Category Archives: Opinion - Page 2
A Tweet from the Jewish Daily Forward linking to a recent article asked why the YU Alumni is ok with the YU Rabbi who used the term “Schvartzer” but is angry with Former President Jimmy Carter. The tweet was referring to YU’s Rabbi Schechter who said that a Jew in prison with ‘a Muslim a Shvartzer’ (African American) may be in trouble; a line for which he took a lot of heat.
As someone who has had more than four hundred of his Yiddish articles published in major Yiddish papers; as someone who analyzes daily political and business news on a major Yiddish Information line, I believe I can – without getting involved in the context of Rabbi Schechter’s speech - address with some authority the issue of whether the Yiddish term ‘Shvartzer’ is indeed racist: Read more »
The following Op-Ed is by Sol Rieger: One of the questions asked recently by Michael Savage was ‘where in the Torah does it say that a circumcision has to end with Metzitza B’peh (MBP)?’ Savage wants it written in the Bible itself. Anything else in Jewish textbooks such as in the Talmud, he claims should be open for revisions.
Sorry Michael. If we would do everything that’s written in the Torah (Bible) as is, we would actually poke out an eye for an eye, but our teachings tell us that an eye-for-an-eye means that as punishment you need to pay the monetary cost of enduring the pain and shame of losing an eye.
Read more »
The following is an op-ed by Dovi Meles: Jack Lew’s nomination to be Secretary of the Treasury made one of, if not, the highest-ranking Orthodox Jews in U.S. Government history. If nothing else, Lew’s dedication to public service in our country and nomination should help motivate the Orthodox Jewish community to reevaluate its commitment to public service. As a public servant myself, I believe it is important for our community to explore careers in public service as they are unique and rewarding opportunities to serve our country. Read more »
As we saw in the Cliff Deal, Dems are not ready to go back to Bill Clinton Tax Rates on the Poor and Middle Class (PMC) when they were taxed $100 billion a year more than since George W. Bush gave them cuts. Dems also oppose Ryan spending levels despite it being $600 billion a year more than had we followed Bill Clinton style spending over the last twelve years. If so, what is it about the Clinton Years that Dems want to continue earning votes on:
Is it the 1990s tech bubble and business corruption that boosted the economy for Clinton but blew up in Bush’s face? Is it the economy Clinton inherited from Bush Sr. which gained 225,000 jobs per month yet was almost fully in recession when Bill left? I mean, if Dems oppose changing back the two major economic policies that changed since Bill Clinton left office (speed in spending; tax rates on the PMC), why is Hillary in the game? Why is “look what we did in the 1990s” on the table? On what economic policies are Dems running? 22 millions jobs and balanced budgets are not policies; they are the result and outcome of policies (or bubbles), but if Democrats are not ready to repeat the policies of Bill Clinton, they should stop using his name as a tool to win elections.
The 2016 elections will be here faster than you think. The following six questions are for Democrats to answer:
1) Despite “ending the wars,” Obama’s FY2010 through FY2013 budgets spend in total $12.7 trillion versus $10.7 trillion during the preceding four years. That’s a $2 trillion difference over one term (in 2005 dollars) despite sequestration. Since you claim we need this spending to help the economy, how much more should spending rise and be elevated for Unemployment and Poverty rates to meet the averages of 2008, Bush’s last year? Read more »
An observer of Middle East politics emails me that Bibi Netanyahu sure got something in return for apologizing to Turkey about the Flotilla while Turkey overtly did not give or do anything in return. The observer’s speculation is that it has something with Iran. Indeed, from Israel, Turkey is not on route to Iran but if it’s true that Obama is ready to use force by October, the U.S. needs less complications in the region, certainly from a player like Turkey. But then again it’s pure speculation.
The Orthodox Jewish Community has taken a lot of heat; been the target of bad press and hateful, prejudicial and outright repugnant online posts for their insistence that the American concept of Innocent Until Proven Guilty (IUPG) be extended to Orthodox Jews too. Accused criminals are too often convicted in the court of public opinion, well before the facts finally come out, and fair minded Americans including many in the Orthodox Jewish Community believe that every American deserves and is indeed, entitled, to due process as well as due diligence, before and after a conviction. Read more »
The following article is from Attorny Ryan Karben: The real winner in this past Tuesday’s election in Rockland County’s Airmont? Diversity and compromise– all candidates in this municipality, once found to discriminate against Orthodox Jews, courted that community’s vote. The results offer the possibility of coalition politics that balances the zoning concerns of longtime residents with the cultural needs of the religious newcomers.
