Tabloid war over Khalil
By The Jewish Star
New York’s tabloid newspapers faced off on Monday with dueling front pages screaming opposite angles on the day’s big news: The arrest of Columbia University Israel-bashing provocateur of campus antisemitism Mahmoud Khalil.
The New York Post’s cover delighted in the seizure by ICE of Khalil, with similarlytoned coverage inside.
The Daily News, on the other hand, focused on “outrage” among pro-Hamas protestors and others who claim for Khalil — a Syrian-born Palestinian who in 2024 became a permanent US resident with a green card after having entered on a student visa two years earlier — the right to make trouble unhindered.
“Columbia University and its sister school Barnard College did an exceedingly poor job handling nasty anti-Israel campus protests, which too often bled into even nastier antisemitism,” the Daily News conceded in an editorial in Monday’s paper, “but the federal government, restricted by the First
Amendment, cannot use its tremendous powers and unlimited resources to crack down on institutions and people based on solely on speech.”
In its editorial, the NY Post cheered “the reported arrest and likely deportation of Mahmoud Khalil.”
“ICE has put fresh teeth on President Donald Trump’s crackdown on campus hate. Hooray!” said the Post, which pointed out that the post-Oct. 7 anti-Israel movement, personified by disruptions at Columbia and Barnard, “sought to intimidate America with passion and force — occupying campus quads, blockading and/or rampaging through libraries, harassing and assaulting visible Jews.”
While the News said “we are pretty sure that a permanent resident status can’t be canceled like that [and Khalil] bundled onto a plane to Louisiana,” the Post countered that “this is both a defense of decency and a push against the perversion of privilege, and we look forward to seeing a lot more of it.”
Moving on up: Aliyah hopefuls flock to fairs
With two powerful events dedicated to advancing aliyah, Nefesh B’Nefesh and its partners drew hundreds of participants to Teaneck on Sunday and Monday.
About 600 people attended NBN’s flagship Aliyah Fair, an annual gathering that’s a one-stop hub for essential services and expert consultations on every step of the aliyah journey. Participants engaged with trusted professionals, including representatives from the Jerusalem Municipality, legal and real estate experts, notaries, and financial consultants, receiving personalized guidance on documentation, licensing, background checks, and financing options in Israel.
Throughout the fair, attendees participated in workshops designed to simplify the complex aliyah process. Real-time consultations, one-on-one expert sessions, and interactive panels ensured that each individual received tailored assistance for their unique aliyah plans.
On Sunday, over 500 Jewish doctors and healthcare professionals gathered at the 10th annual MedEx event hosted by Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Negev, Galilee and National Resilience and Nefesh B’Nefesh and in partnership with the Jewish Agency for Israel. MedEx works to streamline the aliyah process for medical professionals and ensure their successful integration into Israel’s healthcare workforce.
MedEx is a flagship initiative of the International Medical Aliyah Program (IMAP), a nationwide effort to address Israel’s physician shortage — an issue highlighted by both the World Health Organization and the OECD. IMAP aims to bring 2,000 Jewish doctors to Israel over the next five
years, alongside thousands of other healthcare professionals, by facilitating recruitment, licensing, and professional integration into Israel’s medical system.
A record-breaking 519 physicians made aliyah in 2024.
This year’s New Jersey MedEx drew physicians from 25 states and provinces across the US and Canada, along with other medical professionals, including nurses, dentists, podiatrists, psychologists, optometrists, pharmacists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, physiotherapists, audiologists, dietitians and nutritionists, and dental hygienists. For the first time, physician assistants were also able to receive guidance and support.
Aliyah Fair visitors spoke with exhibors and collected literature. Ed Weintrob, The Jewish Star
Bonnie and Issac Gelb of Riverdale visit exhibitors at the Nefesh B’Nefesh Aliyah Fair in Teaneck. Ed Weintrob, The Jewish Star
Hablamos Español
Leftist Jews side with an ally of mass-murderers
Last year, Mahmoud Khalil gave an interview to a Hamas media operation about his “negotiations” with Columbia University during protesters’ occupation of the campus.
The violent occupation of Columbia by terrorist supporters led to riots, vandalism, assaults, terrorist propaganda and attacks on Jewish students. Instead of taking action, Columbia continued to negotiate with the terrorist supporters at the expense of Jewish students.
Now the United States is done negotiating with terrorists.
“SHALOM, MAHMOUD,” the White House X account declared, carrying this message from President Donald J. Trump:
ICE proudly apprehended and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student on the campus of Columbia University. This is the first arrest of many to come.
The Department of Homeland Security stated that the action had been taken against Khalil for having “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.”
Khalil, a Syrian national living in New York, is now in immigration detention in Louisiana. The Trump administration revoked his student visa and is seeking to send him back to his homeland.
He had been a leading figure in Columbia’s pro-Hamas riots and encampments. Beyond violently shutting down campuses in support of Islamic terrorists, the group had distributed Hamas flyers and photos of Hamas leaders, and plastered stickers reading, “Death to Amerika.”
Now, Khalil and his supporters are fighting to stay in “Amerika,” claiming that his arrest is illegal. However, the Immigration and Nationality Act clearly states that any alien “endorsing or espousing terrorist activity” is ineligible for a visa and therefore subject to deportation. And all that Khalil’s “green card” means is that he is a “resident alien” who is subject to removal for supporting terrorists.
“This is un-American,” argued Rep. Ilhan Omar. “Anyone celebrating this should be ashamed,” moaned AOC.
CAIR, whose leader supported the Oct. 7 attacks, warned, “We and other civil rights groups are in communication with Mahmoud’s legal counsel. This fight is just starting.”
The message was retweeted by Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who whined, “Free Mahmoud Khalil.”
But it wasn’t just the radical fringe of the Squad who came to Khalil’s defense.
The social media account of the Senate Ju-
diciary Democrats, under Sen. Dick Durbin, falsely argued: “Mahmoud Khalil exercises his First Amendment rights … but, Donald Trump and Marco Rubio didn’t agree with what he said. This should terrify everyone.”
The White House X account however replied by once again quoting Trump: “This is the first arrest of many.”
Locally, New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced that she was “extremely concerned about the arrest and detention of Mahmoud Khalil, an advocate and legal permanent resident of Palestinian descent.”
Mayoral Candidate Brad Lander, an ally of Linda Sarsour, condemned the move as well, arguing that deporting a non-citizen for violating the terms of his visa by breaking the law was somehow a “violation of the First Amendment.”
Jewish leftist groups, especially those that are part of the Soros network, quickly joined the outcry, having remained silent when Jewish students were being terrorized at Columbia.
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, a far left group chaired by Alex Soros and formerly headed by Stosh Cotler, an anti-Israel activist and former sex club dancer who now serves as a senior adviser, falsely described the Syrian national as “a New Yorker” who was “detained for constitutionally protected speech” and argued that “the White House’s authoritarian actions are being falsely done in our name as Jews.”
Amy Spitalnick, former press secretary for J Street, who took over and turned the Jewish Council for Public Affairs into an anti-Israel leftist group, attacked the Trump administration for cutting funding to Columbia
Queens Link celebrates
over its tolerance for the harassment of Jewish students and faculty, and objected that “Khalil has still not been charged.”
Other leftist front groups, including Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, New York Jewish Agenda (co-founded by teachers’ union boss Randi Weingarten, who had previously accused Jews of being oppressors and who had opposed the campaign against Hamas) and the Nexus Project (which accused Jews of “weaponizing antisemitism”) all rallied on behalf of a leading figure in campus hate.
If Not Now and its co-founder Simone Zimmerman described immigration authorities as
Tabloids…
In the same editorials, the newspapers opined about Trump’s cancelling of $400 million in federal grants and contracts that had been commited to Columbia, with the promise that other colleges which fail to crack down on antisemitism will likewise be penalized.
“Far too many campus authorities have done as little as possible to stop it, hiding behind “free speech” concerns that plainly don’t cover this behavior,” the Post said.
“To be clear: Even protests that do qualify as free speech have an obviously hateful agenda — why else single out Israel?”
But Columbia doesn’t have an explicit antisemitic policy, or at least since not the anti-Jewish admission quotas were dropped decades ago,” complained the Daily News, “but there are many Jews (students, faculty and staff) who have been negatively impacted by the antiIsrael protests that sprang up after the Hamas Oct. 7 attack and the school’s feeble response to the explosion of hatred aimed at Israel and Jews.
“Still, cancelling a government research grant because of speech is something that the government cannot do. If there is unlawful discrimination against Jews, a protected religious group, there may be grounds for federal action to rescind contracts and grants, however, it would have to follow certain procedures, not a Truth Social posting from President Trump.”
“Jews, like everyone else, must be protected, but the feds must follow the law and the rules,” the News said, referring to ICE’s seizure of Khalil as “a Keystone Kops moment.”
“Columbia’s decisions on campus speech and behavior (which they badly botched) were theirs to make as a private institution,” the News concluded. “The federal government’s authority on what it can and can’t do, including even the president, regarding speech is limited by the Constitution.”
They defend Khalil not because they support free speech, but because they support Islamic terrorism.
“the American Gestapo” and Jews fighting antisemitism as “Nazi collaborators” for supporting Jewish students.
The ADL, however, broke from the anti-Israel left by praising Trump’s move, tweeting, “We appreciate the Trump Administration’s broad, bold set of efforts to counter campus antisemitism — and this action further illustrates that resolve by holding alleged perpetrators responsible for their actions.”
None of the justifications for defending Khalil hold the slightest drop of water. Khalil was a visa holder who was made a resident alien under the Biden administration. Aliens, resident or otherwise, are not citizens and can be deported on national security grounds and for other violations.
The same people now clamoring about freedom of speech on college campuses cheered when students were censored for politically incorrect speech. They advocated mass censorship of social media to eliminate “misinformation” about the pandemic, the election and anything else.
They are not defending Mahmoud Khalil because they support free speech, but because they support Islamic terrorism, Hamas and the destruction of America and Israel.
Daniel Greenfield is an Israeli-born journalist. Write: Columnist@TheJewishStar.com
Protesters demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil at Foley Square on March 10. David Dee Delgado, Getty Images via JNS
By Nechama Bluth, The Jewish Star
To get into the Purim spirit, Chai Lifeline of the Five Towns staged a magic show, a holidaythemed arts and crafts event, and set up a Purimthemed photo booth on Sunday. Children came dressed in adorable costumes to bring in the Purim spirit. The event was hosted by Devora Shrek in her Hewlett home, with a performance by Chaim Gitelis. Central Perk and Gourmet Glatt provided lunch.
Photo by Chai Lifeline
The Queens Jewish Link honored local activists at its “Bar Mitzvah” celebration, at the Young Israel of Jamaica Estates. Jewish media celebrities joined the festivities. From left: Dr. Joe Frager of Atlantic Beach, Queens Councilman James Gennaro, Zev Brenner of Talkline Communications, WABC radio host Sid Rosenberg, Queens Jewish Link Co-Publisher Yaakov Serle, Link contributor Shabsie Saphirstein, Dr. Paul Brody of Great Neck, and emcee Nachum Segal of JM in the AM. Barry Brown Studios
Daniel GreenfielD
Jewish studies
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Bringing the fight to workplace antisemitism
Last month, as we discussed whether she had a valid claim for a hostile work environment due to antisemitis, a Jewish woman told me that her supervisor called her “Anne Frank” multiple times, “laughed and asked if I ‘had a diary to go write’.”
For nearly a decade, my work has focused on commercial litigation and employment law at Miami’s oldest law firm, where I remain “Of Counsel.” Growing up, I heard my grandmother’s stories about how, as a surgeon, she operated underground on injured Israeli civilians during the 1973 Yom Kippur War and how my grandfather, a pulmonologist, helped found the intensive-care unit at Shaare Zedek Medical Center Hospital in Jerusalem. I always admired how my grandparents used their professional skills to support and protect Israel.
After the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, I decided to fulfill my lifelong dream of following in their footsteps by dedicating my legal career to fighting antisemitism And so, I joined the StandWithUs legal team in June 2024 as senior counsel. On my first day, I had 15 workplace antisemitism reports from across the United States waiting on my desk.
I did not realize just how many egregious cases of workplace antisemitism nationwide would soon be under my purview.
Antisemitism has permeated just about every workplace: universities, hospitals, schools, therapy centers, restaurants, camps, technology companies and government agencies.
This disturbing nationwide trend is well-doc-
umented in multiple recent studies, including one by StandWithUs and published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, which found at least 40% of Jewish medical professionals have experienced antisemitism in the workplace. Similarly, the Anti-Defamation League recently published that Jewish Americans have a 24% harder time securing jobs even when their résumés are identical to their non-Jewish counterparts applying for the same jobs.
These studies are consistent with the shocking, infuriating and heartbreaking reports I hear from Jewish workers every day. A right to a work environment free from discrimination based on religion, race, national origin and more is guaranteed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Yet, many Jews are finding their workplaces and potential workplaces unwelcoming.
The most common claim is of a “hostile work environment.” Such a place is permeated with discriminatory intimidation because of an employee’s protected-class status — in this case, religion — and is sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of a person’s job.
There is no mathematically precise test to prove a hostile work environment. Courts analyze all the circumstances, including the frequency and severity of the discriminatory conduct, whether it was physically threatening or humiliating, and whether it unreasonably interfered with the employee’s work performance.
Employees filing hostile workplace place claims due to antisemitism report seeing swastikas, racial slurs and an image of the Star of David with a knife through it graffitied in workplace bathrooms, breakrooms and/or elevators along with antisemitic images on fliers being distributed or hung up on bulletin boards in the workplace. Such antisemitic graffiti and fliers have legal significance because they definitively can contribute to a hostile work environment.
