Terror-loving, Israel-bashing, Jew- hating Hamasites prep mayhem as schools reopen
Distinguished University Professor Touro College
Antisemitism is headed back to school. The summer recess was well spent, with Middle East faculty militarizing their lesson plans and pro-Hamas coffers resupplied by Qatar and Iran. Students have been practicing their anti-American, anti-Israel, antisemitic slogans (there are so many to learn nowadays, and being out of sync is uncool). Many took time away for intensive flag-burning weekend retreats.
Back-to-school shopping this year includes Kevlar vests and an assortment of paramilitary gadgets and gear. Pepper spray is positively de rigueur. Keffiyeh scarves are being sold at student bookstores, often embossed with the college’s colors and team mascot. The one for Notre Dame is especially fetching. Go figure: Catholics wearing keffiyehs.
Student activism is now an official major within the Illiberal Arts. Genocide Post-Colonial Anti-Racist Gender Queer Studies is a mandatory course — even for math majors, although the math, science and engineering curricula are all being re-evaluated for racial bias.
Last year’s nationwide campus turmoil, where the Hamas savages of Gaza were shown more love than college football teams, convinced students, and especially faculty, that college is nothing but a progressive playpen — a laboratory for the undoing of democracy. Twisted notions of academic freedom and “shared governance” mean that henceforth, university life will provide a safe haven for bored students demanding advanced credit in socially-acceptable antisemitism.
If you thought last year’s pro-Hamas encampments and building takeovers were bad, in all likelihood this year’s will be worse. The lesson of last year is that nearly anything can be done in the name of Palestinian liberation. All will be forgiven — no disciplinary measures, no See Hamasites prep on page 2
By Etgar Lefkovits, JNS
HAIFA — The rows of hospital beds with adjacent oxygen units line the underground parking lot.
Four operating rooms, a maternity ward and a dialysis center are among the facilities that Haifa’s Rambam Health Care Campus has set up three levels down in its parking garage.
The largest hospital in northern Israel has created the biggest underground hospital in the world in anticipation of what could be an all-out war against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The three-floor, $140 million Sammy Ofer Fortified Underground Emergency Hospital was constructed following the Second Lebanon War with the terrorist organization in 2006, when the Iranian proxy fired about 70 missiles on this northern port city over a month, shaking the hospital in an era before the Iron Dome aerial-defense system was in place.
“We made a commitment that this scenario cannot happen again,” recalled hospital director Professor Michael Halberthal during a tour of the facility on Sunday.
The 2,000-plus bed underground emergency hospital is essentially a 1,500-car garage that has been seamlessly converted into a fortified hospital for warfare, and which can be put in full use within eight hours.
Two decades after the last major war with Hezbollah, the Shi’ite terrorist group has been raining down missiles on Israel almost daily since the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre. Hezbollah has a missile stockpile experts estimate at 150,000 projectiles capable of striking virtually the entire country — and Haifa is the major Israeli city closest to Hezbollah’s base in southern Lebanon.
Halberthal said that the Israeli military assessment for an allout war is that Hezbollah would fire a missile at Haifa every four minutes for 60 days, leading to thousands of casualties.
“We wanted peace of mind so we can continue to work, and to reduce exposure time if there is a sudden missile attack on northern Israel,” he said.
The facility, which was based on a model in Singapore, reSee Hospital goes deep on page 2
YU will open health campus in Midtown Manhattan
Yeshiva University will significantly expand its presence in the healthcare field by establishing a new state-of-the-art campus in Herald Square.
YU said this week it will add over 160,000 square feet of space to the university’s already meaningful footprint in Midtown, entering into a 32-year leasehold condominium for several floors in the historic Herald Center at the corner of 34th Street and Broadway. It was built in 1902 as the original Saks store.
“As a values driven university, we look forward to becoming an even greater participant in the New York Midtown neighborhood and its community by bringing new energy to the area through student life, educational activities and economic
development,” said Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, president of YU.
Yeshiva University has long stood as an educational leader in the Health Sciences and has recently expanded its leadership footprint in the field by launching
world-class and top-tier graduate programs in its Katz School of Science and Health, such as the Nursing program opening in the Fall, Occupational Therapy and SpeechLanguage Pathology programs.
Reporting by YU
Hamasites gather in Harvard Yard in Cambridge, Mass., on Oct. 14, 2023. Joseph Prezioso, AFP via Getty Images
Sammy Ofer Fortified Underground Emergency Hospital in Haifa.
THANE ROSENBAUM
Hamasites prep…
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forfeiture of degrees and surely no jail time.
Antisemitic prodigies have now matriculated to a new level of unabashed Jew-hatred. And no one within the academy seems the least bit interested in putting a stop to it.
Just last week, the president of Columbia University resigned. Three of her deans left their posts over the summer, flagged for text messages that trafficked in antisemitic tropes. Her equally feckless Ivy League sisters from Harvard, Penn and Cornell resigned earlier.
Those and other universities are facing civil lawsuits and Title VI civil rights investigations from the Justice Department for failing to safeguard campus life for Jewish students. Hard to fathom, but tuition dollars allowed pro-Hamas protesters to deny Jews access to classes and campus facilities — intimidating and harassing them along the way.
Over the summer, a California federal judge ruled that UCLA had permitted that very thing. The court issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting such overt discriminatory treatment, ruling that Jewish faith and Israel’s existence are inextricably linked, invoking the First Amendment’s Free Exercise of Religion Clause.
A federal judge in Boston delivered a similar injunction against Harvard, finding it plausible that Jewish students were afraid to attend classes while the university remained indifferent, holding to the absurd excuse that anti-Jewish activity is protected speech under the First Amendment.
Brown, Columbia and NYU settled similar cases over the summer. But did the caretakers of American colleges learn any lessons from these actions, or are these lawsuits mere nuisances — cheaper to settle them with a check than to rein in tenured faculty and temper their own hatred of the Jewish state?
Here’s a shocker: college presidents don’t seem to be motivated by money. Ivy League universities lost hundreds of millions of dollars in endowed alumni support from Jewish donors who were appalled by the antisemitic spectacles at their alma maters. None of the money has been recaptured because the schools have done nothing to assuage their former benefactors. Indeed, it has all gotten worse.
Student enrollment is down overall across the country. The value of a Bachelor of Arts degree has diminished in this age of groupthink indoctrination. College was supposed to teach open minds how to think, not close those minds with mass-produced dogma.
And fewer Jews are now registered at Ivy League schools. It’s not clear whether anyone misses them. For diversity purposes, Jews are no longer judged to be a minority class. They are simply privileged white students who should be treated like descendants of the Mayflower families — with hostility. Besides, the equity obsessions that exist on campus are satisfied by slowing down the progress that Jews have made in America.
As for the perpetrators of violence, it is not as though they faced no consequences. Job offers were withdrawn from several Wall Street law firms. A doctor was dismissed from NYU Langone Health. Some students were banned from participating in graduation ceremonies. Others had their diplomas withheld.
But Harvard, predictably, was among the first to cave, reinstating the diplomas of 11 of the 13 students who had never formally graduated. The Muslim Law Review editor who took part in a mob that physically harassed a Jewish student is apparently enjoying the benefits of his Harvard law degree. Don’t be surprised if he turns up defending terror organizations.
Campus dining facilities should be interesting this week. “Mean Girls” has nothing on the kind of hate generated against Jews, financed by mischievous mullahs and carried out largely by Muslims, many on student visas. They, along with some African-Americans and the aggressively genderless, have declared a turf war against Jews.
All of the mayhem is being orchestrated by promiscuous faculty members who are largely responsible for the uptick in Jew-hate, the corruption of curricula and the teaching of historical falsehoods about the Middle East. The academically lazy have become politically allpowerful.
University leaders would do nearly anything to survive a faculty senate no-confidence vote. Taking charge of their institutions and protecting Jewish students is a far lesser priority.
Hospital goes deep…
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ceived 30% funding from the state, with the remainder financed by Jewish and Christian philanthropists and charities.
One of its three 5-acre floors has been cleared of cars these last 10 months and put on standby, even as above ground the hospital has treated hundreds of casualties from the war, including the Druze children wounded in the Golan Heights attack.
Restrooms, showers and even a daycare area in the underground facility can fit 8,000 people at full capacity, with electricity, water, oxygen, food and gas to make the facility self-sufficient for several days of warfare, the hospital director said.
“There is no panic but citizens are concerned,” said Tal Siboni, head of the Haifa Municipality’s emergency call center, which since Oct. 7 has been operating in an underground bunker. “The phones are not ringing off the hook but we are prepared.”
This city of 300,000 residents, 12% of whom are Arabs, is, like many other Israeli communities these last 10 months, on edge.
About 60,000 Israelis have been evacuated from their homes in northern Israel following the attacks from Lebanon, with some relocating to Haifa.
“We are the target,” HaifaMayor Yona Yahav said. “[Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah says it openly.”
The Haifa waterfront. The Rambam Health Care Campus is not far from the shore. Ed Weintrob, The Jewish Star
• Obstetrics & Gynecology
• Maternal-Fetal Medicine
• Gynecology-Oncology
• Breast Surgery
• Urogynecology
• 3-D Digital Mammography
• Diagnostic Ultrasounds
• Breast Biopsy Procedures
• Bone Density Testing
• Nutrition Services
How Chabad Lubavitch and Modern Orthodoxy
By Dovid Zaklikowski, JNS
The Chabad-Lubavitch movement marked the passing — 30 years ago — of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, in July. The movement continues to draw inspiration from the late Rebbe’s teachings, but for the first time in its nearly 250-year history, it has had no spiritual leader at its helm for a prolonged period.
The Rebbe died on June 12, 1994, at the age of 92, the year after Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, the visionary of the Modern Orthodox movement who is known as the Rav, died at 90 on April 9, 1993. The movements have adapted differently to their new realities without an unequivocal leader.
“Great people die sometimes,” Rabbi Menachem Genack, CEO of the Orthodox Union’s kosher division, told JNS. “They are not easily replaced.”
Many Modern Orthodox rabbis of great stature have followed in Soloveitchik’s footsteps, according to Rabbi Genack, spiritual leader since 1985 of Congregation Shomrei Emunah in Englewood. “But, of course, his voice is missing.”
The two leaders had very different approaches, which bred varying sorts of followings, according to Jonathan Sarna, university professor, professor of US Jewish history and director of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis University in Massachusetts.
“Rabbi Soloveitchik did not have Chassidim,” Sarna said, referring to the followers of Chassidic rebbes, who have very close, often emotional, connections to their leaders. “That is part of the difference between his world and the Rebbe’s world.”
The Rav “was a great philosopher,” while the Rebbe was “an enormous personality, and he has these emissaries who carry forth his projects long after he is gone.”
No one now speaks for American Orthodoxy, according to Sarna. “I hope that someone will
take that mantle, but it has not happened yet,” he said.
‘Lack
of a Rebbe hurts’
If there isn’t to be another Rav or another Rebbe, what will it mean for these movements as they approach a time when rabbis can’t burnish their credentials by invoking their status based on proximity to the former luminary and a singular understanding of his teachings?
Since the Rebbe’s death, “it is very obvious that the organizational leadership has succeeded in tremendous accomplishments in the interim,” according to Lawrence Schiffman, professor of Hebrew and Judaic studies at New York University. But without a successor, the many lay members of the movement who don’t run Chabad cen-
ters are “people that are not sure what is going on,” Schiffman told JNS.
Most people who interact with Chabad do so with shluchim (emissaries) — rabbis, their wives and their children — who represent a small percentage of members of the movement.
He recalled attending Chabad programs growing up in which Chabad students would spend three times as long as others completing their prayers with special intensity. “That is all gone,” he said.
To Schiffman, “the old-fashioned Lubavitch Chassidim” aren’t as important as they once were, and the movement is more focused on outreach than inner spirituality. “The lack of a Rebbe ‘,” he said.
