The Jewish Star

Page 1

In the eyes of Islamic jihadists, all Westerners are inďŹ dels: P. 5

Paris jolts world. Now what? P. 6

D

Cedarhurst student and the guns of Hebron: P. 16

STAR

LO

N

G

IS

LA N

THE JEWISH Nov. 20, 2015 • 8 Kislev 5776

In Israel and America, Thanksgiving: P. 17–18

Parshas Vayetzei • Candlelighting 4:15 pm • Luach page 6

Vol 14, No. 44 • TheJewishStar.com

THE NEWSPAPER OF OUR ORTHODOX COMMUNITIES

IDF team urges 5 Towns: Teach your children well

Annual confab told that rebellious kids challenged even the Rishonim

Kerry ďŹ nds ‘rationale’ in terror one particular sense of wrong. It was to terrorize people. It was to attack everything that we do stand for,â€? Kerry told reporters before entering a meeting with French President Francois Hollande. Many in the U.S., including lawmakers and politicians, were quick to attack Kerry for legitimizing the January attacks. “There was absolutely nothing legitimate or rational about the slaughter of 10 newspaper staff and two police ofďŹ cers in Paris earlier this year,â€? said Rep. Edward Royce, R-Calif, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “Freedom of the press and freedom of expression are pil-

$GGUHVVLQJ WKH FORVLQJ VHVVLRQ RI WKH $JXGDK ,VUDHO RI $PHULFD FRQYHQWLRQ RQ 6XQGD\ IURP OHIW 5DEELV 0RUGHFKDL %HFKHU $YL 6KDIUDQ DQG 0RVKH 7XYLD /LHII &RXUWHV\ $JXGDK

lars of our free world, and we can never allow radical Islamists to use these fundamental rights to justify their evil acts. Secretary Kerry is plain wrong and needs to correct the record.� State Department spokesman John Kirby responded on Twitter, saying Kerry “didn’t justify Hebdo attacks, simply explained how terrorists tried to. As he said at time, it was a cowardly and despicable act.� New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie called Kerry’s remarks “offensive� and “truly stupid.� Kerry “needs to get some sleep and shut up is what he needs, that’s disgraceful,� Christie said.

By The Jewish Star Orthodox youngsters who go off the derech (OTD) were the subject of a candidate discussion at Agudah Israel of America’s 93rd annual convention, last weekend in Stamford, Conn. There’s “no scientiďŹ c evidence or double-blind surveysâ€? pinpointing causes,â€? Rabbi Mordechai Becher, senior lecturer at Gateways and history professor at Yeshiva University, told Agudah’s closing session. He said it was important to allow children to pose questions without fear of retribution — “acknowledge the question, even if you don’t know

801096

Combined Sources Secretary of State John Kerry drew heavy criticism this week after he voiced a distinction between Friday’s terror attack and the January attack against the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. Kerry said “there’s something different about what happened from Charlie Hebdo, and I think everybody would feel that,� noting there was “a sort of particularized focus� and “rationale� behind the Charlie Hebdo attack, which was followed by a murderous assault on a Parisian kosher supermarket. “This Friday was absolutely indiscriminate. It wasn’t to aggrieve

that was sponsored by Five Towns area’s shuls and schools to discuss how to refute anti-Israel bias in the media and on campus. Sgt. Anthony’s group, Our Soldiers Speak, has visited more than 370 campuses to defend the legality and morality of the IDF defense of Israel. Its speakers generally do not present their arguments at HilContinued on page 19

Agudah tackles OTD

PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID GARDEN CITY, NY 11530 PERMIT NO 301

+DYLQJ GHIHQGHG ,VUDHO LQ EDWWOH 6JW %HQMDPLQ $QWKRQ\ WRS QRZ ÂżJKWV YHUEDOO\ RQ FDPSXVHV +H GLVFXVVHG FKDOOHQJHV IDFLQJ WKH -HZLVK VWDWH RQ 6XQGD\ QLJKW DW WKH <, RI :RRGPHUH ZLWK MRXUQDOLVWV $PLU 7LERQ OHIW DQG <DDNRY /DSSLQ -HZLVK 6WDU (G :HLQWURE

they are rendered silent.� Regrettably, he said, the “most powerful voice condemning the state of Israel on campuses today is the Jewish voice.� “If we don’t educate ourselves, someone is going to do it in our stead,� he warned. Sgt. Anthony was joined by Israeli journalists Yaakov Lappin and Amir Tibon, at Sunday’s YIW event

By Ed Weintrob A key to the ďŹ ght against the rise of anti-Israel sentiment on college campuses may be sitting at the Shabbos tables of America’s Orthodox Zionist families. That’s the gist of a warning voiced on Sunday by IDF Sgt. Benjamin Anthony to an attentive audience at the Young Israel of Woodmere. Sgt. Anthony said that graduates of Jewish high schools were generally unprepared to advocate for Israel when confronted by determined Palestinian supporters. In Jewish high schools throughout the United States, “there is next to no Israeli history curriculum as part of the required teaching,â€? he said. “There is Jewish history [and] limudei kodesh,which is important, but Israel history is not taught with the rigorâ€? brought to other subjects. As a result, when Zionist students face the “Palestinian narrativeâ€? on campus, they often cannot counter it, he said. “They either turn against the story of Israel, or

the answer.â€? He cited Rabbi Dovid Cohen as afďŹ rming that “it’s mutar to say it’s a good question.â€? Rabbi Becher related the story of a friend’s 13-year-old son who was crying and said, “I’m scared. I had a question. I think I’m an apikores.â€? “Where did that come from?â€? asked Rabbi Becher, “that a seventh grader should cry because he thinks he’s an apikores.â€? The problem is not new, although some of our assumptions are “not working automatically anymore,â€? he said. Even Rishonim faced this chalContinued on page 19

Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.