As a federal court has stated: “Swastikas are a symbol of a regime of hatred unparalleled in world history. That regime was dedicated to the oppression of those of Jewish heritage through genocide. The symbol is one of hatred and oppression. And it can support a racially hostile environment claim in violation of Title VII when
combined with similar symbols of racial hatred and bigotry.”
Additionally, employees are reporting that their co-workers and supervisors are posting antisemitic material on their personal social-media pages and encouraging, in those posts, hostile
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(212-244-6469) to learn more.
Marcelideler, Pixabay via JNS
conduct toward Jewish colleagues. Those posts advocate for rising up against Zionists wherever they are found. They also spread antisemitic tropes about Jewish power and money to fuel resentment and animosity toward Jews.
While employees might mistakenly believe they can post racist content on their personal social-media pages without consequences, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the courts explain that even if the discriminatory or harassing conduct occurs wholly offsite, it remains relevant to the extent that it affects the working environment. And if posts are viewed or engaged with in the workplace itself, they can, potentially, support a hostile work environment claim.
I frequently hear about co-workers yelling antisemitic slurs in the workplace, giving antisemitic lectures at work to their coworkers (for instance, claiming Jews control the weather) and even blasting “Death to Jews” on a work computer during work hours. These situations likely present actionable hostile work environment claims.
which a Jewish employee was fired shortly after advocating for the creation of a Jewish Employee Resource Group to combat antisemitism should be heard by a jury.
The third most common claims are discrimination claims. Under Title VII, an employer cannot discriminate against any employee because of a person’s religion and/or national origin — such as being Israeli.
Among the claims in this arena that I have dealt with are:
•A Jewish applicant’s job offer was rescinded after she told her future employer that she needed to leave the office an hour early on Fridays to make it home in time to observe Shabbat.
•Another Jewish applicant who did not get the job was told during her interview that everyone should be able to agree that “killing babies is wrong.”
•A Jewish employee was disciplined because of a third-party complaint, yet the employer refused to apply its own policy and show the employee the official complaint.
•A Jewish employee who offered to provide a coworker with educational materials after the coworker specifically asked at work for the Jewish perspective about Oct. 7 was fired shortly thereafter for contradictory and false alleged performance issues.
IOne federal court concluded that calling an employee a “Jewish American princess” and referencing “Jewish money” was enough to state a hostile work environment claim when challenged with a motion to dismiss. Another federal court found that repeatedly calling a Jewish employee “the smart Hebe” or “Jewish rep” was enough to deny the employer’s motion for summary judgment.
There is no First Amendment right to harass or discriminate in the workplace or create a hostile work environment. The California Supreme Court noted “some forms of pure speech are not constitutionally protected, by observing that words ‘may produce a violation of Title VII’s general prohibition against sexual discrimination in employment practices’.”
Likewise, a Florida appellate court held that when a government employer disciplined a worker for making numerous antisemitic remarks to a coworker, the antisemitic remarks were not protected by the First Amendment and the employer’s actions were just.
The second most common type of claims are retaliation ones, as Title VII prohibits retaliation for opposing practices made unlawful by this act. For example, when an employee raised concerns about workplace antisemitism, instead of addressing these concerns, his employer transferred him to another branch of their business.
If an employee has a good faith, reasonable belief that an employment practice is unlawful and complains, that complaint constitutes protected activity, and an employer cannot retaliate against the employee for making the complaint. A federal court recently found that a case in
have had countless reports of employers refusing to enforce their handbook policies regarding political, controversial or threatening attire in the workplace when employees show up wearing watermelon pins or items glorifying Hamas terrorists. In many instances, the only time the employer enforces such policies is when Jewish employees wear pro-Israel accessories.
Lastly, I have helped guide a handful of people with constructive discharge claims. This occurs when an employee’s working conditions are so intolerable that a reasonable person in that same position would have felt compelled to resign.
For example, a federal court found that a Jewish employee plausibly alleged a constructive discharge claim when he was forced to work directly with a CEO who made bigoted comments toward the Jewish religion, used religious slurs, expressed dismay at working with someone of the Jewish religion on an “almost weekly basis” and “became more hostile” after the Jewish employee’s numerous complaints.
The stories I have heard about antisemitism in the workplace should alarm every person, regardless of his or her religion or national origin. Antisemitism is the “canary in the coal mine.” As Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks said, “The hate that begins with Jews never ends with the Jews.”
I never thought I would be working at a nonprofit, as I was once determined to be the youngest equity partner at my law firm. But after the atrocities on Oct. 7 in Israel, I reassessed my priorities in life. I chose to shift my career trajectory because I recognize how important it is to fight back against antisemitism and hold employers who allow for antisemitism to permeate the workplace accountable.
Deedee Bitran is senior counsel and director of pro bono in the StandWithUs Saidoff Legal Department and Of Counsel at Shutts and Bowen LLP. Write: Columnist@TheJewishStar.com
Tony Gelbart; NBN Co-Founder and Executive Director Rabbi Yehoshua Fass; Knesset Health Committee Chair MK Yonatan Mashriki; Director General of the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration Adv. Avichai Kahana; Director General of the Ministry of the
Negev, Galil and National Resilience, Yohanan Mali; Deputy Director General of the Health Ministry, Sefi Mendelovich; and Head of the Aliyah and Integration’s Physicians and Required Medical Professions Directorate, Dr. Efrat Aflalo. Shahar
Aliyah hopefuls flock to NBN and MedEx in Teaneck
Continued from page 1
“Since October 7th, tens of thousands of new immigrants have chosen to come to Israel, even in the midst of the war,” said Minister of Aliyah and Integration Ofir Sofer. “They did so out of a deep belief in the return to Zion and the future of our country. Aliyah is the central value of Zionism, it is the essence of the return to Zion.”
“This week has been extremely impactful and inspiring, as we witnessed the North American Jewish community’s unwavering commitment to Israel, and the growing interest in aliyah,” said Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Nefesh B’Nefesh. “We are proud to offer a comprehensive platform that provides each individual with the resources and guidance needed to turn their dream of building a life in Israel into reality.”
“Aliyah is the realization of the vision of the ingathering of the exiles. It is at the heart of Zionism and the main driving force behind the growth of the State of Israel in all areas of life,” said Chairman of the Jewish Agency, Major General (Res.) Doron Almog. “We are witnessing an unprecedented mobilization of Jews from North America and around the world, eager to strengthen their connection with Israel and turn the dream of aliyah into a reality.”
Complementing the larger Aliyah Fair was an “Aliyah-In-
One” initiative, a streamlined mini-fair designed for those already in the process of making aliyah. Held in Toronto and New Jersey, and with plans to expand to Los Angeles, Miami, and New Jersey again later this year, these targeted events allowed future olim to submit necessary documents, receive background checks, and complete key paperwork with expedited services, ensuring a smoother and faster transition to life in Israel, NBN explained.
Founded in 2002, Nefesh B’Nefesh is dedicated to addressing the evolving national needs of the State of Israel through four key pillars: Aliyah, National Service, National Development, and Zionist Education. Each of these pillars is strengthened by expanded services designed to benefit the broader community. In partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration.
For the Aliyah Fair, NBN partnered with Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (KKL), and Jewish National Fund-USA (JNF-USA).
NBN’s Gilbert said that “MedEx is more than just an event, it’s a vital bridge linking skilled Jewish medical professionals with meaningful opportunities to make a significant difference to the State of Israel. We are proud to support their journeys, knowing they will not only strengthen Israel’s healthcare system but also enrich their own lives through this impactful experience.”
At MedEx, attendees connected with representatives from Israel’s Ministry of Health, health funds (kupot cholim), and leading hospitals to explore licensing requirements, job opportunities, relocation grants, and placement options for working in Israel’s periphery. Remarkably, over 100 of the attendees submitted their documents for licensing to the Ministry of Health at the event.
Real-time job interviews were conducted by representatives from major health insurance funds and hospitals, including Ziv, Poriah and Rambam Medical Centers from northern Israel, Sheba and Ichilov Medical Centers from the Center, Hadassah, Shaare Zedek and Herzog from Jerusalem, Meuhedet, Clalit, Leumit and Maccabi Healthcare funds, enabling medical professionals to secure employment quickly upon arrival. A special emphasis was placed on opportunities in Israel’s periphery, supported by new grant programs from the Ministry of the Negev, Galilee and National Resilience, and the T’kuma government administration in the Gaza envelope.
“The Ministry of the Negev, Galilee, and National Resilience is committed to closing the existing gaps and strengthening the healthcare system in Israel’s Northern and Southern regions,” said Director General of the Ministry of the Negev, Galilee, and National Resilience, Yohanan Mali. As part of this effort, special incentives of up to NIS 400,000 are offered to doctors who choose to work in these regions.
“During this difficult time for Israel, the strong bond of the Jewish people is clear, and our deep partnership with Jewish communities around the world continues to make a tremendous impact on our country,” said Chairman of the Jewish Agency, Major General (Res.) Doron Almog. “This initiative, which brings leading Jewish doctors to join Israel’s healthcare system, is a powerful example of the unconditional love from our brothers and sisters in Jewish communities around the world. Aliyah is a major driver of growth and integrating new immigrants into healthcare and other fields is a key part of building and rebuilding Israel.”
Since its inception, Nefesh B’Nefesh has facilitated the aliyah of over 1,000 physicians and more than 3,500 healthcare professionals, successfully integrating them into Israel’s hospitals, health funds, and private practices, NBN said.
News supplied by Nefesh B’Nefesh.
Some participants in this week’s Aliyah Fair were just getting their feet wet, gathering information for a future move. Others were fighting a self-imposed aliyah deadline, completing apostille doculments or learning about the Israeli tax system. Ed Weintrob, The Jewish Star
The Nefesh B’Nefesh Aliyah Fair was a supermarket of information about opportunities in Israel and how to thoughtfully bring about one’s lifelong dream of living as a citizen of the Jewish state. Ed Weintrob, The Jewish Star
Left photo: The Daniel and Ilana Krausz family from Springfield, NJ, visited at the Aliyah Fair in anticipation of their Aliyah this summer. Right photo: At MedEx on Sunday, Minister of Aliyah and Integration Ofir Sofer (center) is flanked by NBN Co-Founder and
Chairman
Azran for NBN
Mount Sinai South Nassau is Improving Health Care on the South Shore
The new Fennessy Family Emergency Department at Mount Sinai South Nassau doubles the size of our previous emergency department, o ering 54 private exam rooms with clear lines of sight for physicians, nurses, and support sta . Our new emergency department also o ers a separate triage area, dedicated areas for children and behavioral health patients, and has been designed to reduce wait times and improve patient outcomes.
The Fennessy Family Emergency Department is located within the new Feil Family Pavilion, opening later this year, which will have 40 new critical care suites and nine new operating rooms, designed to support the most complex surgeries on the South Shore.
To learn more visit www.mountsinai.org/feilpavilion
OU has come a long way in its first 125 years
The Orthodox Union’s achievements since its inception as a kosher certification agency 125 years ago were showcased at a gala honoring some of the people behind its success.
“The Sinai vision for the Jewish people was that we be uplifted and uplifting, a mamlechet kohanim v’goy kadosh (a nation of priests and holy people),” says OU Executive Vice President Rabbi Moshe Hauer. The OU works “towards that shared vision for our community, ensuring that our connection to G-d, Klal Yisrael and Torah impacts our values and choices, he said.
About 275 OU supporters, board members and their families, lay leaders, shul representatives, NCSY participants, and OU professionals gathered for “An Evening of Appreciation: Beyond the OU Symbol”.
The gala, at Cipriani Wall Street, included a keynote address by prominent Israeli media personality Sivan Rahav Meir, who spoke about the positive evolution of Jewish identity since
Oct. 7, and touched upon her personal connection to the OU, particularly as a speaker for the OU Women’s Initiative.
Rabbi Moshe Hauer and shared the OU’s strategy and vision for addressing the community’s ongoing needs, and advancing communal solutions, and beneficiaries of OU programs introduced videos highlighting the origins and growth of the OU and OU Kosher, sharing how these initiatives have profoundly impacted their lives.
“From our humble beginnings at the OU with advocacy efforts and launching OU Kosher, to the over 20 programs we proudly offer today, the OU’s impact on the community has only strengthened over time,” said OU Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Rabbi Dr. Josh Joseph.
He referred to programs such as NCSY, Yachad, JLIC and All Daf, and said that the organization is “looking to strategically meet the needs of emerging career professionals and Anglo communities in Israel.”
The gala followed the OU’s Biennial Convention, which saw the election and installation of the 2025-2026 OU Board of Directors and Board of Governors, including 10 new board members: Natan Bane of Far Rockaway, Jeff Eisenberg of Lawrence, Morris Massel of New York, Josh Goldberg of Englewood, Miriam Greenspan of Teaneck, Ari Adlerstein of Merion Station (PA), Ahuva Basch of Montreal, Aliza Bixon of Miami Beach, Stuart Hershkowitz of Jerusalem, and Jeffery Silver of Toronto.
Several of the new board members “are already deeply involved in our programs, and the others are communal leaders who have declared their commitment to serve and represent the OU with dedication and purpose,” explained OU President Mitchel Aeder.
Ahuva Basch cited the value of tzarchei tzibbur (community service) as a key motivation for joining the OU board.
“Chessed and ahavas Yisrael are
values that I grew up with and that my husband and I aim to instill in our children,” says Basch, CEO of Logix ITS, a company that creates innovative traffic safety, speed enforcement, and parking lot solutions. “What better way to teach our children than to lead by example?”