“You would think that a Chassidic movement needs new teachings and new inspiration from a leader,” Marc Shapiro, chair in Judaic studies at the University of Scranton, told JNS. “There was once every week a new Chassidic gathering with the Rebbe, someone to turn to.”
“Today, that is dead,” added Shapiro, author of the 2015 book “Changing the Immutable: How Orthodox Judaism Rewrites Its History.”
Young members of the movement “don’t know what it means to be at a gathering with the Rebbe,” he said.
‘How could they feel what I felt?’
Members of the Chabad movement want young people “to feel what they felt, but one cannot convey feelings,” according to one woman who serves as an educator and guidance counselor to many members of the Chabad community, and who spoke with JNS on the condition of anonymity.
“How could they feel what I felt?” she said.
“Saying that ‘the Rebbe would not be happy with this,’ that ‘the Rebbe would be happy with what you are doing,’ I think that is a mistake on
our part,” the educator said. “What we end up doing is being very superficial, very ‘rah-rah’.”
She thinks that the movement ought to focus more on teachings, ideals and principles.
When photographing the Rebbe, documentary photographer Marc Asnin “experienced his love and energy,” Asnin told JNS. “Visiting Chabad Houses across the globe, it is evident that Chabad on many levels have replicated his energy and love.”
“It is a tribute to his inspiration — and his followers’ perseverance — that 30 years after his death, the movement has grown to the extent it has,” Asnin added.
In 2020, the Pew Research Center found that 17% of Jewish Americans reported participating either often (5%) or sometimes (12%) in Chabad activities or services.
‘Still alive’
“Righteous men, even in death, are called ‘alive’,” according to the Talmud. Sivan RahavMeir, an Israeli journalist with deep ties in Chabad, told JNS that the Rebbe is still seen as living in the community.
“They for sure miss the Rebbe, but they wake up in the morning in Thailand, Australia or in Israel, and they think how can they make the world a better place,” she said.
Several people with whom JNS spoke for this article declined to comment about succession within Chabad, with some telling JNS that they feared repercussions for discussing a taboo subject.
Joseph Waks, a former Chabad representative in Brussels, Belgium, is no longer part of the movement nor is he currently a ritually observant Jew. He doesn’t wear a yarmulke, “but I tell everyone that I am undercover Chabad,” he said.
Chabad is the face of Jewish life today, Waks said, and the movement isn’t just about ritual observance. Chabad has “become an empire and lighthouse for everything Judaism.”
Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, the Rav. Yeshiva University.
approach leadership vacuums after 30 years
‘Who is the heir apparent?’
Zev Eleff, president of Gratz College in the Philadelphia area, is an Orthodox rabbi who holds a doctorate in US Jewish history, as well as a former chief academic officer of Hebrew Theological College and vice provost of Touro College Illinois. He has published extensively on contemporary US Orthodox Jewry, among other topics.
Rabbi Eleff told JNS that in contrasting the leadership vacuums at Chabad and Modern Orthodoxy, “I don’t know if you have apples to apples. But you definitely are dealing with fruit.”
Many of the differences between the Rav and the Rebbe are institutional. Soloveitchik “very deliberately” avoided calling himself the head of Yeshiva University, and his role was on par with the university’s president, while Schneerson was “in charge of a discrete movement,” headquartered at 770 Eastern Parkway in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn.
“Their leadership and the structure look very, very different — not unlike, say, the Presbyterian Church and the Catholic Church, which to some extent have very ratcheted-up leadership structures and other denominations do not,” Rabbi Eleff said.
Another difference came in the 1980s, when the Rebbe, after having a stroke, “was very deliberately not sequestered,” while “Rabbi Soloveitchik, by 1985, his family had removed him from the public scene, and pretty much no one was provided access to him,” according to Rabbi Eleff. “The Rebbe’s passing represented a very climactic end. Rabbi Soloveitchik had already been removed from his public influence eight years prior to his death.”
That’s why there was a discussion about succession not in 1993, after the Rav’s death, but in 1985. “There was a contest for the mantle of Rabbi Soloveitchik,” Rabbi Eleff said. The Rebbe, meanwhile, was the “uncontested leader of Chabad,” with an understanding that there
would be no eighth Rebbe after his passing.
These differences occurred against the backdrop in the mid-1980s and early 1990s to the emergence of a “polarized Orthodoxy, whether because of what we would now call today LGBTQ, but at the time was the gay-rights movement,” Rabbi Eleff said. “You have the emergence of a stronger yeshivah-world community, in which the Rav was in some circles certainly persona non grata for his endorsement of general studies, Zionism.”
While Chabad “consolidated and closed ranks over leadership,” Modern Orthodoxy was at a “crossroads,” he added. Some of the rabbis at Yeshiva University took what the Rav taught and moved to the right, while others — largely Rabbis Yitz Greenberg, Avi Weiss and Saul Berman, Rabbi Eleff said — established a more progressive wing of the Modern Orthodox movement.
Someone to challenge Babe Ruth
If there is another Lubavitcher Rebbe in his lifetime, Rabbi Eleff would be shocked, he told JNS. Citing the way the late Conservative rabbi and scholar Arthur Hertzberg described the need for a religious movement to become a corporate structure, he thinks that might be a healthy thing for Chabad.
“Once Apple goes from a very, very wellknown leader, Steve Jobs, to that corporate model, people thought, ‘Well, is Apple going to crumble after Jobs’s early demise?’ The answer is no,” Rabbi Eleff said. “In fact, they’re wealthier than ever before.”
Chabad has yet to find an issue for which it needs another Rebbe, according to Rabbi Eleff, who is working on a book about the concept of greatness in American culture. “Baseball doesn’t want somebody to challenge Babe Ruth,” and young people “think it’s stupid when people compare Lebron James or Kobe Bryant to Michael
Jordan,” he said. “There is a value for the end of leadership.”
Chabad, which even at the lay level doesn’t crave a new Rebbe, “already has an equilibrium and a path forward,” he said, noting that the movement has major infrastructure, like a rabbinic playbook that draws on the Rebbe’s vision for newly ordained rabbis and for rebbetzins, as well as for emissaries who start new centers all over the world.
“Modern Orthodoxy was always contested, and there was a fracturing of all religious movements in the 1980s,” according to Rabbi Eleff. In 1983, there was a “splintering” of the Reform movement over patrilineal descent, and in 1984, in the Conservative movement over ordaining women. “Orthodoxy was already starting to splinter into your left, right and center, with Yeshiva [University] playing the role of the center,” he added.
Chabad and other Chassidic groups are “built differently,” he said.
“They’re built as a sect. They’re able to avoid
what is typically happening in American religion and American Judaism writ large, which is this age of fracture,” Rabbi Eleff said.
These days, there is controversy surrounding the term “Modern Orthodox,” and Yeshiva University, which once identified as such, now calls itself broadly, “the world’s flagship Jewish university.” Rabbi Eleff sees this against the backdrop of broader societal change.
“I don’t get the sense that people are looking for centralized leadership. I get the sense that many people in the Orthodox community have reinterpreted their religious consciousness politically, whether that be with American politics or more likely Israel,” he said.
Rabbi Eleff, who became president of Gratz at age 35 in June 2021, thinks there may well be another undisputed leader of Modern Orthodoxy in his lifetime.
“It may be new individuals or new institutions, I’m not sure. It’s always very cyclical,” he said. “Do I know who that person is? No.”
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, in the 1970s. Tim Boxer, Getty Images
Injured IDF fighter shares rehab story in 5T
By Melissa Berman, LI Herald with The Jewish Star
IDF Major Or Maatuk recounted his rehabilitation journey after being severely injured fighting terrorists in the Gaza war. He spoke during an ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran event at the Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst on Aug. 14 where the Five Towns-Far Rockaway community turned out to honor five physical and occupational therapists from the community who volunteered to help injured IDF soldiers in the Negev.
Maatuk was critically injured when 70 pieces of shrapnel penetrated the left side of his body as he fought terrorists in the Kfar Azar kibbutz near the Gaza border.
For 12 years, Maatuk had been a leader of the Givati Brigade, which was responsible for combating terrorism in the Gaza strip. His unit responded to Kfar Azar on Oct. 7 with the only Israeli armored personnel carrier (called a namer) on site.
He spent 66 consecutive hours fighting off terrorists and rescuing Israelis from safe rooms.
“We eliminated more than 100 terrorists inside Kfar Azar, the terrorists were everywhere,” Maatuk said.
Maatuk’s upper body was sticking out of the namer when a rocket-propelled grenade was shot at his vehicle following 40 minutes of silence. The namer shot back at the RPG and it exploded on impact.
“I raised my upper left extremity to protect my face and hundreds of pieces of shrapnel fly right through me, wounding me severely in my
left shoulder, abdominal area, and chest,” Maatuk said. “I fell back into the namer and I’m bleeding heavily.”
He was taken to Sheba Hospital in Ramat Gan where he needed blood, fluids, and serious operations to survive. His spleen was taken out. His diaphragm and pancreas were sewn up.
Maatuk was in an induced coma and on a respirator for 25 days, emerging from the coma when his wife played a recording of his 2-year-old daughter asking him to wake up.
He was transferred to the ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran Kaylie Rehabilitation Medical Center where he “arrived weak, with poor endurance and I could barely walk,” he said. “My left arm could barely move, I had open wounds and lots of scar tissue which limited my range of motion.”
Due to the severity of his injuries,
Maatuk received round the clock care and spent each day working towards getting stronger and improving his range of motion so he can return to the IDF.
“ADI Negev changed my life, I was there for eight long months, it was extremely hard physically and emotionally,” Maatuk said. “They gave me my life back.”
ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran is a 40-acre rehabilitation center for people living with and touched by disability. They have 170 residents and 190 special education students with multiple severe disabilities. It is also home to the Kaylie Rehabilitation Medical Center, which is the first and only rehabilitation hospital in southern Israel with 72 inpatient rehab beds.
The volunteers — physical therapists Daniel Aryeh of Woodmere and Moshe Richmond of Lawrence, occupational therapists Jesse Vogel of Far Rockaway and Sarah Yas-
trab of Woodmere, and physical therapist Robert Weinberg — spent time at the Kaylie Rehabilitation Medical Center with soldiers who were injured during the war with Hamas. Due to the war, regular staff was evacuated has have not yet returned, leaving ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran short-handed.
“People from the Five Towns sacrificed themselves, their family and vacation time and used it to go to Israel to help soldiers and others at ADI Negev,” said Dr. Shilo Kramer, director of orthopedic rehabilitation at Kaylie. “These are skills as physical and occupational therapists to treat patients from the Negev and provide high level training to other therapists in Israel.”
They were presented certificates and a pair of Shabbat candlesticks hand-made by the special needs residents at ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran.
“On behalf of the administration at ADI Negev, we would like to thank
you for your unwavering dedication to the people of Israel and to our injured IDF soldiers,” Kramer said. Vogel a 13-year member of the Rockaway Nassau Safety Patrol, said he felt compelled to do something after the Oct. 7 attack.
He heard about the volunteer opportunity at ADI Negev through the Emergency Volunteer Program, where they were getting OT and PTs from America credentials in Israel. They sent them to volunteer at a rehabilitation facility for two weeks.
“I immediately jumped at the chance once I got my wife’s seal of approval. I had no idea what I was in for, but I was excited and I couldn’t wait to hit the ground running.”
Vogel praised the amount of detail that went into building ADI Negev so that all aspects were disability accessible, “where our brothers and sisters can be treated with dignity instead of the usual ‘facade’ in a hospital,” Vogel said.
Five Towns volunteers recognized for their work with injured IDF soldiers are pictured with Major Or Maatuk. From left: Physical therapist Daniel Aryeh, ADI director of orthopedic rehab Dr. Shilo Kramer, physical therapist Robert Weinberg, Major Or Maatuk, and occupational therapists Jesse Vogel and Sarah Yastrab.
