews continue to openly, confidently shape the broader society without retribution.

If it was anything, Kristol’s intellectual journey was fascinating. Praised in his final decades… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 09/24/09 at 09:53 AM | Comments (0)

Ahmadinejad’s New York Welcome

It’s never fun when you are invited to a party that you have to attend and you know that a despised fiend will be given the floor. Should you stay or should you go? The World Jewish Congress and other groups are urging the latter. That is, they want diplomats to boycott the September 23 U.N.… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 09/18/09 at 11:08 AM | Comments (0)

Egypt’s Book Burner

Talk about letting the fox into the henhouse. A leading candidate to be the next head of the U.N.’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is Egyptian Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni. UNESCO’s 58 member states were set to vote on their next leader on Thursday, Sept. 17 in Paris.

For the record, Mr. Hosni,… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 09/17/09 at 10:42 AM | Comments (0)

Papal Backtracks

How many times can you say no while hinting at yes? It’s a question raised in the latest announcement by the Vatican that it will soon remind some renegade co-religionists that blatant anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial just might not be the image the Church wants to project in this new century.

That’s part of what… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 09/16/09 at 01:48 PM | Comments (0)

Bad Signs

Even in an era of $30 billion here and there for various industry bailouts, $20 million still goes a long way. That’s all the more so for a relatively small population that is under-employed, has inadequate schools and needs more food. With that in mind, one has to wonder what the wonks at the U.S. Agency… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 09/08/09 at 09:38 AM | Comments (0)