A national board member of JWE (Jewish Women Entrepreneur), which mentors female entrepreneurs and executives, Basch said that “joining this remarkable group of board members makes me feel that any time and effort I dedicate to the community will have a far greater impact than anything I could achieve alone.”
“OU Israel Executive Director Rabbi Avi Berman has been a longstanding friend and a force behind the Avrom Silver Jerusalem College for Adults, named in memory of my father,” said Jeffrey Silver. “Our relationship certainly influenced my decision to serve on the board. The OU represents a vision with which our family is aligned.”
New board member Aliza Bixon said she felt energized after meeting and learning from her fellow members at the convention. The international health coach and co-owner of Pilates
on the Beach and Absolute Collagen — an OU-Kosher certified product — first met OU professionals through OU Kosher.
Bixon led two women’s missions in support of OU Israel and the OU, and ran subsequent fundraisers for the OU’s war efforts and international programing.
“Many mission participants were surprised at the depth of the OU’s reach and initiatives,” she said. “They thought of the OU exclusively in terms of kosher certification. Yet the OU also fills the spiritual and educational needs of the entire Jewish community, serving every demographic from children to seniors.”
Founded in 1898, the Orthodox Union is a voice of American Orthodox Jewry, with over 400 congregations in its synagogue network. The OU is at the forefront of advocacy work on both state and federal levels, outreach to Jewish teens and young professionals through NCSY and Birthright Israel/Israel Free Spirit trip organizer, and Yachad, the National Jewish Council for Disabilities, among many other divisions and programs.
News supplied by the OU.
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At the OU’s Biennial Convention and Evening of Appreciation, from left: New OU Board of Directors members Natan Bane, Ahuva Basch, Aliza Bixon, Miriam Greenspan, and Josh Goldberg; OU President Mitchel Aeder, and OU Chairman of the Board of Directors Yehuda Neuberger. OU
Columbia University student Rebecca Massel spoke about the impact of JLIC Columbia on her life. OU
Israeli media personality Sivan Rahav Meir delivered the evening’s keynote address. OU
Brooklyn woman donates 200 pairs of tefillin
By Vita Fellig, JNS
On a bitter-cold day in early January, Mary Jarada, a Syrian Jewish woman from Brooklyn, stood beaming at Machon Stam, a small scribal workshop in Crown Heights that specializes in writing tefillin, mezuzot and Torah scrolls. Jarada, 23, was there to pick up the 200th pair of tefillin that she had sponsored through her foundation, Ein Od Milvado (“There is no other besides Him”), which has raised $135,000.
To Jarada’s surprise, the staff at the shop had bought a cake and had placed large black balloons, which displayed the number “200” to mark the milestone.
“This is a special pair,” she said. “This man I am sending them to has a family member in jail who was recently denied parole. When he got the news, he was so devastated and felt like he needed to do something to strengthen himself spiritually.”
She added that “when he reached out to me online asking for a pair of tefillin, I was so excited to help him out.”
JNS spent a morning with Jarada as she stood among stacks of black leather straps and tefillin batim filled with parchment that lined shelves. The scent of ink and parchment was heavy in the air.
Over the past year, Jarada’s grassroots “Tefillin on Us” campaign has provided phylacteries to Jewish men worldwide.
The charity work is unlikely for a woman, as women don’t tend to wrap tefillin in Orthodox communities, so Jarada, whom some have dubbed the “tefillin queen,” is providing a religious devotional object to others that she would not use herself.
“Some people don’t understand that this ‘Tefillin on Us’ campaign isn’t just about giving tefillin to those who can’t afford it,” she said. “Some of the people who ask are at rock bottom — not just financially but spiritually.”
“Yes, some genuinely can’t afford it, but others technically could and just don’t see the value in spending $600 or $700 on tefillin,” she added. “They’re so disconnected from their soul that they wouldn’t take that step on their own.”
That, she said, is where she comes in.
“It’s like when a baby is learning to walk and they keep falling, getting back up and falling again,” she said. “Giving someone tefillin isn’t just handing them an object. It helps open up a whole world to them, and once they take that step, it changes everything.”
The men whom she provides with tefillin “have the most incredible, heartbreaking and inspiring stories,” she added. “You never know what this mitzvah,” religious commandment, “can spark in someone’s life.”
The Torah instructs “tying” a “sign” on one’s arms and placing something between one’s eyes. Rabbinic tradition has interpreted that to mean small, leather boxes containing biblical texts written on parchment, which men tend to wear during weekday morning prayers.
Phylacteries are made by hand, and as such,
can cost thousands of dollars per pair. Jarada said that she prefers to buy the $675 pshutim tefillin from Machon Stam (Stam is an acronym for Torah, tefillin and mezuzah), which she trusts for its quality and reliability.
Some of the first pairs she purchased — before she was referred to Machon Stam — turned out to have flaws, so she solicited recommendations on social media.
“I was just using local Judaica stores, and I had a problem with 11 pairs of tefillin ending up non-kosher,” she said. “I was so scared and felt terrible about the mistake, but a local Chabad guy, who is knowledgeable about tefillin, messaged me on X and recommended Machon Stam. I’ve continued working with them ever since.”
Jarada, whose family emigrated from Syria in 1991, told JNS that she had no prior experience with Chabad but is grateful that it has been supportive — even to the point of an impromptu party, she said, gesturing to the cake and balloons in the room.
“They are amazing,” she said. “I’m very proud of my Sephardic values, and I’ve always said that the way I would describe myself is ultra-Orthodox in my brain and Modern Orthodox in the way I dress. But I appreciate the Chabad mentality of being open to everyone.”
Rabbi Yitzchok Raskin, who owns Machon Stam, told JNS that his shop has never had a client like Jarada before.
“We have worked with tefillin banks and other organizations that come to us to buy tefillin for others, but someone like this — an individual woman at her young age — caring about this mitzvah is a whole different thing,” he said.
“Usually, it is a man who is involved in this mitzvah, and to have a woman who appreciates it, who is helping the Jewish community, is amazing,” he added.
Raskin said that Jrada’s commitment to ensuring the quality of the tefillin she gifts is noteworthy.
“If you buy something that is cheap and you cut corners, all you need is one problem with the quality of the tefillin and you’re not fulfilling the mitzvah,” he said. “It would be an unfortunate waste of money and the owner of the tefillin would not get the blessing, or protection, of the mitzvah.”
He added that “while there are tefillin out there which could be cheaper, what is so amazing about Mary is that she cares to do it right and ensure that what she is giving is kosher.”
In the weeks after the Hamas-led terror attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Jarada struggled, as she sat in her office at Lock Equities, a Brooklyn-based cash-advance firm that she leads, trying to find something tangible she
could do in the wake of the great tragedy.
“At the time, people were sending packages to Israel like batteries, underwear — all kinds of supplies, which was amazing, but it didn’t personally connect with me,” she said. “I wanted to do something that would actually change people.”
Jarada’s industry is a “very male-dominated field,” she told JNS. “I had this idea one day that I should see if the people I’m speaking to about closing a business deal have remembered to wrap their tefillin, and I started texting them reminders.”
“A lot of them responded like, ‘Oh, my G-d, I forgot,’” she said. “‘I’ll do it right now’.”
After forming a WhatsApp group, Jarada made a flier offering to help anyone who wanted to wrap tefillin but lacked a pair.
“At first, I got about five responses, with guys saying things like, ‘I wish I had a pair’ or ‘mine broke’,” she said. “I asked some friends to donate, and we got them their tefillin. Then 10 more people reached out, and I thought, ‘Oh no, where am I going to get the money for this’?”
Jarada used her social-media accounts to raise money for the 10 people who needed tefillin. What started as a small effort quickly
grew into the formal launch of her “Tefillin on Us” campaign. Through crowdfunding on her social-media handles, she raised the funds, and the initiative was well on its way.
A “few main sponsors” give to the cause, “which is so kind,” she told JNS. “Through my social-media pages and a WhatsApp group, I can quickly raise money whenever someone requests a new pair of tefillin.”
“People mail me checks or send money through Venmo. It’s amazing that they just love to help,” she added, noting that some people consider this giving their religious tithing (ma’aser).
“Some people send large amounts. Some send small,” she said. “We always make it work. God is always on our side.”
The men who request tefillin vary widely from ritually observant Jews who cannot afford a new pair to single mothers looking for tefillin for their bar mitzvah-aged sons. Some, she told JNS, are not connected to their faith and have never wrapped tefillin before.
She sees her identity as a woman as an aid in her efforts.
“In this day and age, I feel like the fact I’m a woman involved in this chesed project helps because people get intrigued by my story. They’re like, ‘Wait, you’re a woman?’ and that piques their interest, especially people I ask for donations from,” she said.
“Single mothers reaching out for tefillin for their sons are comfortable talking to me, and honestly, if I were a man, I don’t think I would have gotten this far,” she added. “The people reaching out for tefillin only feel comfortable admitting they’re in need of charity to someone like me.”
It might embarrass some to “lower their pride” to tell a 23-year-old man that they can’t afford tefillin, she thinks. “But talking to a woman,” she said, “allows them to be more open and emotional in a way they wouldn’t be with another man.”
Rabbi Yitzchok Raskin, owner of Machon Stam in Crown Heights, on Jan. 8. Vita Fellig
Mary Jarada, 23, founder of the charity Tefillin on Us, was feted at Machon Stam when she arrived to pick up her 200th pair of tefillin. Vita Fellig
Purim in Israel in 1928
Three rare archival photos documenting Purim celebrations in the Land of Israel during the 1920s have been unveiled from the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) photo archive. They offer a captivating look at children celebrating the holiday in the Land of Israel long before costumes became a booming industry.
Taken during a time when the streets were filled with thousands of people, these photos offer a glimpse into a more intimate and creative Purim experience.
Captured by Shmuel Joseph Schweig, one of the most well-known photographers of the Yishuv during the early years of Zionist life in Israel, they also showcase the vibrant spirit of the era.
In the first photo, taken in March 1928, a young child is dressed as a sailor, wearing a uniform and hat. The costume represents a KKL-JNF ship, symbolizing the arrival of Jewish people to the shores of the land.
Another image shows a child dressed as a citrus tree, a strong symbol of Israeli and Zionist identity. The costume is crafted from leaves and branches and adorned with real oranges, creating a striking visual representation of the connection between the land and its people.
The third, taken in 1926, captures two children: one dressed in a split costume with one half in black and the other in white, and the second child wearing a dress decorated with Jewish symbols, including Stars of David and boxes from KKL-JNF.
“These photos provide a fascinating historical window, not only into Purim celebrations but also into the early days of Israeli society,” says Efrat Sinai, head of the archives department at KKL-JNF.
“They show how both children and adults created colorful, imaginative celebrations with the limited resources available to them, long before costume stores or a commercial industry surrounded the holiday,” she said. JNS
Scroll’s back in Ferrara
By Joshua Marks, JNS
A rare 17th-century Esther Scroll, created in Ferrara, Italy, is returning to the city as part of a new exhibition at the National Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah.
The exhibition, “Beautiful Esther: Purim, A Timeless Story,” explores the biblical heroine Queen Esther and the Jewish festival of Purim through Renaissance paintings, historical manuscripts, and contemporary art.
The scroll, crafted in 1616 by Moshe Ben Avraham Pescarol, is on loan from the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem. It is considered one of the earliest known illuminated megillot in which the illustrations actively contribute to the storytelling rather than serving merely as decoration.
“The National Library of Israel is delighted to collaborate with MEIS on this exhibition, allowing the Italian public to view this exceptional piece in its place of origin,” said library CEO Oren Weinberg. “It testifies to the richness of Italian Jewish book heritage and provides a visually stunning account of Esther’s story.”
The exhibition showcases rare artworks including “Esther before Ahasuerus” (c. 1475-1480) by Jacopo del Sellaio and “Vashti Leaves the Royal Palace” (c. 1475) by Filippino Lippi. It also features an interactive section where visitors can engage with contemporary reinterpretations of the Purim story.
Curated by Amedeo Spagnoletto, Olga Melasecchi, and Marina Caffiero, the exhibition runs through June 15.
Child dressed as citrus tree, symbol of Zionist identity, Tel Aviv, 1928. Joseph Schweig, KKL-JNF Photo Archive
The coronation of Esther from the Moshe Ben Avraham Pescarol Esther Scroll, Ferrara, Italy, 1616. National Library of Israel
Child dressed as a sailor, wearing a uniform and hat, Tel Aviv, 1928. Joseph Schweig, KKL-JNF Photo Archive
Dressed for Purim: Black-and-white outfit and a dress with Jewish symbols, Tel Aviv, 1928. Joseph Schweig, KKL-JNF Archive
WINE AND DINE
Bountiful baskets: Last-minute Purim spreads
EtHEl G. HofMAN
urim commemorates the survival of the Jewish people, marked for death by their Persian rulers in the fifth century BC. In the face of destruction and an evil plot, Jews not only survived but went on to flourish.
The analogy is all too real. Israel is in its 17th month of a multifront war with Iran the head of the military octopus that stretches its reach to Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and other terrorist proxies that put Jews and the Jewish state in their crosshairs.
In ancient Persia, Queen Esther and her cousin Mordechai saved the Jewish people, as read in the Megillat Esther. Jews listen to the raucous retelling of the story by hearing the Megillah (and sounding the gragger), dressing in costume, watching comedic spiels and other performances, and sharing in a festive meal. But before all that, the tradition — a mitzvah, actually — is to give gifts of food (shalach manot) to family, friends and neighbors. Truth be told, the mitzvah is fulfilled by handing out just two food or drink items to a single person, so no need to get carried away if you are unable to. (And don’t forget matanot l’evyonim, “charity to the poor,” in the form of food, donations, money or even a gift card.)