Hostage wives’ heart-wrenching Tu B’Av letters
By Noam Dvir, Israel Hayom
Israelis celebrated Tu B’Av on Monday, a holiday marked by couples exchanging gifts and heartfelt expressions of love, much like Valentine’s Day in other parts of the world.
Four women, whose partners are held hostage by the Hamas terror organization, wrote poignant love letters to their loved ones to mark the day, sharing their longing and unwavering hope.
In biblical times, Tu B’Av (the 15th day of Av) held significant cultural and religious importance. It marked the start of the grape harvest, when unmarried women would don white garments and dance in the vineyards, hoping to catch the eye of a potential suitor.
Simultaneously, Tu B’Av marked the completion of the annual wood-gathering for the Temple’s main altar, a crucial communal task. While these ancient customs have faded, modern Israel has transformed Tu B’Av into a holiday of love.
Noa Argamani and Avinatan Or were abducted from the Nova Music Festival — where 354 people were murdered — during the Hamas onslaught on southwestern Israel on Oct. 7. Argamani was rescued by the IDF after 246 days in captivity. She wrote to Or, who remains captive:
“Happy Tu B’Av, my love. Every year, you’d surprise me with a bouquet and share the story of Tu B’Av’s origins — how young women in white would dance in the vineyards of Shiloh under the full moon, hoping to find their soulmates. That’s why Tu B’Av symbolizes beauty and love.”
Argamani concluded: “Here’s to many more kisses and days filled with love — together, not apart.”
Raz and Ohad Ben Ami were abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri on Oct. 7. Raz was released in November as part of a ceasefire deal. She wrote to her husband, who remains captive: My dearest Ohad,
It’s been an eternity since we’ve been apart, not by choice but by cruel circumstance. If it were up to us, we wouldn’t be separated for even a moment. Yet here we are, forced apart by a horrific reality for longer than we’ve ever been in our 32 years together. …
How can life go on when you’re not here? How is it possible that my other half has been suffering for so long, and I’m powerless to bring you home? I miss your guidance in all the important decisions we now face.
The girls miss you desperately. They’re at a crucial stage in life, facing big decisions, and they need their father.
• • •
Avital Dekel Chen wrote to her husband, Sagi, who was taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz:
Fifteen years ago, you made me a promise in one of your letters: “We’ll hike together from Mount Sagi to Mount Avital.” It was the first time I realized there were two mountains in Israel bearing our names — Sagi in the south, Avital in the north. The idea of embarking on such a journey together, one that would span the length of our country, filled me with excitement. Despite our many travels across Israel over the years, we never managed to make that particular trip. But your words have stayed with me all this time. Today, I understand that your promise wasn’t just idle talk.
Perhaps that sentence was waiting for this very moment, when we find ourselves separated after 20 years, and all I have to cling to is faith. Faith that we’ll still make that journey together,
with our daughters by our side. …
Know that Barbur and Gali miss you so much and are waiting for you. Be strong, like our love. Today I’m the one who wants to promise you — we’ll still hike from Mount Sagi to Mount Avital.
Lishay Miran wrote to her husband, Omri, who was abducted from Kibbutz Nahal Oz.
My beloved Omri,
The night grows late as another week ends and a new one begins. Our girls are fast asleep, and I find myself here, pen in hand, trying to organize my thoughts and search for the right words.
My darling, I visited Nahal Oz again this week — the fifth time since that fateful day. Every moment I’m there, I’m haunted by the thought that you’re just beyond the fence, so close yet unreachable. Roni’s Rosh Hashana drawings still hang on the wall, a poignant reminder that it’s nearly been a year since you were taken from us. …
This week, the girls finished their year in kindergarten. Roni insisted on wearing your shirt and necklace to the end-of-year party. As we released balloons to mark the occasion, she made a wish in front of everyone for “Dad Omri and everyone to come back.” In Alma’s kindergarten, they placed a yellow chair with your picture. Alma approached it and simply said, “Dad.” You were there with us too, just as you are in every moment of our daily lives.
My darling, I need to ask for your forgiveness. I’m sorry you’re still there. I’m sorry I haven’t managed to bring you home yet. I’m sorry that instead of holding you close and speaking to you face-to-face, I’m writing a letter, clinging to the faint hope that they might let you read it.
I’m so, so sorry. …
To the decision-makers: You have no right to leave Omri and the other 114 hostages behind! The living must be returned for rehabilitation, the fallen and murdered for proper burial. We cannot move forward, we cannot heal, we cannot live in security as long as you remain there in Gaza!
Sagi,
Sagui Dekel-Chen with his wife Avital, 6-year-old daughter Bar and 2-year-old daughter Gali.
Jordan Wright (AD-70) Stefani Zinerman (AD-56) Michael Benedetto (AD-82) George Latimer (CD-16)
Perception warfare: It’s a new game, post-Oct. 7
Dan Diker President, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Hamas’ cognitive war against Israel since its Oct. 7 invasion has been a critical weapon in its arsenal.
The terror organization has gained global sympathy for its fabricated accusations that Israel:
•starves Gazans
•refuses to send in humanitarian aid
•targets civilians with malice of forethought
•fires on tent cities, hospitals, mosques and residential buildings.
While all of these charges have been refuted (including Hamas Ministry of Health casualty numbers) this perception warfare leaves a long-lasting impression.
A case in point is Hezbollah’s deadly rocket attack on the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights on July 27, which killed 12 children and injured scores of others on a soccer pitch, triggering a firestorm of media coverage. Both the IDF and the US government confirmed that the Iranian-made Falaq-1 rocket was fired from the Lebanese town of Chebaa by Hezbollah.
However, some Arabic-language news outlets and social media influencers blamed the bombing on Israel:
•Al-Araby reporter Christine Rinawi was one of many Arab media personnel who platformed the fabricated narrative alleging an Israeli Iron Dome misfire.
•Qatar-based Al Araby’s Rinawi, in a helmet and bulletproof “PRESS” vest, reported live that a man “in a Magen David Adom” shirt told her that “eyewitnesses” said that Israel fired the rocket that hit the soccer field.
•Middle East Eye, a Qatar-funded media outlet, clipped Al-Araby’s report and posted it on Instagram. As of July 30, the post had nearly 24,000 likes, and Instagram users made hundreds of approving comments.
These media outlets attempted to contextualize the tragedy, charging that Israel illegally occupies Majdal Shams, many of whose residents, including the murdered children, hold Syrian citizenship. Arab media implied that Israel killed Syrian nationals but “framed” Hezbollah to extend its war with Hamas to Hezbollah in the north. This claim ignored months
of Hezbollah’s rocket barrage, drone war and targeted shooting into northern Israel.
This misleading media coverage was not limited to Arab news sources. Following the attack, the front page of the Washington Post featured a picture of the funeral of the Druze children, with a headline that declared, “Israel hits targets in Lebanon.” This disconnected photograph and headline created the false perception that Israel had attacked Arab children in Lebanon as opposed to the truth of Hizbullah’s deadly attack against Druze children in Israel’s Golan.
These methods of misinformation are part of a trend of mobilizing and exploiting advanced “perception warfare” alongside Iranian-backed Hezbollah and Hamas terrorism, which has intensified since the Oct. 7 attack. These examples underscore the importance of examining perception as a tool of war, its threat to Israel’s international standing, and how Israel can use its own perception warfare.
Under Iran’s direction, Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist groups have utilized social and mainstream media to project a narrative that presents them as legitimate political entities and “freedom fighters,” transforming the perception of multiple target audiences. These include the Israeli public, the Palestinian public and perhaps most importantly, the US political and public audiences.
The steep rise in global antisemitism following the Oct. 7 massacre in southern Israel is in large part a result of Hamas’ successful perception warfare campaign.
The Iranian-backed Hamas has modeled its anti-Zionist, antisemitic propaganda and disinformation after its ideological predecessors: the Nazis, the Chinese and the Soviets. These regimes have all significantly influenced Palestinian leaders and movements, from Haj Amin alHusseini in the 1920s to the Palestine Liberation Organization beginning in the 1960s.
Iranian regime-sourced and -directed disinformation warfare against Israel and world Jewry, frequently masked as anti-Zionism, complements traditional terrorism acts by Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthi proxies as part of Iran’s “hybrid warfare” strategy.
As Ron Schleifer notes, in psychological operations, “psywar” proponents demoralize a civilian population through fear, terror and emotional manipulation.
Perception warfare as a concept is broader than psywar or political war, as it interferes with the audience’s discernment of the conflict as a whole. The neutral audience observing a conflict accepts the enemy’s messages, influencing the way those audiences receive and interpret information. Images, ideological messages and emotional appeals shape a particular perception of the conflict that benefits the enemy.
Iran and its proxies’ perception warfare has dominated social and mainstream media networks. For example, Qatar, Hamas’s most crucial state sponsor, influences audiences of hundreds of millions through its media giant Al Jazeera, which has showcased its narrative of the “Palestinian issue” in Arabic, English and other languages.
For example, Al Jazeera’s AJ+ venue shapes public opinion worldwide with messages tailored to Western audiences, often diametrically opposed to their messages in Arabic.
Al Jazeera is only one example of a general trend of authoritarian regimes using media tools to control information and shape public consciousness. Perception warfare can be projected outward to foreign audiences and inward to local audiences. Regimes spread messages to support their agenda and ensure continued control while enhancing their political legitimacy. This type of psychological operation is widely used by Russia and communist China, as shown in its “Three Warfares” model.
Maintaining domestic and international legitimacy among Islamist and other terror groups is especially important in the conflict-ridden Middle East. Psychological warfare is a crucial tool for legitimizing totalitarian military actions as well as terror groups, garnering public support and deterring enemies.
Cultural and religious symbolism are essential elements of perception operations, particularly in the Middle East. Symbols and images of Palestinian youth flashing victory signs, telling heroic stories, and making Koranic references serve as powerful tools for maintaining morale and support for jihad. In Islam especially, religious beliefs are intertwined with political and military struggles, mobilizing forces to fight.
The aftermath of Oct. 7 underscored the successful antisemitic weaponization of classic Palestinian propaganda themes.
Hamas’ disinformation campaign succeeded in positioning, as noble “resistance,” its unilateral, strategically designed, barbaric mass terror assault, which killed some 1,200 civilians. Hamas propaganda altered global perceptions, convincing the West, moderate Muslims and the international community to sympathize with a radical Islamic terror organization against a democratic state.
In its continuing perception warfare, Hamas has uprooted facts. Here are just a few examples:
•the Hamas health ninistry’s fabricated death statistics
•the erroneous accusation that the IDF bombed Al Ahli Hospital in November 2023, which was revealed to be an errant rocket shot by Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants
•hiding armaments in UNRWA and other schools and residential buildings
•doctored and directed visual images and video distributed on social media
•using hospitals and mosques as military bases and as tunnel shaft entrances.
This targeted disinformation has enhanced Hamas’ success on the military and international battlefield for public opinion, yielding mendacious international accusations of IDF “starvation warfare,” “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing” culminated in the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice charging Israel with criminal presence and activity in Judea, Samaria and Gaza.
It is incumbent that Israel expose, educate and engage multiple audiences to the reality of its “seven-front” war being waged against it by the Iranian regime and its terror proxies. To strengthen its in-
ternational standing and legitimacy, Israel must bolster its own home audience while exposing the Axis of Evil’s media manipulation to Western and global audiences.
Perceptions pushed by local and foreign mainstream media, whether intentional or not, may cause “battle fatigue” and despair in Israel’s resilient population, becoming part of an existential threat to the Jewish state.