Incumbent Mayor Veronica Boesch survived an energetic challenge from Planning Board member Tom Gulla. The turnout was 1,528. Boesch polled 791votes; Gulla 696. While Gulla polled more strongly among Orthodox Jewish voters, Boesch courted the community as well and her 95 vote margin of victory came from that support. Read more »
Yaakov Ahimeir Writes: The Knesset has long served as an arena for political wrangling, slinging insults and saber rattling — in addition to brainstorming and legislating proper laws. Now, the Knesset is preparing itself to digest U.S. President Barack Obama’s insulting refusal to deliver his keynote address at the head of the plenum, thereby failing to acknowledge the Knesset as a symbol of Israeli sovereignty. Obama will deliver his keynote address at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, instead… Read more »
Ronn Torossian writers: As CEO of a PR firm, we often brief clients prior to major communications endeavors, and with President Obama embarking upon his much-awaited Israel trip which is sure to attract major attention, wanted to offer ten tips to ensure his trip to Israeli is a success:
1: It is not necessary to bow to elected officials in Israel. Your bow to the Saudi King is not necessary in the Jewish State. Shaking hands will do just fine for Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Peres and others.
2: The Israeli media is everywhere and indeed will not leave you alone. Don’t be surprised if there are open microphones and don’t get caught talking ill of Prime Minister as you did last year with Sarkozy. Read more »
In its Autopsy, the Republican National Committee is praising the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) for its efforts among Jewish Voters in 2012. Mat Brooks running the RJC boasted in response that the share of Jewish voters going with the Republicans rose from 22% in 2008 to 32% in 2012.
Is this Comedy Central? Read more »
When Chuck Hagel was a senator considering a run for president, the National Jewish Democratic Council condemned him. In 2009, when Hagel was first floated as a possible Obama nominee, then-NJDC head Ira Forman said this would be unacceptable. And then Hagel became an actual nominee and the NJDC gave him a blessing. It’s in that context that Breitbart.com scores a pretty clean hit on the NJDC. Its new head, Aaron Keyak, condemns Paul’s out-there votes on Israel —just like Republicans condemned Hagel’s votes!
Read David Weigel’s full article at Slate
Alan Dershowitz: The recent disclosure that Omar Misharawi, the baby son of BBC reporter Jihad Misharawi, was actually killed by an errant Hamas rocket rather than by an Israeli missile, should have absolutely no moral implications. Of course the baby was killed by Hamas. He would have been killed by Hamas even if the missile that ended his life had been fired by Israel.
Hamas is totally and wholly responsible for this death, as it is responsible for every civilian death in Gaza and in Israel. It is Hamas that always begins the battle by firing rockets at Israeli civilians. Generally Israel does not respond. When it does, its rockets occasionally kill Palestinian civilians. Read more »
There are three levels of Chutzpah:
The first level is Democrats claiming the Paul Ryan’s budgets cut Medicare/Medicaid while both programs will in fact continue to rise faster than inflation.
The second level is Democrats boasting about Bill Clinton Surpluses which came about by making real cuts to many programs but then Dems rip the GOP for offering budgets which will still spend hundreds of billions more a year than had we followed Clinton the last twelve years.
Read more »
Daniel Tauber is having a field-day over at the Jewish Press: The Jerusalem Post reports today that JStreet, the only lobby dedicated to opposing and putting pressure on Israel, is claiming Hagel’s confirmation as U.S. Secretary of Defense a “victory.”
That’s funny, because JStreet is probably one of the Jewish organizations whose stance mattered least of all, and Hagel is a Secretary of Defense who’s approval was filibustered and who received the most nay votes in all of American history. If this is a show of JStreet power, then those of us who are actually pro-Israel have something to be thankful for. Read more »
Ron Torossian Writes at the Algemeiner: While not unique to Israel, politicians often don’t keep their promises anywhere in the world, but Israel especially is a place where ideology is often bent. The so-called “right-wing” Likud Party has in the last few years seen leaders like Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert make political compromises which would have caused party forefather Ze’ev Jabotinsky to turn in his grave. To “pressure” Naftali Bennett of the Bayit Yehudi party to join the government, the Likud has instituted a freeze on building in the settlements and appointed the Hatnuah Party Chairperson Tzipi Livni to lead negotiations with the Palestinians. Is this a party which can claim loyalty to ideology? if they can turn on the policy of expanding settlements simply because Bennett won’t join their government? Read more »
The narrative presented by Democrats is that Bill Clinton inherited a bad economy from Bush 41. Then came George W. Bush and made a mess which Obama is working so hard to clean up. This was largely Bill Clinton’s speech at the DNC Convention and this is a key reason why many Americans still blame Bush for the current mess. Dems will continue to push this falsehood ahead of the 2016 elections.
Read more »
To illustrate how absurd it was from Obama to releases the 500 illegal immigrants due to the Sequester, consider this shocking number: Housing 500 Federal Prisoners for five days is the same as operating Air Force One for just one hour.
Here are the numbers:
Ø Operating AF1 per hour was $181,757 in 2010.
Ø Federal Bureau of Prisons (POB) per capita cost was $71.49 per day in 2011.
Ø Split that in 24 hours, it’s a poor $2.97 per hour per federal prisoner. Read more »