Despite the war, Israel will take time for joy this Thursday night and on Friday. All over the country, public parties and private celebrations will bring out popular characters like Queen Esther, Mordechai, Queen Vashti, King Ahasuerus and the evil Haman. Everything from zombies, clowns, courtesans, princesses, paupers and bunnies will elbow through crowds in the backdrop of blaring music and dancing in the streets. Call it raucousness, call it resilience, call it Israel — call it life!
Traditionally, shalach manot or misloach manot includes sweets and hamantaschen — the three-cornered pastries that resemble Haman’s ears or hat — with old-fashioned poppyseed, prune and fruit fillings, or more modern flavors such as cannoli cream, salted caramel and chocolate of all kinds. And while the sweet stuff is well and good, with health consciousness in mind, why not add some savory treats?
Queen Esther was said to be a vegetarian. So stuff your hamantaschen with spinach and feta,
or grated cheddar and cilantro. Store-bought items, many in their own jars, can be tied with colorful ribbons to elevate the most ordinary products to “haute” manot. Small Mason jars are a solid choice but use what you have on hand — empty jars from preserves or seasonings, paper or plastic bowls and plates, or colored paper bags.
Below are some last-minute ideas, along with five easy recipes that may just become yearround favorites. And if you yearn for a sweet, serve a fruit dessert at Seudah Purim; MapleBaked Pears and Walnuts was shared by one of my favorite Florida foodies, Stacey Sevinor. Enjoy giving in the spirit of the holiday!
Market items
•Popcorn, mixed nuts, mini pretzels of various types
•Small wedges of brie, cheddar, crackers (dust crackers with truffle dust available online)
•Israeli spice trio: crackers dusted with cardamom, cumin, za’atar and a mini-bottle of wine
•For kids: Peanut butter and jelly finger sandwiches, a bunch of grapes and a mandarin orange
Homemade:
•Creamy Herb Dip with multi-grain crackers and olives
•Red Bean Hummus with pita wedges and celery sticks
•Spiced Catsup with broccoli florets and French green beans
•Vegan: Curried Cashews and whole-wheat crackers
•Vinaigrette Salad Dressing with carrot and zucchini sticks
•Curried Cashews, dried cranberries Spiced Ketchup (Pareve)
Makes 1 cup
Ingredients:
1 cup ketchup
1 tsp. hot sauce
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. smoked paprika
Directions:
Add ingredients into a small to medium-sized bowl and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to pack.
Balsamic variation: To 1 cup tomato ketchup, whisk in 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder and a pinch of white pepper.
Vinaigrette Salad Dressing (Pareve)
Makes about 3/4 cup
Ingredients:
• 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 4 Tbsp. wine vinegar
• 8 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. dried dill
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
Directions:
In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredi-
ents. Put into a small glass jar, perhaps in a ziplock bag to prevent spillage. Pack at room temperature.
Creamy Herb Dip (Dairy)
Makes about 1-1/4 cups
Ingredients:
• 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup snipped fresh chives or basil
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp. Trader Joe’s 21 seasoning (or use a homemade mix of salt, pepper, and dried dill and parsley)
Directions: In a bowl, combine all ingredients. Refrigerate until needed to pack and deliver.
Red-Bean Hummus (Pareve)
Makes 1-1/2 cups
Ingredients:
• 1 (15-oz.) can small red beans, welldrained
• 1/2 cup tahini
• 5 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
Directions:
Place all ingredients in a food processor. Process until smooth. Add enough cold water to make desired thickness, 3 to 4 tablespoons. Sprinkle with dill and/or paprika (optional). Drizzle with olive oil (optional).
Curried Cashews (Pareve)
Makes 1 cup
Ingredients:
• 1 cup of cashews
• 2 tsp. vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp. curry powder
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss ingredients together in a bowl and place on a small baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes until golden. Cool before packing.
Stacey’s Maple-Baked Pears and Walnuts (Pareve)
Serves 4 to 6
Cook’s Tips: •Substitute pecans for the walnuts. •Honey may be used instead of maple syrup. •Add 1/4 cup dried cranberries.
Ingredients:
• 3 large pears, unpeeled, cored and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
• 1 cup walnuts
• 2 tsp. of maple syrup, divided
• 1 tsp. pumpkin spice
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a 1-1/2-quart baking dish, place the pears, walnuts, 1 tablespoon of maple syrup and pumpkin spice. Toss to mix. Drizzle with remaining maple syrup. Bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the pears are soft and the nuts are crisp. Serve warm.
Write: Columnist@TheJewishStar.com
Security-minded day-schoolers head to Israel
By Howard Blas, JNS
For decades, the eighth-grade trip to Israel has been a central component of the Jewish day-school experience.
The capstone tour traditionally brings students to Israel for a week or more to interact meaningfully with the people and the land, having learned about both throughout their elementary and middle school years.
The trip also serves to bond classmates and sets the tone for what educators and parents hope will be a lifetime of positive Jewish and Israel experiences. It is also a recruitment tool for students to stay in day school through their high school years.
Planning and executing the eighth-grade Israel trip has usually been straightforward, with school administrators working with tour providers and tour educators to customize the itinerary, book rooms, arrange for a guide, driver and security guard, and work out costs. But the Covid-19 pandemic and skirmishes in Israel have proved challenging for Jewish schools wishing to provide a visit that is not only safe but provides access to desired sightseeing venues.
This year, as the war in Israel starts its 17th month, Jewish day schools are carefully weighing a number of factors as they assess whether or not such trips can go ahead as planned. Options include proceeding with tweaked itineraries, postponing until later in the year or next year, and considering nonIsrael trip options, often to destinations in the United States.
According to Paul Bernstein, CEO of Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools, consensus exists among schools as to the importance of the visits.
“Jewish day schools in the Prizmah network across North America are deeply committed to their Israel trips,” he said. “The opportunity to offer such a meaningful experience in middle school is an integral and important part of the educational journey of their students.”
Bernstein notes that last year, “schools did everything they could to maintain the trips.
Many went ahead, and even in the face of acute situations like the Iranian missile attack last spring, they continued with the programs — carefully advised by the Israeli security professionals to keep their faculty and students safe.”
Some schools tried even harder than in the past to create opportunities for community members to get to Israel.
According to Bernstein, “we saw schools that previously did not have organized trips launch student and parent missions, increasing the number of Jewish day schools visiting Israel at such a crucial time, standing with the state, bearing witness in the crisis and volunteering across the country to support agriculture and other important causes.”
Decisions about moving forward with Israel trips this spring, summer and fall are even more complicated — and not just because of safety precautions. The sheer challenge of finding flights to and from the Jewish state since airlines other than El Al limited or halted their routes is a pressing concern, as is keeping costs down at a time when tourism in Israel is more expensive than ever.
To help schools through the process, Prizmah has convened meetups for decisionmakers at various levels as they undergo the process of determining if and how to proceed with their trips. “Parents are being brought into the process in an active way,” he added.
Sara Weiss, dean of middle-school students at the Seattle Hebrew Academy, recalls being a participant in the school’s very first eighthgrade trip to Israel back in 1990. While she notes that a few trips have been postponed in past years, she says the school has worked hard to make them happen. “We have heard from so many of our alumni how impactful the eighth-grade trip was for them,” she said.
Paul Aguero, head of school of Ezra Academy in Woodbridge, Conn., says it seems “eerily familiar to where we were during the pandemic.”
He hoped that his nine eighth-graders would get to go to Israel this year, point out
that the impact is clear: “You hear it in their graduation speeches, and you see it in their faces.”
Rabbi Dov Lerea, head of Judaic studies at the Shefa School in Manhattan, is optimistic that his 43 eighth-graders will get to go to Israel. For Lerea and Shefa, the trip is part of a comprehensive plan throughout the grades to have students “engage with love and passion for the land and the State of Israel.”
“Building of Jewish identity should include a sense of connectivity to the land of Israel and the dedication with which people returned to Israel to build a society,” he said.
When Lerea was tasked with creating a trip at the K-8 school for children with languagebased learning disabilities, he had four principles in mind: love of the land, chesed, spirituality and history. But he knows that “it’s gotta be fun, too.”
Last year, Lerea brought his students to the south instead of going to the Golan Heights, where at the time rockets were being fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon toward Israel’s north. This year, they also plan to spend time hiking in the south. Lerea notes that he will only cancel the May trip if their vendor explicitly says, “Don’t come.”
He is so determined to go that “if 35 families say, “we can’t do it,” I will say, “I understand and take five or so to visit hostage families, etc., and represent Shefa with pride.”
Others stick to the central part of the country — Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Jerusalem, the Dead Sea.
Rabbi Marshall Lesack, head of school at Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy in Bryn Mawr, Pa., said he is committed to students having an immersive experience in Israel. He points to the school’s traditional two-week spring trip in the eighth grade and its threemonth program in the 11th grade as part of the Alexander Muss High School in Israel.
Following the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Lesack flew days later to the Jewish state to help bring the school’s Muss students back to the United States, as did many other groups of Americans. The 11th grade did not go to Muss in the fall of 2024 as the war in Israel continued.
He points to issues such as security; financial realities for each family; financial realities for the school if they commit to the trip and then have to cancel; parental concerns; and a possibly altered experience if the trip deviates substantially from its standard curriculum. Nevertheless, he says, the school remains “deeply committed” to travel programs, saying the trips are meant “to unify and bind the grade.”
Bernstein tells JNS that “it is likely that there will be a number of alternative trips, which schools are determined should be educationally and Jewishly impactful, such as in Europe.”
He says Prizmah’s Reshet (meaning “network” in Hebrew) communities serve as “a space for colleagues to seek information and support from one another. What we know is that to the extent that Israel trips are disrupted this year by insurmountable challenges, day schools continue to demonstrate their strong support for Israel and will resume visits as early as they possibly can.”
Betsalel Steinhart, director of education for Ramah Israel Institute, whose organization organizes trips for many Jewish day schools, spent last November visiting academic institutions in the United States. After returning to Israel, he confirmed that most were “in a holding pattern,” telling JNS: “My sense is that schools want to come, but it is hard to know how many will.”
He thinks that such positive signs as the ceasefires, airlines starting to resume flights to Israel, the start of the spring holidays, and Israelis in the north and south returning to their homes will help assure people that they can come to Israel, though he tells JNS that he understands why many remain “on the fence.”
As dates for the planned trips approach, Steinhart reports that “schools are starting to come back — many with hesitations and all with the desire to add volunteering to their already packed programs.”
He acknowledges that the decisions are complex and singular to each establishment, noting that “these programs are always built around trust, and they trust us to make the right decisions for them.”
Students from the Shefa School in Manhattan at prayer during a trip to Israel.
Students on a field trip as part of the Alexander Muss High School in Israel Program. JNF-USA
Shefa School students from Manhattan are pictured during a trip to Israel.
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
Contact our columnists at: Columnist@TheJewishStar.com
Fri March 14 / Adar 14
Ki Sisa (Fri is Purim, Sat is Shushan Purim) Candles: 6:42• Havdalah: 7:52
Fri April 4 / Nissan 7
Vayikra Candles: 7:04 • Havdalah: 8:14
Five Towns Candlelighting: From the White Shul, Far Rockaway, NY
Fri March 21 / Adar 21
Shabbat Parah • Yayakhel Candles: 6:49 • Havdalah: 7:59
Fri March 28 / Adar 28
Shabbat Hachodesh • Pekudei Candles: 6:57 • Havdalah: 8:07
Fri April 11 / Nissan 13
Shabbos HaGadol • Tzav Candles: 7:11
Sat April 12 / Nissan 14
Erev Pesach • First seder Candles: 8:13
With Tablet’s delivery, birth of a new freedom
•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. rabbi
Witnessing the birth of a new idea is a little like watching the birth of a galaxy through the Hubble Space Telescope. We can witness just such an event in a famous rabbinical commentary to a key verse in this week’s parsha, Ki Sisa.
The way to see it is to ask the question: what is the Hebrew word for freedom? Instinctively, we answer cherut. After all, we say that G-d brought us me-avdut le-cherut (from slavery to freedom).”
We call Pesach, the Festival of Freedom, Zeman Cheruteinu. So it comes as a surprise to discover that not once does the Torah, or even Tanach as a whole, use the word cherut in the sense of freedom, and only once does it use the word, or at least the related word charut, in any sense whatever.
There are two biblical words for freedom. One is chofshi/chofesh, used in connection with the freeing of slaves (as in Ex. 21:2). That too is the word used in Israel’s national anthem, Hatikvah, which speaks about “the two-thousand-year hope to be a free people [am chofshi] in our land.”
The other is dror, used in connection with the Jubilee year, as engraved on the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia:
“Proclaim liberty [dror] throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” Lev. 25:10
The same word appears in Isaiah’s great words, “to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom [dror] for the captives. (Is. 61:1)”
However, the Sages coined a new word. Here is the passage in which it occurs:
The Tablets were the work of G-d, and the writing was the writing of G-d, engraved [charut] on the Tablets” (Ex. 32:16). Read not charut (engraved) but cherut (freedom), for the only person who is truly free is one who is occupied with Torah study. Avot 6:2
The reference is to the first Tablets given by G-d to Moses just before the sin of the Golden Calf. This is the only appearance in Tanach of root ch-r-t (with a tav), but a related word, ch-rt (with a tet) appears in the story of the Golden Calf itself, when the Torah tells us that Aaron shaped it with a cheret, an “engraving tool.” The Egyptian magicians are called chartumim, which may mean “engravers of hieroglyphics.” So how did a word that means “engraved” come to mean “freedom”?