For example, Israeli media’s emphasis on returning the Oct. 7 hostages “at any price” may play to Hamas’ advantage. Similarly, foreign calls for a “ceasefire” may weigh on the Israeli psyche. These messages and antisemitic and anti-Zionist ones have become ubiquitous on social media platforms such as TikTok, with its Chinese-run algorithm, or pushed by Russian and Iranian bots.
These media exposures may affect the home audience’s perception of success and victory in the war and military and diplomatic actions and outcomes. While Arab Muslim culture, defined strongly by concepts of honor and shame more than by numbers of dead, may perceive and declare themselves “victorious” for executing the Oct. 7 massacre, despite the costs.
From
‘hasbara’ to ‘toda’a’
To prevent this potentially harmful outcome, Israel’s government, media and civil society must move from a hasbara (defensive “explanation” of policy) communications approach to a toda’a (assertive perception) communications approach. For this to happen, Israel must deemphasize the importance of defensive explanations for its actions but rather create assertive offensive narratives to attack and undermine its enemies.
Assertive information and perception management in both military and civilian arenas are essential ingredients in exposing and educating multiple audiences on Iran’s propaganda machine.
Israel needs to improve its soft power arsenal to impact various audiences, including the enemy. The enemy must perceive the loss and despair of a long war against Israel.
Israel’s perception warfare must also undermine the mass indoctrination against the Jewish state on Western university campuses. The all-encompassing “intersectionality” narrative that has come to dominate the Western discourse, naming Israel the villain and Hamas the victims, must be defeated by undermining its historical and intellectual falsehoods.
Assertive perception warfare has the power to reverse the inversion of legitimacy whereby Israel has been recast as a terror organization while Hamas is presented as freedom fighters. These Soviet-era narratives and tactics must be eradicated.
To achieve success, Israel must invest resources in civilian awareness, information operations and governmental allocations to bolster Israel’s national security against perception warfare threats.
Soft power must move the Jewish state from defense to offense in its 21st-century existential war of perception. This would push Iran, its Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthi terror loyalists onto their heels, impeding them from driving the mendacious narrative that has successfully co-opted the Western discourse.
Protest poster for a June 8 demonstration in Washington.
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WINE AND DINE
Cherries, one of summer’s premium delights
Kosher Kitchen JoNI SChoCKEtt Jewish Star columnist
When I was a kid, I always wanted the red lollipop, the one that was sure to be cherry. I even fought my brother for the red Lifesaver and feigned a cough so I could have cherry cough drops. Now, I eagerly wait for the short-lived cherry season during which gorgeous, black-red cherries arrive in the grocery stores. They appear in June and usually, by Labor Day or a bit after, are gone. But while they are here, I gobble them up and make everything with them that I possibly can.
I used to wonder why cherries were so expensive. A few years ago, they were six or seven dollars a pound and they rivaled the top spot for expensive fruits. They have come down a bit, but, after some research, I understand a bit more why these prized fruits are a bit pricier than most other fruits.
Seventy-percent of our cherries come from the Pacific Northwest and the major cherry producing region is the Cascade Mountains in Oregon. The trees, if left alone, would grow to about 50 feet in height, beyond the reach of harvesters, so they are vigorously and constantly pruned to 12 to 14 feet.
The trees are coddled and rigorously tended to keep away everything from insects to cherry-loving mice. Organic cherry orchards must do even more to keep their trees healthy and productive. Cherries require pollination by bees, so orchard owners usually rent thousands of hives for four to give days in the spring. And there is more…
Cherry trees require about four feet of water every season, and most of it must be applied just as the fruit starts to grow. Constant watering is expensive and requires more than just automated sprinkler systems. The systems that are used are micro timed and moisture sensitive.
In addition, if the cherries are not dried once fully grown, they will absorb the water and split, rendering them useless, so cherry groves hire helicopters to hover about 5 feet above the trees. The whirring blades blow the water off the fruit, but are gentle enough to leave the cherries on the trees for harvesting, Once the fruit is ripe and dry, the harvest requires 30 people per acre per day.
Cherries are fragile little treasures and must be consumed, processed or shipped immediately, thus even more people are needed. In the end, it costs about $7,000 to $10,000 per acre to grow cherries.
So, the next time you wonder why these glorious little orbs cost so much, remember the time and effort required to grow the perfect cherry and then ship it across the country.
FYI: Cherries are a great source of collagen which helps skin stay young. One cup of cherries has about 100 calories, 3 grams of fiber and 2 grams of protein. Cherries are beneficial in treating asthma and bronchitis, and the dark red flavonoids may help prevent cancer and heart disease.
Chicken or Salmon with Cherry Glaze (Pareve or Meat)
This sauce is great with either grilled salmon or any kind of chicken. You can baste chicken with the sauce during the last few minutes of cooking and then serve the sauce with the chicken to top rice or mashed potatoes.
• 1 large chicken cut into quarters or 8 pieces OR 6 boneless skinless chicken
breasts OR 6 salmon steaks or salmon fillet to feed 6.
• Tarragon, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, to taste
CHERRY SAUCE:
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 4 tsp. cornstarch
• 3 cups fresh black-red cherries, cut in half and pitted, then chopped
• 3/4 cup cherry pomegranate juice or plain pomegranate juice
• 1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice (I love lime, but lemon works)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• OPTIONAL:
• 2 Tbsp. cherry brandy or Kirsch
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• Fresh tarragon leaves, finely minced
Brush the chicken or fish with the olive oil and season with tarragon, salt and pepper. Roast or broil or grill until almost done. Meanwhile place the sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and pomegranate juice in a sauce pan. Stirring constantly, heat over medium heat until it begins to boil. Add the cherries and cook until thick and bubbly. Add the cherry brandy and mix well. Add cayenne and mustard to taste and let cool a bit. If you want to baste cooking food, divide the sauce using one-third for basting and the rest for serving.
Very Berry Fresh Cherry Crumble (Dairy or Pareve)
A dark and delicious dessert that looks gorgeous with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
• 4 cups pitted sweet cherries, rinsed
• 1 cup blackberries
• 1 cup blueberries
• 2 cup raspberries
• 4 to 5 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1/2 cup sugar – more to taste
• 1 to 2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon, lime or orange juice
TOPPING*:
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 extra large egg
• 1/2 stick butter or trans-fat free pareve margarine
• OPTIONAL FOR TOPPING: 1/2 cup oats, shredded, unsweetened coconut, finely chopped almonds or finely chopped walnuts
(*If you like more topping, just double this recipe and you will get a crunchier crumble topping.)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the cherries on half and remove all pits and stems. Place in a large bowl with the other washed and well-drained berries. Add the lemon juice and toss gently. Mix the sugar with the cornstarch and pour over berries. Add more sugar if the berries are too tart. Toss and pour into a 9x13 glass or ceramic baking dish. Set aside. In another bowl, mix the flour, sugar, and baking powder. Gloved hands work best for this. Make a well and add the egg. Mix the flour/sugar into the egg and quickly mix until the mixture is blended and is in uniform grains about the size of orzo or rice. Gently spread handfuls of the mixture over the fruit so that the fruit is completely covered. Melt the butter or margarine and drizzle over the flour mixture.
Bake in oven until bubbly and golden brown, about 45 to 55 minutes. Let cool a bit and serve with vanilla “ice cream or pareve whipped topping. Serves 8 to 12.
Cherry Cream Cheese
Brownies (Dairy)
• 1-3/4 cups halved, pitted dark, firm cherries
• 1 Tbsp. Kirsch or other cherry liqueur
• 5 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
• 5 ounces dark sweet chocolate
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 extra large eggs
• 1 cup unbleached flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• OPTIONAL: 1 package chocolate chips (12 oz.)
Cream Cheese Swirl (Dairy)
• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 stick plus 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp. unbleached flour
• 1 extra large egg
Heat the oven to 375 and grease a 9x13 pan. Set aside.
Pit and halve the cherries and place in a small bowl. Add the cherry liqueur, if desired, and mix. Set aside.
Place the chocolates, sugar and butter in a heavy to duty saucepan over a very low heat and stir until just completely melted. Set aside to cool slightly.
Break the eggs into the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes. When the eggs are very light, slowly pour in the cooled chocolate mixture. Add the vanilla. Mix until fully blended. Remove the bowl from the stand. Add the flour and baking powder and mix just until well blended. Add half the cherries and the liqueur. If you like, add the chocolate chips. Set aside.
FOR THE CREAM CHEESE:
Wash out the bowl of the electric mixer and place the softened cream cheese and butter in it. Whip until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the almond and vanilla extracts and the sugar. Add the egg and mix on high until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Remove the bowl from the stand. Add the rest of the cherries with any remaining liquid and the flour. Mix well.
Pour the chocolate brownie batter into a well-greased 9x13 pan. Drop the cream cheese mixture by spoonfuls evenly over the batter. Take a sharp knife and swirl it through
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until just set. Let cool before cutting. Makes 12 to 24 brownies.
OPTIONAL: Top with cherries cooked with some cherry juice, sugar, and a bit of cornstarch for thickening. Drizzle with melted chocolate!
Cherry Peach Clafoutis (Dairy)
• 2 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 3 to 4 ripe, sweet peaches, not too large, cut in half, stone removed
• 3/4 to 1 lb. ripe sweet cherries, pits removed
• OPTIONAL: 2 Tbsp. Kirsch liqueur or Amaretto
• 1/3 (generous) cup sugar plus 3 Tbsp. for sprinkling
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup unbleached flour
• 1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. pure almond extract
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Melt the butter and pour into a cast iron frying pan (10-inch), a 10-inch, deep-dish pie plate or a 2-quart, deep baking dish.
Pit the cherries and place them in an even layer in the baking dish. Cut the peaches in half. Cut each half into two or three wedges. Set them among the cherries. Set aside. Place the Kirsch, milk, cream, eggs, 1/3 cup sugar, flour, and extracts in a blender. Process on medium for 1 minute or until evenly blended. Pour the batter evenly and gently over the cherries. Place in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the remaining sugar evenly over the top. Place back in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a
tester comes out clean and the center jiggles just a bit. Remove from the oven and let cool. Serve directly from the pan. Serves 8 to 10.
Cherry Almond Muffins (Dairy)
• 2-1/2 cups flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 extra large egg
• 1 cup low-fat or regular sour cream
• 1-1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. pure almond extract
• 2-1/4 cups fresh pitted cherries, cut in pieces about one-half inch
STREUSEL OPPING:
• 1/2 cup finely chopped almonds
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup melted butter
ALTERNATE TOPPINGS:
• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 2 Tbsp. vanilla almond milk
• 1/4 tsp. pure almond extract
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper muffin liners. Sift the flour, baking powder and soda in a large bowl. Cream the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until well blended. Add the sour cream and vanilla and almond extracts beat well. Reduce the speed to the lowest possible and add the flour in two parts, blending after each addition. The batter will be thick. Remove the bowl from the stand and fold in the cherries. Divide among the 12 cups. Mix the melted butter, almonds and sugar together and divide among the 12 muffins. Bake until cooked through, 13 to 16 minutes. Let cool.
NOTE: You can omit the streusel topping and use the following: Alternate topping: Mix sugar and almond extract adding some almond milk if necessary to make a thick “drizzle.” Drizzle a spoonful of topping on each warm muffin. Makes 12 muffins.
jewish star torah columnists:
•Rabbi Avi Billet of Anshei Chesed, Boynton Beach, FL, mohel and Five Towns native •Rabbi David Etengoff of Magen David Yeshivah, Brooklyn
•Rabbi Binny Freedman, rosh yeshiva of Orayta, Jerusalem
contributing writers:
•Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks zt”l,
former chief rabbi of United Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth •Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh
Weinreb, OU executive VP emeritus
•Rabbi Raymond Apple, emeritus rabbi, Great Synagogue of Sydney •Rabbi Yossy Goldman, life rabbi emeritus, Sydenham Shul, Johannesburg and president of the South African Rabbinical Association.