A society in which everyone was free to do what they liked would not be a free society.
Besides which, why was a new term for freedom needed? If the Hebrew language already had two, why was a third necessary? And why did it stem from this word, which meant ‘engraved”? To answer these questions, let us engage in some conceptual archaeology.
Chofesh/chofshi is what a slave becomes when he or she goes free. This means that he can do what he likes. There is no one to order him around. The word is related to chafetz, “desire” and chapess, “seek.” Chofesh is the freedom to pursue your desires. It is what philosophers call negative liberty. It means the absence of coercion. Chofesh is fine for individual freedom. But it does not constitute collective freedom. A society in which everyone was free to do what they liked would not be a free society. It would be, at best, like the society we saw on the streets of London and Manchester in the summer of 2011, with people breaking shop windows, looting, and assaulting strangers.
More likely it would be what failed states are today: a society without the rule of law, with no effective government, honest police, or independent courts. It would be what Hobbes called “the war of every man against every man” in which life would be “nasty, brutish and short.”
Something like this is referred to in the last verse of the Book of Judges: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did that which was right in his own eyes.”
Afree society needs law. But law is a constraint on freedom. It forbids me to do something I might wish to do. How then are we to reconcile law and liberty? That is a question at the heart of Judaism — which is a religion of both law and liberty.
To answer this, the Sages made an extraordinary leap of the imagination. Consider two forms of writing in ancient times. One is to use ink on parchment, another is to engrave words in stone. There is a marked difference between these two methods.
The ink and parchment are two different materials. The ink is external to the parchment. It is superimposed upon it, and it does not become part of the parchment. It remains distinct, and so it can be rubbed off and removed. But an engraving does not use some new substance. It is carved out of the stone itself. It becomes part of it and cannot easily be obliterated.
Now consider these two ways of writing as metaphors for law. There are laws that are externally imposed. People keep them because they fear that if they do not, they will be caught and punished. But if there is no chance that they will be caught, they make break the rules, for the law has not changed their desires. That kind of law — imposed on us like ink on parchment — is a limitation of freedom.
But there can be a different kind of society in which people keep the law not because they fear they will be caught and punished, but because they know the law, they have studied it, they understand it, they have internalized it, and it has become part of who they are. They no longer desire to do what the law for-
bids because they now know it is wrong and they wrestle with their own temptations and desires. Such a law needs no police because it is based not on external force but on internal transformation through the process of education. The law is like writing engraved in stone.
Imagine such a society. You can walk in the streets without fear. You don’t need high walls and alarms to keep your home safe. You can leave your car unlocked and still expect to find it there when you return. People keep the law because they care about the common good. That is a free society.
Now imagine the other kind of society, which needs a heavy police presence, constant surveillance, neighborhood watch schemes, security devices and personnel, and still people are afraid to walk alone at night. People think they are free because they have been taught that all morality is relative, and you can do what you like so long as you do not harm others. No one who has seen such a society can seriously believe it is free. Individuals may be free, but society as a whole has to be on constant guard because it is at constant risk. It is a society with little trust and much fear.
Hence the brilliant new concept that emerged in rabbinic Judaism: cherut, the freedom that comes to a society — of which Jews were called on to be pioneers — where people not only know the law but study it constantly until it is engraved on their hearts as the commandments were once engraved on stone. That is what the Sages meant when they said, “Read not charut, engraved, but cherut, freedom, for the only person who is truly free is one who is occupied with Torah study.”
In such a society you keep the law because you want to, because having studied the law you understand why it is there. In such a society there is no conflict between law and freedom.
Where did the Sages get this idea from? I believe it came from their deep understanding of what Jeremiah meant when he spoke of the renewed covenant that would come into being once Jews returned after the Babylonian exile.
The renewed covenant, he said, “will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt ... This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time – declares the Lord – I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts ...” (Jer. 31:31-33)
Many centuries later Josephus recorded that this had actually happened.
“Should anyone of our nation be asked about our laws, he will repeat them as readily as his own name. The result of our thorough education in our laws from the very dawn of intelligence is that they are, as it were, engraved on our souls.”
To this day, many still do not fully understand this revolutionary idea. People still think that a free society can be brought about simply by democratic elections and political structures. But democracy, as Alexis de Tocqueville said long ago, may simply turn out to be “the tyranny of the majority.”
Freedom is born in the school and the house of study. That is the freedom still pioneered by the people who, more than any other, have devoted their time to studying, understanding and internalizing the law. What is the Jewish people? A nation of constitutional lawyers. Why? Because only when the law is engraved on our souls can we achieve collective freedom without sacrificing individual freedom.
That is cherut — Judaism’s great contribution to the idea and practice of liberty.
Somber parsha at a holiday of unrestrained joy
Rabbi DR. tzvi heRsh weinReb Orthodox Union
As a person who likes to see connections between the Jewish calendar of holiday celebrations and the weekly Torah reading, I have long been perplexed by the proximity of Purim to this week’s Torah portion, Ki Sisa.
We generally read Ki Sisa soon after concluding the celebration of the holiday of Purim. I have always been struck by the contrast between the frivolity of Purim and the somber themes of this parsha.
After all, Purim is a day of “merry-making
and feasting … a holiday and an occasion for sending gifts to one another” (Esther 9:19).
Our rabbis have even declared it obligatory to become somewhat inebriated on this day. Behavior which would not be tolerated all year long is encouraged on Purim.
But Ki Sisa projects quite a different mood.
It begins with the strict annual obligation, incumbent upon rich and poor, to donate a half-shekel for the maintenance of the Temple
For many, the masquerades of Purim are worn all year.
and its ceremonies.
It proceeds to underscore the centrality of Sabbath observance in our religion: “The Israelite people shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout the ages as a covenant for all time.” Harsh punishment is threatened for those who break this covenant: “Whoever does work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death.” (Exodus 32:15-16).
The major events of the parsha are even more troubling: The people sin, they worship the Golden Calf and dance around it. Moses beholds this shameful scene and becomes enraged. He hurls the tablets from his hands, shattering them. He directs the Levites to gird their swords and “slay brother, neighbor, and kin.” (Exodus 33:27)
No wonder I have felt frustrated in my at-
tempts to discover a linkage between the fearsome content of our parsha and the levity and laxity which we enjoyed on Purim.
One year, under the influence of Purim and an overflowing cup of wine, I uncovered such a linkage, and it is a profoundly meaningful one. It has to do with the masks we wear, the façades we maintain, and the role of the imposter in our midst.
A common component of the Purim experience, especially for children, is the masquerade. Visit a Jewish neighborhood, anywhere, and you will see throngs of young people dressed up as Mordechai or Haman, Vashti or Queen Esther. Adults dress up in preposterous disguises, and even the most subdued among us puts on a face mask or at least wears a garish tie.
Acting more like Shaul than David in this war
Everything is in the Torah. Everything.
As we read last Shabbat in Sefer Shmuel 1, Shaul, the first king of Israel, failed in his most profound mission to utterly annihilate and destroy Amalek — and as a consequence, lost the kingship forever.
David was chosen by Hashem to be the new king, anointed by Shmuel Hanavi, but had not yet assumed the throne. Shaul, consumed with jealousy, anger, self-doubt, depression, and paranoia, strove to kill David; failing that,
he set off to fight the Philistines, in one last battle, one that Shaul knew would be his end.
Meanwhile David, who had amassed a fighting force of 600 men, returns from hiding out among the very same Philistines to his home in Ziklag, a small town located in what we today call the “Gaza envelope,” near to kibbutz Nir Oz. David returns and finds his wives and family and those of his entire army have been taken hostage, the town pillaged and burnt by Amalekites. The soldiers and David “lifted their voices and wept until they had no power to weep” (30:4).
Fast-forward to Oct. 7, 2023. The Bibas boys, their mother Shiri and father Yarden are taken hostage from Nir Oz. Every time we thought about those redheaded cherubs we cried till we could cry no more. When we heard confirmation of the horrible deaths of these little
nefeshels and their mother over 500 days later, once again endless tears flowed. Their father Yarden, the lone survivor freed three weeks earlier, is a broken man.
The parallels of the two stories 3,000 years apart, of hostage taking of Jewish wives and children near Gaza by barbaric hordes, are striking. But so are the differences. How did the story of David play out? What happened to his wives and children who were taken hostage?
The Tanach tells us exactly.
After they could cry no more, David’s men, their souls grieving and filled with anger, wanted to stone David for his failure to protect their loved ones. But David, rather than protest or make excuses, “drew strength from Hashem, his G-d” (30:6).
He called over Evyatar the Kohen and said, I must consult G-d on what to do. He inquired via the Urim V’Tumim, the bejeweled breast plate: “Hashem what shall I do? Shall I pursue them?” And Hashem answered, “Yes pursue them for you shall surely overtake them and recover them all, without fail” (30:8).
Ultimately, they found the perpetrators, a band of Amalekites celebrating “eating and drinking and dancing” (30:17). And David “smote them … and recovered all that Amalek had taken … rescued his wives … sons and daughters … recovered it all” (30:17–19). Why the difference in outcome? One could argue the presence of our current adversary Hamas in a network of underground tunnels, the 20-day delay before Israel launched a full scale offensive,
See Mazurek on page 22
Miracles last when people help them unfold
Jerusalem, 722 BCE: The mightiest army on the face of the earth has surrounded the city, bent on conquest and determined to put an end to the Jewish people once and for all.
Approximately 35,000 people, all that remain of the Jewish people after the destruction and conquest of the North and the exile of the ten tribes, are crowded inside the city walls as the Assyrian army lays siege.
The Assyrian general Saragon, also known as Sanhereb the destroyer, has never been defeated. He amassed the largest army the world has ever known: 185,000 men.
Hizkiahu, the Jewish king, has no army to speak of. It would seem that we are on the verge — 2,700 years ago — of a final solution to the Jewish people.
And then G-d performs a miracle. According to the book of Kings, on the first night of Passover, an Angel smites the Assyrian army and all 185,000 Assyrian soldiers die, saving the city of Jerusalem.
Yet this great miracle does not ultimately save the city, only delaying its eventual destruction by the Babylonians 150 years later.
Gush Etzion, 1948: The Jordanian legion, along with tens of thousands of Arab irregulars has surrounded the village of Kfar Etzion south of Jerusalem.
Fighting a pitched battle over three days, on May 14, the beleaguered defenders finally succumb to the Arab hordes, and Kfar Etzion falls, literally as the state of Israel is declared. Only 4
of the 245 defenders survive — the rest are massacred, and the village of Kfar Etzion is completely destroyed.
For 19 years the town will lie empty, bereft of her children, until 1968, when, after the reconquest of the Etzion bloc in 1967, the children of those brave defenders will return and rebuild Kfar Etzion into the beautiful and thriving community it is today.
What hope is there for the future of Kfar Etzion and the rest of the land we have come home to after two millennium of dreaming, if the miracles of the prophets in the Bible did not last?
There is a fascinating question in Ki Sisa, this week’s portion, that may shed light on this question.
After 40 days on Mount Sinai, Moses comes down off the mountain with the tablets of the law in his arms, only to discover the people engaged in an orgy of idolatry we have come to know as
the sin of the golden calf. Apparently outraged at the sight of the Jewish people, not six weeks after receiving the Ten Commandments, worshipping an idol, Moses, in what seems to be a fit of rage, hurls the tablets off the mountain shattering them to pieces.
We will never again have such a holy possession.
Fashioned by no less than G-d himself, these tablets would seem to be the holiest object the world has ever seen. So how can Moshe destroy them? Especially in what seems to be a fit of rage?
In truth, a closer look at the story in the Torah suggests we might be missing a pretty important piece of it. In fact, G-d actually tells Moshe when he is still atop Mount Sinai that the people have sinned and are worshipping a golden calf! So Moshe cannot be shocked at the sight.
See Freedman on page 22
In Parshat Ki Sisa, a taste of the world to come
The Jewish movements that changed the face of Jewry in the 19th and 20th centuries raised serious concerns about the nature of the Torah and how it stands the test of time. Many of the mitzvot of the Torah, for example, are not applicable in our day and age — highlighted by the lack of a Temple in Jerusalem.
Some mitzvot are simply not observed — for example, the mitzvot of the eved ivri (Jewish indentured servant), amah ivriya (Jewess maidser-
vant), and yibum (levirate marriage) — because our society has evolved in such a way that these are quite strange.
We also have a difficult time swallowing the nature of the mitzvah to wipe out Amalek. While there are enemies of the Jewish people who exhibit Amalek-like qualities, this does not make them Amalekites. As such, I, for one, am glad that we cannot identify true Amalekites and are not subject to the mitzvah of destroying them.
There is a passage in Ki Sisa which is difficult to explain to the modern Jew, and to a world that shies away from the notion that we have the right to administer capital punishment.
To be sure, the Torah makes capital punishment very difficult to administer. The Torah also did not create a prison system. Punishment was
carried out immediately to serve as a deterrent and was practiced at minimum expense, quickly, with no attention paid to a concern of “causing undue pain and suffering.” It was done as humanely as possible — very forward thinking for its time.
While capital punishment is much easier to understand when someone has committed murder, how do we understand it in the context of — “Six days you shall work, the seventh day is the Sabbath — it is holy to G-d. Whoever does melakha on this day will be put to death” (Shmot 31:15)?
The Torah even describes a case when an individual who gathered wood on the Sabbath was put to death (Bamidbar 15:32-36).
Of course, this is not something we pay any
attention to now — in the sense that we would never ever put someone who does melakha on the Sabbath to death. We might, however, explain (as we do for all laws in the Torah that carry a death punishment, such as hitting or cursing one’s parents, which are very serious offenses, not to be taken lightly).
Beyond that, however, I think it is important to understand two points:
•Where is the Torah is coming from in advancing this rule, and
•Why it is not our place to judge the Torah. I would suggest that the Sabbath, being one of the “Ten Commandments” and being the model of G-d’s rest from the work of Creation, is our best example of how we can imitate our Father
See Weinreb on page 22
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Anti-Trump resistance defends antisemites
JOnATHAn S. TObIn
JnS Editor-in-Chief
At a time when partisanship influences virtually every aspect of American life, we shouldn’t be surprised when even the most anodyne governmental actions are not merely opposed but labeled as authoritarian tyranny.
That’s especially true when it comes to anything done by President Donald Trump.
•In a saner political era, the administration’s decision to pull funding from Columbia University over its tolerance of Jew-hatred could be understood in its proper context and easily seen as both constitutional and entirely necessary.
•The same is true of the arrest last week of Mahmoud Khalil, a foreign national who was one of the organizers of the harassment of Jews on Columbia’s campus, by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
In 2025, seeking to roll back the damage the far left’s grip on the education system has done to the country and the way it has fueled antisemitism is not merely controversial but depicted by leading liberal news outlets as outright tyranny. These actions are being challenged by many in politics and the media, as well as cited as the latest examples of what they falsely claim is Trump’s push to end democracy and replace it with authoritarian rule.
In so doing, they not only validate the party line of supporters of the Hamas terror movement. They also demonstrate that — even though most of American Jewry wish it to be otherwise — since the terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, effectively combating antisemitism is no longer a matter of a nonpartisan consensus.
Fearful of offending their party’s left-wing base, President Biden failed to act decisively against Jewhatred on university campuses and in the streets of major US cities. As historian and State Department antisemitism envoy Deborah Lipstadt admitted last week, much of the outrages being committed against Jews were met by administrative “silence,” even as Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris stated that pro-Hamas collegiate protesters deserved to be hard. Ideology is the problem.ric.
Only Trump would act
Leading institutions from Columbia University on the East Coast and the University of Cali-
fornia, Los Angeles on the West Coast couldn’t be persuaded to change.
Their administrations and faculties had long since been captured by leftist ideologues who were determined to impose on their students the toxic myths of critical race theory, intersectionality and settler-colonialism, as well as the woke catechism of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
Nor could they be shamed into better behavior as the debacle of the presidents of Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, both in Cambridge, Mass., and the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia testifying to Congress in December 2023 that advocacy for genocide against Jews wasn’t against the rules of their schools showed.
The only way to do something about the iron grip that an increasingly antisemitic left-wing intellectual class has on American education was through electing a president who would use the federal government’s power to that end.
It would be far better if punishing schools like Columbia — and the others that rightly fear the same treatment — didn’t generate the sort of knee-jerk opposition that everything Trump says or does. That ought to also be true when it comes to efforts to deport non-citizens who use their legal status to organize support for the genocidal intentions of terrorist groups like Hamas in Gaza and do their best to make life untenable for Jews on college campuses who haven’t abjured their loyalty to their people or faith.
But that’s the situation we find ourselves in.
As such, it’s time to recognize that on this issue, the only sort of leader who would have acted along these lines is someone like Trump. Only a president who has contempt for the expert class and credentialed elites of American life would think to use the power of the government to defend Jews in the same way that it has done for decades to protect other minorities, like African Americans or Hispanics, who fall under the DEI rubric.
Ideology is the problem
The problem was not merely one of neglect or university leaders who were easily bullied by pro-Hamas mobs, as so many of them were after Oct. 7 when encampments, building occupations and the harassment of Jewish students became commonplace in so many places. Toleration of these activities was a function of a mindset in which hatred for Israel and Jews was considered not just acceptable but laudable.
That was a function of the pervasive influence
Trump’s crackdown on schools that tolerate Jewhatred is being spun by his foes as an attack on free speech. The truth is quite the opposite.
of woke ideas in which Israel and Jews are falsely labeled as “white” oppressors who are always in the wrong, no matter what they do. Similarly, those who commit violence against them — like Hamas and the Palestinians who perpetrated the slaughter of 1,200 men, women and children on Oct. 7 — are always seen as in the right.
Schools were not just unable to control their campuses to stop attacks on Jews. Many academic administrations viewed such activities as the sort of activism that they had sought to encourage, even if they regretted excesses that impacted their ability to maintain order.
Revolts of donors, many of whom are Jewish, who care about antisemitism as well as the damage done to the entire country by woke groupthink is one way to exert pressure on such institutions. As much as that sort of pushback should be encouraged, withholding federal grants and contracts — crucial to all schools and essential to the funding of all but the wealthiest institutions of higher education—is the only path to real change.
Still, we shouldn’t be misled by the arguments of those who are opposing Trump’s actions.
Attempt by liberal media outlets like the New York Times, to treat schools like Columbia and thugs like Khalil as victims of government persecution, may fit into the narrative of political liberals about a president they despise. But far from violating established norms as he is so often accused of doing, what Trump is doing is defending the values that all decent people, regardless of their political affiliations or
how they feel about him and his other politics, ought to be supporting.
In the case of the US Department of Education pulling Columbia’s grants, arguments pronouncing that this is an attack on higher education itself, academic freedom or free speech — or as Times columnist David French asserted about similar actions undertaken by the administration — don’t hold water. Nor is it part of a broader constitutional crisis brought on by what the left claims are Trump’s unprecedented actions.
As constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley has pointed out, while the details will be subject to litigation, Trump is well within his rights to act to combat discrimination in his executive orders, as well as to overturn the actions of his predecessors to put such terrible practices in place.
Moreover, as Turley has also argued, the side in this dispute that seeks to violate free speech and academic freedom were those in the proHamas mobs, egged on by administrations that coddled and enabled them, who were violating the rights of Jewish students and faculty.
The context comes as part of an academic culture in which non-leftist views have been increasingly suppressed via deplatforming and hiring practices that made conservative or proIsrael professors rare, if not extinct, in most humanities faculties.
In these cases, the question was not one about whether supporters of Hamas and those who did advocate for Jewish genocide (“from the river to the sea”) or terrorism against Jews (“globalize
See Tobin on page 22
Pro-Israel demonstrators are countered by pro- Hamas protesters in front of Columbia University at an “Unmask Campus Hate” rally on Aug. 27, 2024. Spencer Platt, Getty Images via JNS
Targeting agents of influence in service of Iran
The sight of Israeli fighter jets flying low and loud over the funeral in Beirut last month of the eliminated Hezbollah terrorist chieftain Hassan Nasrallah was certainly gratifying. But I’ll wager that I’m not the only observer who wishes that the Israeli pilots had actually dropped a few bombs on the whole wretched spectacle.
Among the thousands of Hezbollah supporters in attendance were a few dozen activists from Western countries, some of whom were questioned by their respective police forces upon their return. According to a list compiled by the Middle East Media Research Institute, their number included Canadian passport holders Charlotte Kates and Khaled Barakat of the now-proscribed terrorist organization Samidoun, which raises support for the motley crew of Palestinian rapists and murderers held in Israeli jails; Irish activists Tadhg Hickey and Tara O’Grady, two leading lights of their country’s influential antisemitic, pro-Hamas lobby; and the heads of the ultra-Stalinist, deeply antisemitic American Communist Party in the form of Jackson Hinkle and Christopher Helali.
Since Israel demurred from getting rid of these people when it had the chance (perhaps
The British government unveiled an important new measure to combat influence originating from Tehran. Now it has to get to work enforcing it.
prudently), it falls to law-enforcement agencies in their own countries to deal with them. And by that, I mean isolating them completely from the public square and, if necessary, imprisoning them as accessories of a terrorist organization whose bloody global imprint extends from Bulgaria to Argentina to other lands where Hezbollah has carried out violent attacks at the behest of its Iranian paymasters.
I want to focus on the British presence at Nasrallah’s funeral because last week the British government unveiled an important new measure to combat Iranian influence. While the measure regrettably falls short of classifying the Tehran regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, it does elevate Iran and its British assets to the highest tier of the UK’s Foreign Influence Registration Scheme. Anyone acting on Iran’s behalf will be deemed a security threat and therefore obliged to register with the scheme. Failure to do so will incur a prison sentence of up to five years.
That brings into the frame some of the worst enemies of the British Jewish community, like the former Parliament members George Galloway and Chris Williamson. Having been turfed out of the ruling Labour Party, the two men now lead what is functionally a national socialist organization calling itself the Workers Party of Britain. Both are regular contributors to the Iranian state propaganda outlet Press TV — a wholly owned subsidiary of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) — where Williamson anchors a sinister discussion show pushing antisemitic conspiracy theories titled “Palestine Declassified.”
His sidekick on the show is a failed Scottish academic named David Miller, who was fired from the University of Bristol over his continued harassment of Jewish students. It’s easy to dismiss Miller as the clown who sent the distinguished historian Simon Sebag-Montefiore, the author of a recent book on Jerusalem, a page from Wikipedia intended to counter his argument about Jewish indigeneity, accompanied by an “Aha! Gotcha!” post on X. Sadly, there are those who
take Miller seriously and listen to his arguments, which become more screechingly antisemitic with every post, every broadcast appearance and every article.
One of Miller’s obsessions is the contention that Jewish anti-Zionists are really Zionists. He asks preposterously, “[H]ow many Jewish martyrs have there been in the past 140 on the path to liberate Palestine from Zionism? How many Jews have engaged in military action against Zionist targets in that period?” Another is his repeated characterization of the Chabad-Lubavitch religious movement, which is regarded with affection by observant and non-observant Jews alike, as a “genocidal cult.” Moreover, Miller’s adoration of the Palestinians and their murderous cause is mirrored by his contempt for genuinely persecuted populations, like the Kurds, whom he denies constitute a nationality, and the Ukrainians, whose plight under constant Russian
bombardment elicits a teenage cheerleader’s enthusiasm from him.
Miller also attended Nasrallah’s funeral, posing as a “journalist,” and was duly questioned by the British police on his return from Beirut. His actual reportage was limited to fawning posts on X and appearances on Press TV because it’s pretty much the only broadcaster willing to platform his ravings.
The new rules in the United Kingdom will, it is to be hoped, remove the veneer of “independence” shrouding Miller and his co-thinkers — who include Asa Winstanley, an antisemitic propagandist for the U.S. outlet “Electronic Intifada” — and reveal them for what they are: assets of the Iranian mullahs. They also provide a road map for further moves to curb both Iran’s propaganda agents and hired thugs, like the two Romanians who one year ago stabbed an Iranian opposition
See Cohen on page 23 MitCHELL
Khalidi: Columbia’s unapologetic terrorist prof
While student protests dominate the headlines, the true menace on college campuses lies within the faculty. Professors hold the power to shape young minds, using their authority to push personal agendas under the guise of education, while their control over grading can pressure students into ideological conformity. If there is one silver lining to the turmoil since Oct. 7, it is the exposure of thousands of professors who are not merely anti-Israel but often overtly antisemitic.
Nowhere is this corruption of academia more blatant than at Columbia University, where the toxic influence of Edward Said set the tone for a generation of pseudo-scholars that have all but destroyed the field of Middle East Studies as a serious discipline. Columbia established a chair named after Said and gave it to Rashid Khalidi, a former PLO spokesman. Khalidi, a propagandist masquerading as a historian, has spent decades rewriting Middle Eastern history to fit the Palestinian narrative. After more than 20 years at Columbia, he retired in 2024, but not before openly praising the pro-Hamas mobs that have terrorized Jew-
The true menace on campus isn’t protesting students, it’s the faculty.
ish students since the Hamas-led terrorist attacks that killed 1,200 people in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The title of a profile in the Chronicle of Education reveals Khalidi’s extremism: “‘When Someone Says I’m a Terrorist, My Feelings Are Not Hurt’.”
The article by Evan Goldstein starts with Khalidi addressing students and faculty after the police removed protesters who took over Hamilton Hall and camped out on the campus. Absurdly comparing protests against Israel to movements against racism and the Vietnam War, Khalidi has downplayed the violent nature of Hamas, calling it a “political-military-ideological entity” rather than a terrorist group committed to Israel’s destruction.
Khalidi has grown more radical with age as he came to view the PLO as too moderate and a two-state solution as “a cruel Orwellian hoax.” He is a propagator of the “settler-colonialist” drivel to describe Israel and to rationalize terror like the Hamas massacre as “Palestinian resistance.”
In an article for the London-based Guardian, he regurgitates Hamas’s talking points about “ethnic cleansing,” “famine” and “genocide,” deliberately ignoring the facts.
A historian who doesn’t know history, he distorts the number of Palestinians who became refugees in 1948 and falsely claims they were “ethnically cleansed.” Like most Palestinians, he ignores the 19 years that the Gaza Strip was occupied by Egypt and the West Bank by Jordan when the world was silent and the Palestinians made no demands on their overlords for independence. Khalidi admits that teaching has evolved to increasingly favor the Palestinian narrative.
This shift is fueled by post-Zionist Israeli academics who, as political scientist Shlomo Avin-
eri put it, “are simply anti-Zionists” seeking Israel’s destruction.
Khalidi dismisses reports of antisemitic violence on Columbia’s campus as “utterly false,” claiming such allegations are a fabrication of “Republican, right-wing, anti-education yahoos.” But Columbia’s task force on antisemitism documented a starkly different reality: Jewish students have faced harassment, verbal abuse, ostracism and even physical violence.