The Torah is a work of wondrous depth and subtlety, so much so that we can easily miss some of its most profound intimations. There is a fine example in this week’s sedra, Eikev. It concerns the character of the land of Israel. Ultimately, however, it is a haunting glimpse into the nature of Jewish destiny itself, then and now.
If we were to ask ourselves what picture we have of the promised land, from the beginning of the Exodus until now, the answer is simple. Israel is the land “flowing with milk and honey.” (Incidentally, the mid-20th century scholar R. Reuven Margoliot once pointed out that when the land of Israel is praised in the Torah, it is always in terms of its vegetation, never in terms of its animal products. Why then is there an apparent exception in the case of the famous phrase that references milk and honey?
The honey referred to, he notes, is not from bees but from the date palm. On that, many commentators concur. Margoliot’s radical suggestion relates to “milk.” We know from many texts that Israel was famed for its grapes and wine. But the biblical yayyin (wine) standardly refers to red wine. Chalav (the word we translate as milk), says Margoliot, means white wine, and is called chalav because of its milky appearance.
Even the spies, despite their gloomy report, cannot deny its fruitfulness: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit.”
Early in this week’s sedra Moses delivers a magnificent poem to this effect: “For the L-rd your G-d is bringing you into a good land — a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey, a land where bread will not be scarce, and you will lack nothing.”
Thus far the promised land conjured up in
Israel is a place where not just wheat and barley, but the human spirit also, grew. The land where people were lifted beyond themselves.
our imagination is indeed a land of promise, another Eden, an earthly paradise. However, as the lawyers say: always read the small print. It comes several chapters later and is fateful in its implications. For the first time in forty years, Moses uses a quite different tone when speaking about the land of Israel:
The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden. But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven. It is a land the L-rd your G-d cares for; the eyes of the L-rd your G-d are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end.
The point is made briefly, almost in passing, yet it makes all the difference. It is indeed a fine land, but … it is not like other fine lands. Civilization began when human beings first turned from hunting and gathering to agriculture and the domestication of animals. This led to the first concentrations of population, the birth of cities, then city states, then nations and empires. The Torah sketches this process in broad outlines.
It began in Mesopotamia, in the fertile plain between the Tigris and Euphrates, and then in Egypt, in the Nile delta. These were ideal places for the development of agriculture because water was supplied by rivers, and irrigation was a simple matter of making ditches and channels. Water, on which crops depended, was reliable (the one danger in the low-lying lands of Mesopotamia was of floods — hence the presence of flood narratives, not only in the Torah but in all literatures of that place and time).
The land of Israel, says Moses, is not like that. It is not a fertile plain. It is a land of hills and valleys. It depends on rain — and rain in the Middle East, then and now, is unpredictable.
Suddenly, in this discordant note, we recall a whole series of earlier episodes in the book of Bereishit in which we read the words, “and there was a famine in the land.” This led, first Abraham, then Isaac, then Jacob and his children, into a series of journeys and exiles (the Book of Ruth begins with another famine, which forces Elimelech and his family to the land of Moab). Life in Israel will never be as stable, permanent and secure as it is elsewhere. Those who live there are vulnerable, if to nothing else, then to periodic drought. They will exist in a permanent state of insecurity, never knowing in advance whether the seeds they plant will grow or not. Israel is the land of promise, but it will always depend on He-whopromises.
Is geography destiny? Judah Halevi thought so. He writes, in “The Kuzari:”
We do not find in the Bible, “If you keep this law, I will bring you after death into beautiful gardens and great pleasures.” On the contrary, it is said, “You shall be my chosen people, and I will be a G-d unto you, who will guide you. … in the
country [with] its fertility or barrenness, its happiness or misfortune, depend upon the divine influence which your conduct will merit, whilst the rest of the world will continue its natural course.
“For if the Divine Presence is among you, you will perceive by the fertility of your country, by the regularity with which your rainfalls appear in their due seasons, by your victories over your enemies in spite of your inferior numbers, that your affairs are not managed by simple laws of nature, but by the divine will. You will also see that drought, death, and wild beasts pursue you as a result of disobedience, although the whole world lives in peace. This shows you that your concerns are arranged by a higher power than mere nature.”
Unpacking this in non-mystical terms, we can say that the character of a country — its topography and climate — affects the kind of society people build, and hence the culture and ethos that emerge. In Mesopotamia and Egypt, the most powerful reality was the regularity of nature, the succession of the seasons which seemed to mirror the slow revolution of the stars.
The cultures to which both places gave rise was cosmological and their sense of time cyclical. The universe seemed to be ruled by the heavenly bodies whose hierarchy and order was replicated in the hierarchy and order of life on earth. This is the mindset of the world of myth.
Israel, by contrast, was a land without regularities. There was no guarantee that next year would be like this, or this year like last; no certainty that the rain would fall and the earth yield its crops or the trees their fruit. Thus in Israel a new sense of time was born — the time we call historical.
Those who lived, or live, in Israel exist in a state of radical contingency. They can never
take the future for granted. They depend on something other than nature (even Ben-Gurion knew this. He once said: “In Israel, in order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles”). To put it at its simplest: in Egypt, where the source of life was the Nile, you looked down. In Israel, where the source of life is rain, you had no choice but to look up.
This is a theme we have met before. In the course of the first war the Israelites had to fight for themselves, against Amalek, we read: As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites prevailed, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites prevailed.
On this, the Mishnah comments: Did the hands of Moses make or break war? Rather, the text implies that whenever the Israelites looked up and dedicated their hearts to their father in heaven, they prevailed, but otherwise they fell.
Israel, the land “that drinks rain from heaven,” is a place whose inhabitants would be ever mindful of their dependence on the fact that “the eyes of the L-rd your G-d are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end”. It is the place where you have to look up to survive.
And so it was. Israel’s existence as a nation in its land was never secure. Its greatest moment, under King Solomon, did not last. Immediately after his death, the people split into two kingdoms, neither of which could, or did, sustain their independence for long.
Israel is by its very nature a vulnerable place, a strategic location at the meeting point of three continents, always at the mercy of surrounding empires but never the basis of an empire itself. Thus were the terms of the covenant — and the prophetic interpretation of history — set from
See Sacks on page 22
We’re a ‘stiff-necked’ people. Is that so bad?
We Jews have been called lots of things. Some of the less offensive appellations are stubborn, or obstinate. Curiously, not all the rabbis see stubbornness as a fault.
In this week’s reading, Eikev, Moses continues his recap of the events of the last 40 years and speaks of the terrible sin of the Golden Calf: “Then, G-d spoke to me and said, I have observed this people and behold, it is a stiffnecked people.”
The phrase first appears back in Exodus 34 when the episode occurred. There, it is Moses
who is arguing for his people’s forgiveness and says to the Almighty, “For they are a stiffnecked people. … V’solachto, and You should forgive our sins.” Various explanations are given as to how our stiff-neckedness might be a reason to be forgiven. Some say it means if or even though we are stiff-necked.
But according to the 14th-century sage, RaLbaG (Gersonides), quoting his sagacious grandfather and referencing the Midrash Rabah, it is a significant positive quality. The Jews will stubbornly stick to their identity and character no matter what. Precisely because we are stiff-necked and cling to our faith tenaciously, therefore should we be forgiven.
We Jews could have made our lives much easier by not being so stiff-necked and by “cooperating” with our enemies. How many Jewish martyrs chose the sword over the
cross when knights in shining armor — the Crusaders — massacred thousands upon thousands of us? Those Jews could have chosen to play the game rather than face martyrdom. But they refused to abandon the One G-d of Israel, even if it meant paying with their lives.
In more than 2000 years of active Christian missionizing, the number of Jews who voluntarily gave up their faith for the dominant religion was so few that the campaign can only be considered a massive failure.
It is my speculation that this is why the Jews for Jesus movement came about. The missionaries saw that even non-observant Jews were not prepared to abandon the faith of their forefathers, so they cleverly concocted a more favorable option. You can still be a Jew. Just be for Jesus. Sadly, too many ignorant Jews fell for that line.
Admittedly, sometimes assimilation was a seemingly logical response to antisemitism. Eighty years ago, when being Jewish in Europe carried a death sentence, many who managed to escape fled to the furthest places they could find and never even told their children they were Jewish. They might not have embraced any other faith, but they chose not to put their children’s lives in danger by attempting to lose their identity.
Jews overwhelmingly, have not succumbed to either intimidation or temptation and have remained loyally Jewish. So we are taught that it is to our credit that we can be stubborn and staunch in clinging to our Jewish identity.
It’s a little bit like the old Charlie Brown of “Peanuts” fame. Charlie was determined to
Elevating ourselves each time we bless Hashem
What motivates some people to do more than just appreciate the blessings they have in their lives and to actually be a vehicle for blessing?
This week’s portion, Eikev, contains one of the pivotal verses of the entire Torah regarding the concept of blessings:
Ve’achalta’ ve’sava’ta’ u’verachta’ et Hashem Elokecha al ha’aretz hatovah asher natan lach. (And [when] you shall eat and be satisfied and bless G-d your G-d for the good land which He has given you.) (Devarim 8:10)
This verse is the biblical basis for the Birkat Hamazon, the four blessings we say after a meal which includes a satisfying helping of bread, and begs a number of questions. First, how does one bless G-d?
Thanking G-d is one thing — after all, it makes sense to be appreciative of all the gifts we are blessed with and the value of being thankful for it all, especially to the source of all good in this world. But what does it mean to bless G-d? Why would G-d need our blessings, much less demand them? In fact, what exactly is a blessing?
At a Friday night dinner, I recall a fellow who seemed quite prominent in his shul, and who sponsored the evening in memory of his son who had passed away in a tragic car accident. At the end of dinner, thinking it would be appropriate, I asked him
This week in Parshat Eikev we read of Moshe telling the people of what’s to come when they cross the Jordan River and enter the land inhabited by populations much larger and stronger than them: “Don’t worry. G-d will pass before you as a consuming fire. He will drive them out and destroy them.”
Then comes the warning: “When G-d repulses them before you, do not say to your-
selves, ‘It was because of my virtue that G-d brought me to inherit this land.’ It was because of the wickedness of these nations that G-d is driving them out before you. It was not because of your virtue and basic integrity that you are coming to inherit their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations whom G-d is driving out before you.
“It is also because G-d is keeping the word that He swore to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Therefore, realize that it is not because of your virtue that G-d your L-rd is giving you this land as an inheritance, since you are a very stubborn nation. Remember and never forget how you provoked G-d your L-rd in the desert. From the day you left Egypt until you came here, you have been rebelling
if he would honor us by leading the blessings after the meal but he politely declined, saying “I don’t do that!”
Given that he appeared knowledgeable in Judaism and familiar and even comfortable with Jewish tradition, I was surprised by his comment and later found the opportunity to ask him what he meant.
“I used to buy it all — the whole nine yards,” he explained to me. “And I still think Judaism is an incredible system with a magnificent community structure. I grew up religious and have never driven on Shabbat nor knowingly placed non-kosher food in my mouth, and I never will. I even believe in G-d — who else could be the reason we are all here?
“But after He took my son, I’ll be damned if I’m ever going to bless Him again!”
While at the time, due to the circumstances,
I wasn’t able to have the long discussion such a comment almost demands (and of course, far be it from me to have the arrogance to judge such a person, given the pain he had obviously suffered). I did manage to ask him what he thought blessings were. He responded that he had never really thought about it, but upon reflection realized he considered it to be a form of thanksgiving and recognition (and he felt himself unable to be fully thankful to a G-d whom he perceived to have taken his son). And yet, blessings are not really about saying thank you. The Hebrew word for thanks is todah, which is very different from the Hebrew word for blessing, which is bracha
n fact, thanksgiving is an entirely different topic, and we do in fact have many blessings that are about thanksgiving, such as the
against G-d. Even at Horeb you provoked G-d! And G-d was ready to display anger and destroy you.”
Were these two sentiments in different parts of the Torah, there would be no issue. But they are back to back, which suggests — as they are part of the same speech — that Moshe was repeating himself. Was Moshe repeating himself? If yes, why? And if no, then what are we to take from the seeming repetition?
One of the lessons I recall from a homiletics class I took in rabbinical school is to “tell them what you’re going to say, say it, and then summarize what you told them.”
It’s an effective tool for helping people retain your message. Perhaps Moshe was utilizing
the Homiletics Playbook.
On the other hand, if Moshe is not using that strategy, then he is making different points in each of these two narratives. Which is why you should never trust a question like this, because until you see the big picture, the question is a distraction from the reality.
As Parshat Va’etchanan ended last week, its concluding statement was yet another ringing endorsement for the need to observe and keep the commandments. Then Parshat Eikev begins with the signature phrase, “Eikev Tish’m’oon (on account of your listening to G-d, good things will happen).”
Moshe’s monologue continues, covering
Rabbi Shai Held’s latest book, “Judaism Is About Love: Recovering the Heart of Jewish Life,” is the culmination of a career spent correcting a great misconception, namely that “Christianity is the religion of love” while “Judaism is the religion of law.”
“My aim is to tell the story of Jewish theology, ethics, and spirituality through the lens of love,” Held writes, “and thereby to restore the heart — in both senses of the word — of Judaism to its rightful place.”
A similar point could be made about Zionism.
Over the past year, anti-Israel protesters have been working to transform the word “Zionist” into a slur. “Zionism” is equated with racism, colonialism and even terrorism. To be a Zionist is to be accused of supporting genocide.
In response, Jews have tried to push our own definition, insisting that Zionism is simply the belief that Jews have the right to self-determination in their ancient homeland.
It’s not a bad strategy or a bad definition, but this dry political formu-
lation fails to capture why so many Jews around the world feel such a deep connection to Israel.
Before Theodor Herzl’s day, Zionists were known as Chovevei Tzion, “lovers of Zion.” Their Zionism was rooted primarily in a profound love of place.
We love Israel because we love the scent of rosemary in Jerusalem and night-blooming jasmine in Tel Aviv. We love Israel because we love the feel of Hebrew on our lips and the particular way a cucumber tastes here. We love Israel because of the kindness of
the people, the beauty of winding streets and the watchful gaze of the stray cats.
The nature of this love is somewhat mysterious to me. Do we love Israel because it is beautiful? Or is it beautiful because we love it? Would we feel this way about any Jewish state in the promised land simply because it is the realization of an ancient dream? Or is there truly something different about this place — some indefinable magic — that accounts for the effect that this country has on people?
It’s impossible to know for sure, but I often wonder what the state of Zionism would be like if Israel were different: If the cities were dreary and lifeless; if the food was bland; if the people were less beautiful and charm-
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Belgian magazine’s bloody call to murder Jews
Alittle less than a year after Nazi Germany invaded Belgium in May 1940, the Jews in the city of Antwerp — where slightly more than 50% of the country’s Jews lived at that time — were subjected to a pogrom. The violence on April 10, 1941, was carried out by supporters of a Flemish Nazi organization under the approving eyes of German officers. “They attacked two synagogues and a rabbi’s home,” according to an account published by Yad Vashem, Israel’s national memorial to the Holocaust, “and were not restrained by the fire department or police.”
Paul-Henri Rips, who was 11 years old when he witnessed the pogrom, recalled that the synagogue his father had helped to found was set alight by the mob. “Now, as I stood on the corner, all I saw was a heap of prayer books, Torah scrolls and ark curtains burning on the sidewalk, flames leaping high from the building itself as it burned,” he wrote in a sub-
‘I want to ram a knife through the throat of every Jew I meet.’
sequent memoir. “Although the fire brigade was present, members of the Vlaamsch Nationaal Verbond (VNV, the Flemish National Union) and German officers standing nearby prevented them from extinguishing the fire.”
The mob in Antwerp had been fired up by a screening of the vicious Nazi Party propaganda film “Der ewige Jude” (“The Eternal Jew”). Shot in the ghettos of Lodz and Warsaw in Poland, the film — directed by the Nazi cineaste Fritz Hippler — depicted Jews as physically grotesque and morally depraved, rats in human form bent on world domination. One year later, the deportation of Jews in Belgium to Auschwitz and other concentration camps began in earnest.
The stench of that noxious, pogrom-stoking atmosphere pervades the latest edition of Humo, a Flemish-language weekly that purports to be a satirical magazine. One of its regular contributors, 66-year-old Herman Brusselmans, published a column that is a strong candidate for the most dangerously antisemitic article to appear online and in print in the 10 months since the Hamas pogrom in southern Israel unleashed a new wave of global Jew-hatred. Because, for all of the horrific content we’ve been exposed to during this period, explicit calls for violence outside of social-media posts have been rare.
Not so with Brusselmans, who wrote candidly in a publication that enjoys a healthy circulation in Belgium that the actions of the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza made him “so angry that I want to ram a knife through the throat of every Jew I meet.” That must have
Stab every Jew? Publisher says sorry
In the face of an uproar and the threat of litigation, the Belgian magazine that published a call to “stab every Jew in the throat” has pulled the article.
Humo magazine at first refused to apologize, explaining that it “is certainly not an anti-Semitic magazine.”
The Brussels-based European Jewish Association called removal of the article, by Flemmish writer Herman Brusselmans, “a step in the right direction,” but said that the legal case against the writer, the magazine and the publisher would continue so that “justice is properly and meaningfully served.”
“The author has shown zero remorse for his ‘thought experiment’ of murdering any Jew he meets in the street,” said EJA chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin. “A strong, uncompromising response is absolutely nec-
essary lest others think they can also call publicly for the mass murder of Jews.’
“The fact that they removed the article is essentially just stopping the bleeding,” Yohan Benizri, former president of the Belgian Federation of Jewish Organizations, told JNS, noting that the magazine is convinced this is appropriate satire. “A judge needs to rule on whether this is incitement to hatred and antisemitic hate speech.”
“I see an image of a crying and screaming Palestinian boy, frantically calling for his mother buried under the rubble, and I imagine that boy is my own son Roman and the mother my own girlfriend Lena, and I become so furious that I want to stab every Jew I encounter in the throat with a sharp knife,” Brusselmans’ article reads.
“Of course, you always have to remember:
not every Jew is a murderous bastard, and to embody that thought, I imagine an elderly Jewish man shuffling through my street, dressed in a faded shirt, fake cotton pants, and old sandals, and I feel pity for him and almost tear up, but later I wish him to hell, and yes, that’s a mood swing, and my upcoming collection will unfortunately be full of them,” it continues.
In response to w Brusselmans called his column “a thought exercise about how I would react if it were my loved ones who were affected.”
“In the conditional tense. That sentence about the sharp knife is purely figurative, to emphasize the message. And that falls under the right to freedom of expression,” he told the Flemish newspaper Nieuwsblad.
Between 40,000 and 50,000 Jews live in Belgium, mostly in Antwerp and Brussels. GLOBAL
been how the Flemish Nazis felt in April 1941, as they left the cinema hunting for Jews and brimming with the hatred imparted by Hippler’s film.
See Cohen on page 22
Herman Brusselmans with his partner Lena, on Oct. 15, 2023. Dirk Annemans, WikiCommons
Dutch poster for the Nazi propaganda film, “Der ewige Jude” (“The Eternal Jew”). WikiCommons
Campus Jews: Let’s start making ‘good trouble’
Benjamin Kerstein
From israel
American Jews are beginning to respond to systemic antisemitism in higher education by “voting with their feet.”
The New York Post reported this week that, for the first time, no graduate of the Ramaz School on Manhattan’s Upper East Side will be attending Columbia University’s liberal arts college this fall.
Ramaz told the Post that it has warned students about the extent of antisemitism on various campuses and Rory Lancman — an activist, academic, former politician and Columbia graduate — is quoted saying: “Jewish
How do American Jews avoid being ghettoized?
families are voting with their feet and choosing colleges and universities that take antisemitism seriously. I would not recommend my daughters to apply to Columbia or other colleges that aren’t committed to protect them as Jews.”
This informal boycott is entirely understandable. Indeed, Columbia may be the most institutionally antisemitic major institution in the United States, hosting a “Center for Palestine Studies” that is, essentially, a shrine to Edward Said, an alleged scholar who dedicated his entire intellectual life to demonizing Israel and its supporters.
It should have been no surprise, then, that when mobs of genocidal racists took over the Columbia campus earlier this year and harassed, intimidated and assaulted Jews, the university leadership refused to take early and decisive action. Instead, it threw its Jewish students to the wolves. The mobs were only ejected at the end of the semester after they smashed a campus building.
Recently, Columbia president Minouche Shafik thankfully resigned, but there is little doubt that, as soon as the new
school year begins, antisemitism’s conquest and colonization of the university will resume. There is, after all, no one willing to stop it.
Given this, it is not surprising that Jewish students have decided not to waste their talents and money on Columbia University. Indeed, it would have been surprising if they even considered doing so.
But it is worth asking whether “voting with their feet” is the correct route for American Jews to take.
It may not be, because it is the avowed purpose of today’s antisemites, led by the
The National Guard can protect Jewish students
LeOnarD GrUnstein
Lawyer, Philanthopist
Iremember when Alabama Gov. George Wallace in 1963 barred entry of two students, James Hood and Vivian Malone, to the University of Alabama because of their race.
The response from President John F. Kennedy and his brother Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy was electric. First, Deputy US Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach personally confronted the governor at the University of Alabama and sought in vain to convince him to desist. Kennedy reacted by federalizing the Alabama National Guard.
The two students returned to the university but, this time, Gen. Henry Graham was there with a National Guard unit to assure their entry unmolested by the governor or anyone else.
The following year, under President Lyndon Johnson, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. It included Title VI, protecting students’ right not to be discriminated against in schools, colleges or
universities receiving federal assistance based on their race or national origin.
This prohibition encompasses any discrimination, including harassment, based on a student’s actual or perceived 1) shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics or 2) citizenship or residency in a country with a dominant religion or distinct religious identity.
The history of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its expansion over time is inspirational. Yet there is still one type of discrimination and harassment that survives and is even gaslighted: Discrimination against Jews.
There are forces hard at work discriminating against and harassing Jews on college campuses, as detailed in a number of lawsuits filed against offending colleges and universities. Congressional hearings on the subject have shed light on the wrongdoing. The problem is pervasive and there does not appear to be an end in sight. Indeed, the groups leading the Jew-hatred efforts are threatening to renew their offensive conduct at the beginning of the new academic year.
The situation is so dire that Federal Judge Mark Scarsi in California issued a preliminary in-
See Grunstein on page 23
Key boundaries for civilized political discourse
We were remined during the three weeks of multiple opinions in the Talmud encouraging introspection over interpersonal relationships. Their suggestion stems from the opinion that it was baseless hatred between Jews that caused G-d to castigate the Jews, destroy their Temples and exile them from their land.
One area the Jewish community needs to
Keep to the truth, don’t be extreme — and put Jews, Israel and country over party.
pay particularly close attention to is its behavior in the area of political discourse. These conversations and social media interactions tend to become vicious in today’s political climate.
Through discussions and debates over the war in Gaza and Israeli or American politics, keeping the conversations civil and respectful must remain a top priority for the Jewish community. In both the Diaspora and Israel, division is a plague that spreads rapidly and it isn’t one the Jewish people can afford to run rampant.
For political discourse to remain civilized, those involved in political dialogue must adhere to three rules: First, keep to the truth and don’t lie. Second, don’t be extreme — employ nuance. Third, put Jews, Israel and country over party.