The report highlighted chilling examples: a Jewish student physically pinned against a wall, another threatened with a sign reading “Al Qas-
sam’s next targets,” and the rampant display of Hamas symbols and slogans, which to Jews on campus are clear incitements to violence. But to Khalidi, none of this constitutes a problem. Instead, he defends the use of genocidal chants like “From the river to the sea” under the guise of free speech while simultaneously dismissing proIsrael perspectives as “pitifully weak.”
Khalidi insists that the classroom should be a space where “anything can be said and challenged.” Yet, students are not free to challenge his distortions without risking
Rashid Khalidi, the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University, speaking at Brooklyn Law School in 2009. Thomas Good, Next Left Notes via WikiCommons
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks at the Downing Street Briefing Room on Feb. 25. Leon Neal, POOL, AFP via Getty Images via JNS
Message to Hamas: Consequences to your defeat
ERIC LEVINE
Attorney
With the completion of Phase 1 of the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, and a new Israeli offensive into Gaza becoming more imminent, some Arab states have scrambled to put forward a plan for the “day after” as a counterproposal to the Trump plan of resettling Gazans and bringing a potential American presence to Gaza.
Arab countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar advocate for Hamas to disarm but retain some governing role in Gaza going forward. As part of Egypt’s vision, Hamas would surrender its missiles and rockets to Egyptian and European supervision until a Palestinian state is created.
It is no accident that Egypt and Qatar want to save Hamas.
Most of the weapons Hamas has used against Israel were smuggled into the Gaza Strip from the Sinai through the Egypt-Gaza border across the Philadelphi Corridor. This is why Israel announced the other week that it would not withdraw troops from the corridor under any circumstance
While this illicit arms smuggling violated the 1978 Camp David Accords, the profits for a corrupt Egyptian government were sufficient enough for it to look the other way. Not surprisingly, most, if not all, of these weapons were paid for by Iran and Qatar — Hamas’s two biggest financial and political supporters.
As for Egypt’s suggestion that it and the Europeans serve as custodians for Hamas’s missiles and rockets until a Palestinian state is established, the mere idea insults the intelligence of any sentient individual. Egypt has already shown it cannot be trusted to prevent weapons smuggling.
The Europeans have performed little better as countries like Ireland, Spain and Norway have unilaterally recognized a Palestinian state with no defined borders, no functioning government and no international recognition. What is to prevent other European countries and Egypt from making similar declarations, thus enabling them to release weapons to a Hamas-led Palestinian state to be used in a new war against Israel? It is hard to imagine a dumber idea.
Regarding the Saudi motivation to publicly declare that it wants Hamas to survive as a political entity, the best gloss to be put on it is that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman wants as much latitude to deal with the fallout in Gaza as possible. MBS has competing priorities.
On the one hand, his priority is to bring Saudi Arabia into the 21st century. To achieve that goal, he needs the full support of the United States economically, politically and militarily. In addition to what America can provide, Israel can deliver state-of-the-art technology and protec-
tion from a hegemonic Iran. None of that is possible unless MBS enters the Abraham Accords. For that reason, he understands that his path to modernity runs through Jerusalem.
On the other hand, he is concerned about his physical survival. If he is seen as having sold out the Palestinians to the Zionists, there will be a price on his head. By claiming that he wants
Bringing alcoholism awareness to our community
NECHAMA BLUTH
The Jewish Star
Discussing a topic like alcoholism is not something many people would bring up in conversation. If bringing it up, one
would need to be sensitive.
I would like to thank Jane Lee for words of caution, on last week’s front page, about drinking alcohol while celebrating Purim. This is a really big challenge in the Jewish community.
We should be aware of the harmful effects of alcohol on the lives of others and should refrain from making light of the challenges people face when attempting to avoid excess consumption. Awareness and education is
the key to saving lives.
The Jewish Star features an advertisement, placed by Saving Lives Five Towns Drug & Alcohol Coalition, that promotes such awareness and reminds people of the harmful effects of alcohol. There are many ways to celebrate Purim without getting drunk.
As we complete our Purim celebrations, we look forward to Pesach, when we will again confront the challenge of drinking.
Community awareness about the programs that are out there can truly save lives. Let’s continue to promote the programs that help prevent alcoholism.
For more information or help, visit savinglives5townscoalition.org
If you know of other resources in our community, please let me know. Call me at 516-622-7461 ext 241 or email me, nbluth@ thejewishstar.com
Indict Hamas for weaponizing sexual violence
President of Hadassah
By every measure, the past year was an extremely challenging one for Jewish and Zionist women. Hamas’ weaponization of sexual violence continues to go unchecked, highlighting antisemitic fault lines in the global fight against conflict-related sexual violence. At the same time, antisemitism continues to increase at an alarming rate in the United States and around the world, creating everpresent safety concerns that are causing many Jewish women to hide their identities at work and in their communities.
This year’s International Women’s Day theme, “Accelerate Action,” is meant to drive swift action for gender equality. It is well past time that the United Nations and the international community hold Hamas accountable for its sexual violence during the terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and against hostages it held in captivity since then.
It is also a critical moment for governments around the world to adopt and enact policies that help curtail the dangerous growth of antisemitism.
Hamas terrorists invaded Israel and went on a rampage, killing, raping, mutilating and
kidnapping civilians, soldiers and anyone in their path. They slaughtered some 1,200 men, women and children. There is irrefutable evidence that Hamas systemically planned and executed these vicious acts.
Last March, a UN report and testimony by released hostages, including Amit Sousanna, the first Israeli to speak publicly about being sexually assaulted while in captivity, confirmed our worst fears that gender-based violence was being weaponized against the hostages.
More than a year later, advocates continue to demand UN Secretary-General Guterres hold Hamas responsible for its crimes against humanity, including using rape as a weapon of war. While the most recent Conflict-Related Sexual Violence Report of the United Nations Secretary-General, released in 2024, found “reasonable grounds to believe that conflictrelated sexual violence occurred during the 7 October attacks,” it failed to name Hamas as the party responsible for these disgusting and vicious acts of gender-based violence, which, in turn, prevented the United Nations from adding Hamas to its sexual violence blacklist.
Many Jewish women are hiding their identities.
Since Hamas’ attacks,
has been publicly demanding that the world body stop holding up the prosecution of these crimes. We have mobilized more than 150,000 advocates from 118 countries and 119 organi-
Hadassah
CAROL ANN SCHWARTZ
Demonstrators protest sexual violence by Hamas during its invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, outside the UN in New York on Dec. 4, 2023. Yakov Binyamin, Flash90
Japan surrenders to Allied Forces, ending World War II in 1945. WikiCommons via JNS
Weinreb…
Continued from page 17
The goal of the day is to re-enact the historical Purim. “On the very day in which the enemies of the Jews had expected to get them in their power, the opposite happened, and the Jews got their enemies in their power.” (Esther 9:1). We masquerade, pretending to be the opposites of who we really are.
Ironically, however, most of us pretend to be the “opposites of whom we really are” not just on Purim, but all year long. We hide our real selves from those around us; we wear masks and disguises. We may reveal our real faces for those close to us, but when we are “out there,” in public, we play the roles that we think society expects of us. We deceitfully present a façade to the world; an image which we hope will bring us admiration, approval, and material success.
To some extent we are all imposters. Inauthenticity has been identified by social scientists as the malaise of postmodern man. I recently came across a poem which makes this point so well:
Oh G-d of such truth as sweeps away all lies,/ of such grace as shrivels all excuses,/ come now to find us/for we have lost ourselves/in a shuffle of disguises/and the rattle of empty words. (Ted Loder, “My Heart in My Mouth”)
For many of us the masquerades of Purim are worn all year.
We are now prepared to discern the link to Purim in this week’s parsha. Did you know that, of all people, Moses himself wore a mask? He did not wear it at all times, and certainly not for all of his life.
When he descended from Sinai with a second set of tablets, the first tablets having been smashed by his own action, we read: “As Moses came down from the mountain … he was unaware that the skin of his face was radiant. … Aaron and all the Israelites … shrank from coming near him. But Moses called to them … and he instructed them concerning all that the L-rd had imparted to him on Mount Sinai. And when Moses finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.” (Exodus 34:19-33)
Read the rest of the story near the very end of the parsha, and you will discover that Moses did not wear the mask when he was in direct contact with the people: Speaking to them, advising them, teaching them. He also did not wear it when he was in dialogue with the Almighty. At all other times he had the mask, or veil, at the ready. Moses knew that masks may be worn, but only with great discretion. In moments of communion with the Master of the Universe one must shed one’s mask, hiding nothing. Absolute authenticity is demanded when one attempts to reach or teach another person. Then there can be no facades, no disguises, and no masks.
In Moses’ case, his veil was worn for one purpose only: to assure that others would not shrink from his presence, to guarantee that others would not avoid him because of his frightening radiance.
Moses knew when to assert himself publicly with the full radiance of his personality, and when to withdraw in solitude and in modesty.
This is illustrated in the following homiletic comment by the great Rabbi Meir Shapiro, the Rabbi of Lublin in the immediate pre-Holocaust years, and the founder of its famed yeshiva. Earlier in the parsha, we read of the mysterious encounter between Moses and the Almighty:
And the L-rd said, “See, there is a place near Me. Station yourself on the rock and, as My Presence passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and shield you with My hand.” (Exodus 33:21-22) Rabbi Shapiro pointed out that all leaders confront this dilemma: When should I publicly and courageously assert myself with my entire being, and when should I retreat to my own space, in humility.
The answer, he suggested, lies in the aforementioned verse: When you are in “a place near Me,” when the issue is one which involves promulgating My Divine will, then “Station yourself on the rock.” Then there can be no masks, no withholding of your personal talents and radiance.
“But, as My presence passes by,” when the is-
sues are neither sublime not spiritual, your place is “in a cleft in the rock,” in privacy, modesty, and occasional isolation.
When we are doing the L-rd’s work we must shed our masks and assert ourselves in full authenticity, holding nothing back. But then there are circumstances when the L-rd’s honor is not at all at stake. In such mundane moments solitude and humility are warranted. At such moments one may resort to veils, masks, and disguises.
We must limit our use of facades to the one day a year festival of Purim. But if our encounters with others and with the Almighty are to be meaningful, we must shed our masks, and act with courageous authenticity.
Write: Columnist@TheJewishStar.com
Mazurek…
Continued from page 17
the pressure by international forces and governments, hindered a successful outcome. All true.
Or, could you argue, the failure by our own Jewish Israeli leadership to seek out and be strengthened by G-d as David did immediately, led to the delay so that Hamas could hide their hostages and kill them; led to the delays so that over 500 days later we still don’t have everyone back; and that the misplaced compassion for “innocent Gazans” supplied with “humanitarian aid and corridors,” led to the deaths of so many of our soldiers and hostages.
The failure to consult with G-d!? How?
We don’t have access to a direct line to G-d with the Urim V’Tumim, but we have G-d’s instruction manual, our Holy Torah. Had we consulted that, rather than rely on our “practical, secular strategies,” perhaps the results might have been different.
We, who debate such minutiae of Jewish life as whether we may carry in this area or that on Shabbat, or use hot water, or discuss the intricacies of basar v’chalav, or if our etrog is kosher, we couldn’t inquire how to proceed with something as monumental as this?
Sadly, we acted more like Shaul than David in prosecuting this war that was foisted upon us. May we learn from our mistakes and realize the Torah is our guide for everything
Shabbat Shalom.
Former ZOA Chairman Dr. Alan A. Mazurek is a retired neurologist, living in Great Neck, Jerusalem and Florida.
Write: Columnist@TheJewishStar.com
Freedman…
Continued from page 17
And if his intent is to destroy the tablets, why does he bother to carry them all the way down the mountain? In fact, it is actually when Moshe is descending the mountain with the tablets in hand (already knowing the people are worshipping a golden calf below) that the Torah describes them as fashioned by G-d — so how can Moshe take them down to destroy them? If indeed the people are simply not worthy of such a gift, why not leave them atop Mount Sinai?
Indeed, after destroying the golden calf and successfully gaining forgiveness for the Jewish people, Moshe will ascend the mountain again, this time fashioning a second set of tablets himself (34:1). And these tablets, fashioned by man, will remain intact, constituting the Torah we received at Sinai, while the seemingly more holy tablets, fashioned by G-d, will remain shattered forever.
Aparadox, to say the least: Why would the less holy tablets seem to be a better choice than the holiest tablets fashioned by G-d Himself?
Perhaps this is the real message behind Moshe’s shattering of the tablets of G-d. Maybe the first tablets represent the initial experience at Sinai, the overwhelming, spectacular experience of G-d. The people are but passive receivers of the Torah, it is G-d who, as it were, comes down to man.
But such supernatural, miraculous experi-
ences do not last. And ultimately, they do not change us.
When Elijah has his famous encounter with the prophets of Baal in the book of Kings, a great fire comes from the heavens and the entire Jewish people fall to their knees crying out, “G-d the true G-d,’ it does not last. The next day they are back to their idolatrous ways leading no less than Elijah the prophet to despair.
And when G-d splits the sea, vanquishing the entire Egyptian army and leading the Jewish people to a moment of mass prophecy in the Song of the Sea, there too it does not last. The very next day the Jews are back complaining about water.
But later, when the Jews fight Amalek and are victorious in battle, that actually does seem to last, and we do not see the Jews complain again until much later in the sin of the spies.
One wonders if the entire story of the Sinai experience along with the sin of the golden calf is designed to teach us that lasting change has to come from us. If G-d is doing all the work, and there is no partnership on our part, we do not really change. Ultimately, we have to be our own agents for change.
Twenty-seven hundred years ago G-d performs a great miracle for the Jewish people, but it does not last because it was all G-d; real change has to come from within.
And so, in 1948, after 2,000 years of exile, the Jewish people finally answered the call and took an active role in shaping our destiny and that is what changed history.
It is the second tablets fashioned by Moshe that will ultimately become the lasting Torah.
And today, surrounded by enemies on every side, the message of those second tablets could not be clearer. Seventy years after the Holocaust we have been blessed with a country we can call our own with a Jewish army. It is ultimately G-d who will decide how history unfolds, but our job is to be active partners in seeing that dream become a reality, every day.
And each of us must decide whether we remain spectators to the spectacle of Jewish destiny, or whether we become active participants in helping it unfold, each and every day.
Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem.
Rabbi Freedman is rosh yeshiva at Yeshivat Orayta in Jerusalem.
Write: Columnist@TheJewishStar.com
Billet…
in Heaven. He created for six days, and rested on the seventh. In this sense, neglecting the Sabbath serves as a denial of His role in creating the universe.
I don’t feel we can judge the Torah as being immoral for suggesting a capital punishment for this offense, because morality is defined differently in every generation. This point was articulated brilliantly by Rabbi Norman Lamm z”l in a sermon he delivered on March 21, 1970, entitled “In Defense of Samuel.”
Addressing Shmuel the Prophet’s right to kill Agag, king of Amalek in Samuel I 15:33, Rabbi Lamm suggested there are absolute moral principles, but there are also “moral insights that develop slowly in the history of the human family as a result of various individual insights, until by consensus…they are recognized as binding moral judgments.”
In his homiletical elaboration, he raises historical developments of the practices of polygamy and slavery of old, as well as the draft board (this was during the Vietnam War) and the penal system of our society today, the former two having been defined in more modern times as being morally reprehensible, and the latter two are subject to scrutiny in our evolving society.
Are we to, therefore, judge great, otherwise moral, people of ages past for having practiced these activities in a time and place when our contemporary moral sensitivity did not yet exist, and when the common consensus was that these activities were moral?
and throwing him into jail with other criminals, there only to compound his injury by making it permanent.”
I do a lot of work, and participate in many education opportunities that cater to non-observant Jews. Many people simply do not have the education, the ability, the know-how, or the wherewithal to change old habits, or to commit to the Sabbath the way many of us are committed. This does not take away from their commitment to being Jewish, or their desire to represent the Jewish people and to take the proverbial bullet for our People.
I hope that all Jews can engage themselves in a step-by- step process — even if it is a manyyears-long process — to reconnect with the Sabbath. Start with Friday night, turn off the phone and computer, light the candles, enjoy a meal and relax. You may extend your “vacation” into Saturday over time, and I am sure your life will be enriched from it.
Enjoy the Sabbath. Enjoy a taste of the World to Come.
Avi Billet, who grew up in the Five Towns, is a South Florida-based mohel and rabbi of Anshei Chesed Congregation in Boynton Beach. This column was previously published. To reach Rabbi Billet, write: Columnist@TheJewishStar.com
Tobin…
Continued from page 18
the intifada”) are being deprived of their right to free speech, as those who rationalize or defend them claim. Rather, it was a matter of those who held these views creating an atmosphere on campuses in which it became difficult if not impossible for Jews to pursue their educations or express their views.
It’s equally true that had anyone on campus sought to advocate for violence against protected minorities like blacks or Hispanics, university administrations would have cracked down on them without mercy. By failing to act when it was the rights of Jews that were being violated, institutions didn’t merely fail them; they systematically violated Title VI of the 1965 Civil Rights Act.
Efforts to enforce the law via complaints to the Department of Education brought lengthy investigations that never resulted in any real punishment for schools that were determined to hold on to their DEI culture and practices that had made such violations inevitable. So, Trump’s decisions were not only in accordance with the law. They were long overdue.
Pro-Hamas activism
As for efforts to deport Khalil, this, too, is a welcome development.
Khalil, of Palestinian Arab origin, was born in Syria. He worked for the Hamas-linked UNRWA refugee agency before coming to the United States for his graduate education and obtained a green card, which enabled him to stay and find work.
He has every right to believe and say what he likes, even if it is hateful. But non-citizens, even green-card holders, are not entitled to pursue activities that aid terrorist organizations and advance hateful ideologies like antisemitism. And that’s exactly what he did at Columbia as he helped organize the pro-Hamas demonstrations, encampments and occupations of buildings.
The Trump administration will likely face a long legal battle to throw him out of the United States. But to claim — as those who seek Israel’s destruction like writer Peter Beinart or fellow Times columnist Lydia Pogreen do — that he has been “abducted by ICE” or that his free speech is being repressed is not only untrue. It’s a form of gaslighting intended to divert us from the fact that his activities, which they support, were aimed at suppressing the speech of Jews.
Foreign terror supporters have no intrinsic right to remain in the United States to violate US laws and endanger American citizens.
“Quite possibly, flogging a man once and for all and letting him free thereafter is more humane than taking 15 of the best years of his life
Continued from page 17 Continued
That is true whether or not it is Trump or anyone else who is enforcing the law and
seeking to protect Jewish citizens.
Even if you oppose the president and believe the worst about his policies, if you care about the crisis in American education and the resulting surge in antisemitism, then you should be applauding his effort to do something about these problems.
Instead, the anti-Trump resistance is rallying to the defense of academic institutions that have abandoned a belief in equal rights, in addition to terror supporters like Khalil. Some on the political left do so because they think that Trump must be opposed on every front.
Others have been so indoctrinated in woke ideology that they feel they must back the silencing of supporters of Jewish rights as well as the Western canon.
Either way, opponents of the president’s efforts to roll back the woke tide and defend Jewish students are not only wrong; they have put themselves on the side of the advocates of Jew-hatred, not the US Constitution.
Write: Columnist@TheJewishStar.com
Cohen…
Continued from page 19
journalist outside his home in London, who carry out the regime’s orders on foreign soil.
But if any of that is to happen, then the British government must follow through on enforcement. If Miller fails to register as an Iranian agent, then he should be arrested and charged accordingly. Even without incarceration, there is a case to be made for shuttering his channels of communication, such as his website and his social-media presence, with the outside world. Free speech does not extend to treason and never has, including in the United States, where the First Amendment affords protections that don’t exist in Europe. Nor does it include incitement to violence. When Miller talks about “liquidating” or “dismantling” Zionism, as he does frequently, one has to remember that his Iranian sponsors regard that phrase as a license for terrorist actions against Jewish targets around the world.
Ultimately, the United Kingdom has to decide whether it will tolerate Iranian state media outlets exploiting their presence as “journalists” to spread misinformation and propaganda on behalf of Tehran. Press TV operated a London office for nearly 15 years before dissolving as a limited company under British law in 2021, according to the country’s own records. Yet it still operates a studio there, where Williamson and Miller record their programming. Press TV’s broadcasts are still available on some cable networks or through an app that can be freely downloaded. As an enemy broadcaster and one designated by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Press TV should be blocked online and removed from all social-media platforms, including X, which is owned by the same individual, Elon Musk, tasked with flushing out the U.S. government’s bureaucracy.
Such inconsistencies are harmful to us and readily exploited by them. As we deliberate whether are technically at war with Iran, Iran eagerly wages war on us through its media channels, its regional proxies, and through — as the two aerial attacks on Israel last year demonstrated — its own armed forces. Our response must be sharp and merciless at all levels.
Ben Cohen, a senior analyst with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, writes a weekly column for JNS on Jewish affairs and Middle Eastern politics. Write: Columnist@TheJewishStar.com
Bard…
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their academic standing. A geography professor wouldn’t be allowed to teach that the earth is flat, and a Middle East Studies professor shouldn’t be permitted to present anti-Israel propaganda as fact. This is academic malpractice.
Khalidi criticized Columbia’s antisemitism
task force, dismissing its members as unqualified. His real grievance? That its members are Jews who dare to defend Israel and Jewish students. His rejection of their definition of antisemitism is unsurprising. Antisemites always reject definitions that expose their own bigotry.
He portrays himself as a victim, whining that critics of Israel are being silenced, even as he continues to write, publish and speak without restraint. Like so many left-wing antisemites, he blames the right for campus antisemitism when the far right is nearly nonexistent in academia. The true danger comes from the left, which dominates the faculty and student organizations.
Despite retiring, Khalidi’s impact endures, with current faculty such as Joseph Massad continuing to disseminate extremist views.
The celebration of terrorism and the normalization of antisemitism on campus are direct consequences of the intellectual corruption Khalidi championed. His career serves as a grim warning: Universities become breeding grounds for hatred when ideology replaces scholarship.
Mitchell Bard is a foreign-policy analyst and authority on US-Israel relations.
Write: Columnist@TheJewishStar.com
Levine…
Continued from page 20
Hamas to survive as a political force in post-war Gaza, he hopes to placate a radicalized, restive and pro-Hamas Palestinian populace. To openly support Israel’s stated goal of destroying Hamas would make him a traitor in some quarters of the Arab world.
But this is all theater. There is no love lost between MBS and Hamas. Recall that MBS ordered the murder and mutilation of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Like Hamas, Khashoggi supported the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization dedicated to overthrowing the Saudi royal family. MBS is perfectly content to have Hamas destroyed. He just wants Israel to appear to do it over his “objections.”
In contrast to those Arab countries fighting (or in Saudi Arabia’s case, pretending to fight) to save Hamas, some Arab states, like the United Arab Emirates, want Hamas destroyed. They have made it clear they will not participate in any rebuilding of Gaza if Hamas has any future role in that. The UAE wants a “reformed” Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza. The term “reformed” remains intentionally undefined; it can mean anything. Presumably, it will mean whatever the UAE determines is in its best interest.
One of history’s lessons from the Arab-Israel conflict is that Arabs have never learned how to either win or lose a war against Israel. They do not know how to win because they cannot militarily defeat Israel, no matter how many times they have tried. They also do not know how to lose because the United States and Europe will never let Israel finish the job and win a clear and decisive victory.
Whether it was then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower who saved Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser after a resounding military defeat in the 1956 Suez Crisis, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger who saved Egypt’s Anwar Sadat as Israel was about to decimate the Egyptian Army in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, or former President Barack Obama, who continually put pressure on Israel to refrain from defending itself in the wake of relentless Palestinian terrorism, the Arabs have learned that they face little downside to waging war.
The worst that happens is that they end up no worse off than before they started the war. If there were deaths, it was all for a good cause. If there was destruction, the United States, Europe and usually the Gulf Arab states rebuild.
This dynamic must end.
World War II ended with the unconditional surrender of both Germany and Japan.
The Axis powers admitted defeat.
The Allies then governed their former en-
emies until the Germans and Japanese could rebuild their respective nations’ institutions and govern themselves. They accepted responsibility for waging a war of aggression.
To prevent them from waging war again, the constitutions of both Germany and Japan limit the size and capabilities of their militaries. The United States played a central role in drafting those constitutions and setting up its former enemies’ governments.
To ensure success, American forces remained in Germany and Japan 80 years later.
The rebuilding of Germany and Japan didn’t begin until they committed to beating their swords into plowshares and promising to make war no more. The same consequences must apply to Hamas and Gaza.
Hamas must be forced to surrender unconditionally and accept the humiliation and consequences that go with it. Defeat must have a price.
Attorney Eric Levine is a passionate advocate for Israel. Write: Columnist@TheJewishStar.com
Schwartz…
Continued from page 20
sion of Inquiry (COI) be put in charge of yet another investigation — on top of existing reports and evidence — before they can act.
The UN Secretary-General’s most recent report found that conflict-related sexual violence increased 50% in 2023 from the previous year.
This “free pass” given to Hamas for rape and other forms of abuse emboldens them to continue perpetrating these awful crimes against humanity. It also sends the message to terrorists and bad actors around the world that sexual violence will go unchecked. It is time for all nations to adopt an international protocol for responding to conflict-related sexual violence to ensure every instance of gender-based violence can be prosecuted to the fullest extent.
The first phase of the ceasefire deal has ended. Hamas rejected a proposal to negotiate a second phase of the deal and continues to hold nearly 60 hostages, more than half of whom are believed to have been killed. We must not rest until they are all home, and the world holds Hamas accountable.
We must also not rest until we have addressed the crisis levels of antisemitism that Jewish women have faced since the invasion.
Hadassah’s report documenting this phenomenon, “From Fear to Resilience: Women Facing Antisemitism,” lays out the unique impact antisemitism is having on Jewish women’s everyday lives, relationships and work in the United States.
The heartbreaking truth is that nearly twothirds of Jewish women surveyed feel unsafe because being Jewish makes them a target. Over half of them have even taken steps to hide their identity — in the workplace, in their communities and online. Jewish women are dropping out of college, losing friends and being targeted at work, and many no longer feel safe wearing Jewish stars.
Antisemitism is a global problem. The United Nations released an “Action Plan to Enhance Monitoring and Response to Antisemitism” earlier this year that recognized the sense of isolation and fear among Jews, though it remains to be seen how this plan will be implemented. We cannot forget both the Jewish women who suffered and died at the hands of Hamas, as well as global victims of conflict-related sexual violence. It is time to accelerate action and justice for the victims of Hamas’ terror and gender-based violence. Hamas must be listed in the “Annex to the 2025 Report on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence,” and countries must take steps to adopt an international protocol to respond to conflict-related sexual violence.
It is also imperative that we strengthen policies against rising antisemitism and stand up against all forms of hatred.
Carol Ann Schwartz is president Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America.
Write: Columnist@TheJewishStar.com
Proudly Jewish.