Telling the truth is a value most people are taught as children. For many, sticking to the truth and not telling a lie is a cardinal value. At the same time, it seems that when politics are discussed many shift from valuing truth to believing the ends justify the means; and they lie to advance their party, candidate or
position. But rarely, if ever, is lying justified in political discourse.
There are several concerns when sticking to the truth besides outright lying by fabricating false information and spreading it.
A person who spreads false information is just as guilty of poisoning political discourse as one who fabricates the information.
Unfortunately, mainstream media and certainly less reputable sources of information can no longer be relied upon to tell the truth. All too often, their information turns out to be false. Spreading a headline, video or screenshot and assuming it’s true just because “it was on the news” is not a valid excuse for someone who wants to stick to the truth. A person who wants to inform others is responsible for verifying their information.
In addition, lying by commission and omission is just as grievous an infraction. Telling the truth requires telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
It is easy to paint opposing opinions as extreme while viewing your own opinion as moderate. Intellectual honesty is crucial to recognizing when your opinion is veering to
the extreme and is no longer moderate. It is just as easy to paint your opponent as an enemy as it is to paint them as extreme. Just because someone has an opinion that differs from yours doesn’t make them your enemy; it makes them your opponent.
Israel’s first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and its first opposition leader Menachem Begin were political rivals, but they never saw each other as the enemy. They felt their opponent advocated political positions that were dangerous for Israel and, if implemented, could bring the destruction of Israel itself. Yet they never canceled their opponent; they saw them as a brother and a fellow Israeli. Jewish tradition, as illustrated by Maimonides and many other Jewish scholars, is to stay moderate on issues and in behavior. An important way of staying away from the extremes is to employ nuance when discussing controversial issues. Employing nuance requires looking at issues from different perspectives and not just the way you understand it.
Israel hasn’t escaped the bitter political
See Pilichowski on page 23
See Kerstein on page 22
The late Rep. John Lewis before memorial services for Rep. Elijah Cummings at the US Capitol in 2019. Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Pool, Getty Images
Attempting to block integration at the University of Alabama on June 11, 1963, Gov. George Wallace is confronted by Deputy US Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach. Library of Congress
Straight talk: The Palestinians deserve nothing
Jason shvili Facts and logic about Middle East (FlaME)
The Palestinian Arab cause is among the most successful in world history, generating untold political, economic and emotional assistance from Western people and nations. Yet ironically, few if any causes — or peoples — are objectively less deserving of such immense support than the hapless Palestinians.
For decades, the support enjoyed by Palestinians from Westerners has exceeded that received by any other cause or group anywhere in the world.
Palestinian “liberation” is supported by huge protests on campuses, highways and plazas, as well as boycotts against Israeli businesses and scholars. The war deaths of Palestinians are the subject of desperate demands for a ceasefire. The Palestinians receive billions of dollars in aid from Western countries. Since 1947, the US and other nations have offered them political salvation in the form of land-for-peace offers and the promise of a “two-state solution.”
Paradoxically, the Palestinians have done virtually nothing to deserve this support. They have utterly failed to prepare themselves for a future living beside their Jewish neighbors in peace.
As for an independent state, the Palestinians received many generous offers over the last 75 years, all of which they have rejected. They met these offers with war and terrorism.
This is no surprise since polls show most
$40 billion in international funds. For what?
Palestinians do not support the much-vaunted two-state solution that Westerners doggedly promote. In reality, since the Palestinians’ primary enterprise is annihilating Israel, they have little interest in peace, statehood or democracy.
Why, then, do the Palestinians enjoy such persistent Western sympathy and more aid per capita than any other people?
The Palestinians have done their best to promote the false myth that they are victims; specifically, a people of color fighting for liberation from European settlers, though the Jews are indigenous to Israel. This myth plays especially well with the West’s far-left since it fits the neoMarxist ideology of critical race theory and alleged sins of “colonial enterprises.”
The Palestinians see no future living alongside a Jewish state in peace. This is not surprising since, according to an Anti-Defamation League survey, Palestinians are the world’s most antisemitic people, with some 92% holding anti-Jewish beliefs, fed a daily diet of antisemitism in their media, mosques and children’s school textbooks. Jews are routinely described as “impure” and “sons of apes and pigs.”
A recent poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR) confirmed that some 76% of Palestinians expressed support for Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre. In fact, the majority of Palestinians want Hamas to continue ruling Gaza “the day after” its war against Israel.
Israel, with US support, offered the Palestinians statehood three times over a decade — in 2000, 2001 and 2008. But despite offers of more than 95% of Judea and Samaria, all of the Gaza Strip and even territory inside pre-1967 Israel, the Palestinians still refused.
Instead, Palestinians have replied with increasingly ruthless terrorism; more suicide bombings, shootings, stabbings, car rammings and, of course, the Oct. 7 savagery.
The Palestinians have failed to create institutions to support statehood. Their parliament has not functioned since 2007. There have been no elections since 2006 and 88-year-old Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas is now in the 19th year of his four-year term.
Today the PA is losing control of territory in Judea and Samaria to terrorist militias. The PA already lost Gaza to a Hamas coup in 2007.
The Palestinians have failed to create a sustainable economy. Despite receiving more than $40 billion in international funds since the signing of the 1993 Oslo Accords, the Palestinian economy is still dependent on foreign aid, plagued by rampant corruption and high unemployment. Today’s most lucrative economic opportunity for young Palestinians? “Pay-forslay”: The PA, which spends nearly $350 million annually funding this terrorist policy.
While ordinary Palestinians struggle with unemployment and poverty, their leaders get rich. Today, Abbas has a net worth of more than $100 million. Assassinated Hamas strongman Ismail Haniyeh died with assets of some $4 billion. Both the PA and Hamas have learned that by keeping their subjects underdeveloped and radicalized, they can attract more foreign aid and then embezzle it.
While the Palestinians have attracted massive financial, political and emotional support from the US and Western powers, they have done virtually nothing to deserve it. How much longer can antisemitic and neo-Marxist sympathies sustain them?
Unpacking Times attempt to take down Bari Weiss
The New York Times’ long-form criticism of Bari Weiss last week struck me as hypocritical and dishonest — and a long time in coming. I suppose even for the Times, it takes a while to figure out how to try to marginalize someone who disagrees with your ideology while pretending that you actually really like them as a person.
At the crux of the piece — which filled three pages of the Sunday Times print edition on Aug. 11 — the newspaper cites a critic of Weiss as saying that her Free Press is “entitled to have a political slant [but not to then] present it as a site that is dedicated to the pursuit of truth and objectivity.” Quick. Someone get the Gray Lady a mirror. The essay says a number of very nice things about Weiss — that she is genuinely charming and charismatic, for example. But make no mistake, the goal of the piece is to paint her work and views as dangerous and possibly dishonest. The article suggests that Weiss is selling unique political views as “truth” when she is actually peddling political hyperbole and propaganda. Again, doest though have no mirror, Gray Lady?
What has happened to the paper of record?
I found it odd how frequently the piece mentioned that Weiss is a lesbian. I started and then stopped counting at one point. The tactic was bizarre and served no apparent purpose except possibly to make it seem like they don’t believe her. Or that she’s using her marriage to a woman in some disingenuous way.
Bizarre. And highly inappropriate.
What has happened to the paper of record? It doesn’t want to engage in discussion with more than one viewpoint, it wants to indoctrinate and tear down those who don’t capitulate to their point of view.
This is the opposite of what Weiss is trying to do — and the Times doesn’t like it. Not one bit. Not the least of which is surely because she exposed them for this.
Funny thing, too.
The 4,800-plus word piece couldn’t find any space for the Times to take any responsibility whatsoever or to even explain the details of Weiss’ struggle at the paper and why she felt forced to leave. Was she bullied because she had views that didn’t sync with the anti-heterodoxy of employees? The piece, of course, doesn’t say. Because the newspaper no longer focuses on printing what readers want to know. It focuses on printing what it wants its readers to believe.
Weiss’s openness about her departure tells you (almost) everything you need to know about her. The concealment of it by the Times tells you much about them.
Weiss wants you to know her agenda. She is very open about it. The Times, on the other hand, is scared straight that you’ll ever learn of theirs. Indeed, that’s really the whole point
of tearing down Weiss. Again, from the essay: A journalism outlet is “entitled to have a political slant [but not to then] present it as … dedicated to the pursuit
of truth and objectivity.”
Ultimately, the Times wants you to believe that is Weiss’s problem when any critical thinker understands that it is clearly its own.
Bari Weiss in the New York Times newsroom in 2018. Josefin Dolste (File)
Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in Cairo on Feb. 23, 2012. Mohammed al-Hums, Flash 90
JEFFREY laX
Kingsborough Community College business faculty
STOP
NO PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS AT OUR SHABBOS TABLE
Sacks…
Continued from page 16
the outset. Israel would have to depend on exceptional strength on the part of its inhabitants. It was never big enough to sustain a large population.
The Prophets knew that the very existence of Israel as a sovereign nation was predicated on a people lifted to greatness by a sense of mission and high ideals.
Every individual would count. Therefore every individual had to feel part of the whole, respected and given the means of a dignified life. Injustice, gross inequality, or a failure of concern for the weak and marginal, would endanger society at its very roots. There was no margin for error or discontent. Without indomitable courage based on the knowledge that G-d was with them, they would fall prey to larger powers.
When the Prophet Zechariah said, “Not by strength nor by might but by My spirit, says the L-rd,” he was formulating an axiom of Jewish history. There neither was nor would be a time when Israel could rely on numbers, or vast tracts of territory, or easily defensible borders. So it was then. So it is now.
We do not live in an age of Prophets. Yet Israel exists today in the same circumstances as those which gave birth to the Prophets. As I write these words, the state is 59 years old. But it is also more than three thousand years old. The terms of its existence have not changed. Israel always longed for security but rarely found it. Neither its climate nor its geography were made for an easy life.
That is the nature of Jewish faith — not security but the courage to live with insecurity, knowing that life is a battle, but that if we do justice and practice compassion, if we honor great and small, the powerful and the powerless alike, if our eyes do not look down to the earth and its seductions but to heaven and its challenges, this small, vulnerable people is capable of great, even astonishing, achievements.
When Moses told the Israelites the full story about the land, he was telling them — whether or not they understood it at the time — that it was a place where not just wheat and barley, but the human spirit also, grew. It was the land where people were lifted beyond themselves because, time and again, they would have to believe in something and someone beyond themselves. Not accidentally but essentially, by its climate, topography and location, Israel is the holy land, the place where, merely to survive, the human eye must turn to heaven and the human ear to heaven’s call.
Goldman…
Continued from page 17
everything).” The commentaries there suggest that Hashem actually blessed Avraham by increasing his wealth as well as his progeny. Rav Soleveitchick adds that this is indeed the true nature of the word bracha, to increase.
Obviously, Hashem doesn’t need our blessings; rather, we need to be blessing Hashem. Blessing G-d is, quite simply, the art of increasing Hashem’s presence in our lives and in all that we do.
Thus, blessing G-d when you are eating an apple is actually a conscious decision to elevate the simple act of eating an apple into an opportunity to appreciate G-d’s presence in your life.
And the more we are willing to be partners in bringing G-d into our lives and into this world, the higher level the world, and us along with it, will reach.
In these times filled with so many challenges, and with so much work needed to create a better society, the daily act of blessing our bread serves as both a reminder and an inspiration of how different the world could be, if only we were all willing to make it so.
Billet...
Continued from page 17 fly his kite one day. And the fact that the most violent storm of the season was brewing didn’t stop him. Despite all his friends’ arguments and appeals, the last frame of our cartoon finds Charlie marching stubbornly and resolutely out the door and into the howling winds. And the caption reads:
“A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do!” Moses said to G-d: “They are a stiff-necked people, and THEREFORE You should forgive them!”
It is our very stubborn determination to cling to our faith that merits the Almighty’s eternal love and forgiveness.
Freedman…
from page 17
Modim prayer in the silent Amidah and the Nodeh Lecha blessing after meals.
So what is the meaning of the word brachah?
the range of feelings and emotions the people may experience: “When you think of the numbers of enemies you must vanquish and the impossibility you face with such an endeavor, just remember what G-d did to Egypt.”
More strikingly, Moshe warns of what will happen when things are going well for everyone, so well that they begin to forget why all the goodness comes about.
“Perhaps you’ll eat and be satisfied. And you’ll have lots of animals and money, and houses filled with everything you could possibly need. Your heart will be haughty and you’ll forget G-d Who took you out of Egypt, who gave you water from a rock, who fed you manna in the wilderness. You’ll say ‘It was all my strength that accomplished this’.”
Moshe concludes this section by warning that if the Jewish people forget G-d, they will be lost and destroyed. And why? “Eikev lo tish’m’oon b’kol Hashem (on account of your not listening to G-d).” This language choice provides us with a substantive bookend which closes the tale that began the parshat.
Apparently, it is not simple for the Jewish people to guarantee subservience to G-d; there is always the lingering chance that the people will turn in the wrong direction. This not something anyone likes to hear — because it IS deflating and it IS depressing, and it does contribute to a helplessness and hopelessness of “why should I even try?”
The answer to the deflating question is, if I may quote the emperor from Star Wars, “Because it is your dessssstiny!”
And this is where Chapter 9 comes into the picture. Moshe begins with the ubiquitous terms “Shema Yisrael,” as if to remind the people what they are all about. It’s a nod to the famous verse in which we declare G-d’s oneness. And in the context of pleas not to follow the ways of idolators, the hint isn’t even subtle.
Then Moshe goes on to describe how things will go — big nations, giants, etc., but don’t let the depressing nature of the previous chapter hold you back. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, a promise, a guarantee that despite the odds against us, things will turn out OK. And that stems from the promise made to the forefathers, and G-d’s love for the forefathers. Never forget that.
What do we need to do to fulfill the mandate given to the people Moshe was addressing? It’s a very simple formula — keep the mitzvoth, remember your G-d, and remember that when all else seems to be failing, we will always maintain a connection to G-d because he loved our forefathers.
It gives us hope, because we always have an ace in the hole, the connection that continues to exist between us and our Creator, no matter what challenges life sends our way.
Continued from page 17
ing; if it all felt like a hot, stultifying, cultureless shtetl instead of a vibrant, innovative, Hebrew civilization.
The history of Israel’s founding is a story of unlikely successes. Despite great odds, a dead language was revived, seven foreign armies were defeated and a nation was built. We rarely stop to consider, however, the most unlikely success of all — not that they built a Jewish state, but that they built one so very lovable.
Today, the main emotions we might be feeling as we read headlines about Israel are sorrow, dread, frustration or even anger at Israel’s enemies. But if we are wondering what we can do for Israel from afar in this great moment of uncertainty, the answer is simple: We must cultivate the love at the heart of our connection to Israel.
We can cook an Israeli recipe, read an Israeli poet or put on a favorite Israeli record. Such acts seem small or even kitschy responses to the intensity of this moment, but they are not.
The love of the Chovevei Tzion built Israel.
The love of the Jewish people now will help to protect it.
Cohen... Schultz...
Continued from page 18
Like 99.9% of Americans — and probably, Europeans outside of Belgium — I’d never heard of Brusselmans before his exhortation to murder Jews appeared. Judging by his photograph and his style of writing, he fancies himself as a witty raconteur and social commentator proudly unbound by convention. I haven’t heard him speak, but I imagine that his voice has been appropriately scorched by the cigarettes he smokes. Hermann may be a baby-boomer, his photo suggests, but he’s down with the kids. And hey, he’s funny, too.
Except that he isn’t. Really, seriously isn’t. Reading the rest of the article, I found myself wondering whether the shortage of decent columnists in Belgium is so grave that they need this guy to fill space.
For a start, he’s clearly a misogynist and a homophobe who shares that disturbing European penchant for toilet humor. In the torturous paragraphs leading up to his confession that he wants to stab Jews, he tells us that he’s working on a new “collection” of his writings with the charming title, “Full of poop with an ugly woman.”
Next, he describes seeing a poorly dressed elderly man walking down the street and ruminates on whether this unfortunate gentleman had a wife who committed suicide, a daughter who became pregnant at the age of 13, and a son who is “so gay that many other gays said to him, ‘Don’t exaggerate, Alain’.” Turning once more to the man’s appearance, he offers some sartorial advice: “Cut your feet off, you bastard, then you’ll be rid of those stupid sandals.”
Had I not had advance warning of what was coming, I would have stopped reading upon encountering those lines. But I persevered, learning that Brusselmans was worried about an impending World War III. Enter, of course, the Jews. It’s all the fault of a “small, fat, bald Jew who bears the ominous name of Bibi Netanyahu, and who for whatever reason wants to ensure that the entire Arab world is wiped out.”
That description of Israel’s prime minister echoes the caricatures of Jews published in Nazi rags like Der Stürmer.
At this point, Brusselmans morphs from a mouthy schoolboy immersed in his own sexual anxiety into the Nazi propagandist Josef Goebbels, raving about the “sh***y Israeli army” murdering Palestinian children. Imagining his girlfriend and his son buried beneath the rubble of Gaza, he declares that such a sight would have him reaching for the nearest
knife to drive into the nearest Jew.
Had this article appeared 30 years ago, we would likely have written Brusselmans off as an embittered failure so overwhelmed by his own neuroses that he projects them onto others. After all, antisemitism provides a natural home for sociopaths like this, allowing them to elide the real reasons for their lack of professional success, their inability to form meaningful relationships, their fixation with denigrating those around them and the nagging knowledge that as soon as they leave their barstool, everyone who remains expresses relief that the “asshole” has called it a night.
But we are living in different times, in an environment where a call for a pogrom can be recast as a penetrating critique. The pain caused by contemporary antisemitism is partly rooted in the fact that we can’t ignore it. Someone like Brusselmans both understands this and seizes on it.
Since that wretched column was published, the European Jewish Association announced legal proceedings against Brusselmans and Humo for incitement. As Assita Kanko, a Belgian member of the European parliament, pointed out: “[T]his is not about freedom of speech or satire, it’s a call to violence. It’s a call to murder.”
Given their country’s laws against hate speech, one has to assume that Belgian judges have no choice but to agree with her.
Perhaps Brusselmans will land himself a prison sentence, where he can test how his attempts at humor go down with the other inmates. Perhaps he’ll get off with a fine or a suspended sentence. Perhaps his call to slaughter Jews will be ignored completely, for when it comes to punishing antisemitism in the courts, Europe these days encourages the lowest of expectations.
In which case, Herman, rest assured that we Jews won’t forget. Sleep tight.
Kerstein…
Continued from page 19
Red-Green Alliance of progressive leftists and Muslim supremacists, to ghettoize American Jews. That is, they seek to strip American Jews of whatever power, influence and prosperity they have achieved and relegate them to the margins of American life, where they can be easily preyed upon whenever the mood strikes.
It is horrible for Jews to stay in an antisemitic environment but, by departing, they unwittingly risk ghettoizing themselves. This is what segregation looks like and Jews should not submit to it.
While voting with their feet will at times be necessary, other measures can be taken as well.
For example, if Jewish students at Columbia were properly organized, they could engage with the campus Nazis on their own terms and disperse them. They could sue the university not just for redress but for its entire endowment, threatening the institution’s very existence. They could go about the campus in groups and publicly confront those attempting to harass and assault them. They could make it clear that if the Jews have no peace on campus, no one will have peace on campus. None of this involves breaking the law, but it does require a decision of the will. In many ways, it would be superior to the decision to simply leave. But it cannot be made without a new radicalization, a more aggressive stance that is willing to make what the late civilrights leader and congressman John Lewis called “good trouble” — trouble that upends an unjust order. As Lewis put it: “Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and redeem the soul of America.”
Jews at Columbia and other institutions have suffered a tremendous injustice, but there is no need for them to flee. For a year now, antisemites have been permitted to make bad trouble on campus and indeed everywhere. It’s time for Jews to make some good trouble before the walls of the ghetto close in.
When Hashem blesses Avraham, the verse in Genesis says, “Va’Hashem Beirach et Avraham Bakol (And G-d blessed Avraham with
Grunstein
junction against UCLA on Aug. 13. In his ruling, Scarsi noted:
In the year 2024, in the United States of America, in the State of California, in the City of Los Angeles, Jewish students were excluded from portions of the UCLA campus because they refused to denounce their faith. This fact is so unimaginable and so abhorrent to our constitutional guarantee of religious freedom that it bears repeating, Jewish students were excluded from portions of the UCLA campus because they refused to denounce their faith. UCLA does not dispute this. Instead, UCLA claims that it has no responsibility to protect the religious freedom of its Jewish students because the exclusion was engineered by third-party protesters. But under constitutional principles, UCLA may not allow services to some students when UCLA knows that other students are excluded on religious grounds, regardless of who engineered the exclusion.
Among other things, Scarsi enjoined UCLA against knowingly allowing or facilitating the exclusion of Jewish students (including based on religious beliefs concerning the Jewish State of Israel) from ordinarily available portions of UCLA’s programs, activities and campus areas.
Shockingly, instead of settling the matter by agreeing to a plan of action to prevent a reoccurrence of the offensive conduct, UCLA callously appealed.
The situation is too fraught with danger to allow it to fester in the courts. It’s time for a Kennedyesque public show of force by the president and Department of Justice of the sort that occurred in 1963.
DOJ should intervene in the case in support of the plaintiffs and the preliminary injunction and against UCLA. Federal assistance to UCLA should be suspended under Title VI until the matter is favorably resolved.
The president should federalize the National Guard and ready it for duty in the new academic year to secure the UCLA campus so that all students, including Jewish ones, can freely and safely attend classes and use all of the university facilities. There must not be a repeat of the offensive conduct described in the complaint.
This proactive approach must be applied to all colleges and universities that have experienced similar problems and are threatened with new outbreaks during the upcoming academic year.
There are many similar cases pending, including one involving Harvard, in which a court recently denied a motion to dismiss and ruled the case can proceed.
The situation of invidious discrimination against Jews and harassment on campus is illegal, immoral and intolerable and must not be countenanced. The time for action is now.
Pilichowski
Continued from page 19
Continued from page 19 rancor that America has been suffering from over the past few decades. Judicial reform debates turn from the best way to run the Supreme Court to a threat to the nature of the country. Debates over possible solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict turn from the best way to achieve peace for Israel to calling people murderers for their opinions. Discussions over the next steps in the war turn from dialogue over priorities to calling other Zionists enemies worse than Hamas. It must all stop; the bitter political characterizations have to end.
The last lesson might arguably be the most important: All too often Jews get caught up in the shortsighted tribalism that accompanies party politics.
Jewish history has taught us many lessons. Chief among them is not to place faith in outside institutions that assure Jews they can rely on them for safety and security.
Jews must learn to put their political loyalties second to their dedication to their people. It is painful to watch Jews fighting with each other over preferred parties and their policies.
Irrespective of how dangerous one party’s policies towards Israel might seem and how wonderful another party’s might seem, disagreement over party should never be the cause of division within the Jewish community. Jews must learn it is perfectly acceptable to favor one party over another, but it is unacceptable to cancel other Jews over their loyalty to a different party.
Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai were two schools of Talmudic law. The students of each school disagreed vehemently with the other school’s students. Yet, they were able to set aside their differences and marry each other’s children. Beit Hillel’s positions were accepted because their teachers would begin by respectfully quoting their opponent, Beit Shammai, before teaching their own opinion.
It is fine to delineate the flaws of one party’s policies while still speaking respectfully about the people in that party. That is how we can ensure community unity, civility and respect.
