The Truth About the Protestors

NYPD officers in riot gear (National Review)

I have been a fan of New York Mayor Eric Adams ever since he ran for the position a few years ago. And shortly after October 7^th, my admiration for him skyrocketed. His keen perception of reality was demonstrated by his reaction to the horrific events of that day. He knows how to cut through the noise and get to the heart of the matter.

This happened again today. Mayor Adams was interviewed on CBS this morning about sending NYPD riot police to the campuses of Columbia University and CUNY.

To the casual observer it might seem like throwing gasoline onto a fire. After all don’t students have a right to passionately and vigorously express their views about injustices in the world? ...and to get the people in power to do something about that? Weren’t they simply exercising  their inherent free speech rights? That they may have broken a rule about setting up tent encampments on the college campus hardly seems worthy of sending in the ‘storm trooper’ police in full riot gear!.

Ordinarily I might agree that sending riot police to a protest rally for what seems like minor and insignificant rule infractions is a bad idea. But the facts say something entirely different than what the optics suggest. That is where Mayor Adams comes in. He authorized the police to go there full force and and arrest the troublemakers at the behest of university officials. These ‘students’ actually occupied a building. (Kind of like the ‘protesters’  who occupied the Capital building on January 6^th.)

There were violent clashes between – on the one hand  students and a few faculty members.. and on the other hand the police. It was reminiscent of the protests on college campuses of the Viet Nam War era.

Mayor Adams explained that most of those arrested were outside agitators from various terrorist groups around the country and all over the world. These young people were being unduly influenced by these infiltrators. Then he cited a statistic that showed only 18% of American youth loved their country.

That - to me - is shocking and at the same time quite revealing. It helps identify who it is exactly that hates Israel. The same people that hate America. People influenced by radical progressives (both on and off campus) whose rhetoric is dripping with antisemitism disguised as anti Zionism. That many of these students are asking their schools to divest from Israel is not new. That demand was being made  long ago by student councils all over the country supporting BDS. (The D in BDS)

There are those who might reject this idea and suggest that most of these protests are about the way Israel is conducting the war. Although I would strongly disagree with them, that would be a legitimate protest. That may even be true in a few cases. But as noted many of these students have been anti Israel long before Israel's war with Hamas. Influenced to ignorantly claim that Israel is committing genocide and that they have been occupying Palestine for 76 years.

I believe the New York mayor got it right. Problem is that these protests have a life of their own and are expanding. The attention given by the media to these protests have had a subliminal message of justifying them.  To the casual observer these protests are indeed only about Israel's conduct in the war. And just like the Viet Nam war era protests. -  the media paints the police as near storm troopers descending on  innocent young students for simply voicing their opinions on an unjust war. .

I fear that public sentiment may turn in their direction if nothing is done. I would like to see a lot mote Jewish students in peaceful counter protests. I emphasize peacefull because if they get violent, they will be counterproductive. 

We need to get the message out that there is another, more legitimate side to this story, and to make our case to the public. I'm glad to see that local and federal governments seem to be on the right side of the issue right now, But I still think we ought to be doing more to present out case. Especially where the media can mostly be found. Which is at the expanding number of campus protests all over the country.

A Ray of Sunshine From Among the Clouds

Jewish Chicago Editor, Cindy Sher

It isn’t all doom and gloom. Although it does kind of seem like it these days if you are a Jew.  I have to admit that almost all the news affecting the Jewish people has been pretty depressing since  October 7^th. I need not rehash why. Life for the Jewish people has changed on that day on a scale not seen since the Holocaust. This is not to say that the two are comparable. It is to say that we have not felt such trauma - continuing trauma -  as a people since then. 

The anti Israel sentiment on campuses all over the county is but the latest manifestation of that. If one watches the news. one might get the feeling that we are back in the 1930s Germany.  

But perception is not always reality.  The protests are taking place almost exclusively by students on campuses infested with BDS supporting academics with outsized influences on those young minds full of mush. Along with Palestinian students and infiltrators - they are the ones making all the noise.

Outside of college campuses one will not see any media focus. That’s because there is nothing to focus on there. Most Americas are not focused on a war 7000 miles away where not a single American is participating. If anything disruptive protests that have taken place have had the opposite of their intended effect. They have not been popular with the American masses at all - to say the least!

The US government fully rejects antisemitism in all ts manifestations, Full stop. Doesn’t matter which  side of the political aisle one is on. While there surely are pockets of antisemitism all over the US, they remain on the fringes of society. Except on BDS infested college campuses.

There is some more good news to report here as well. It is rather well known that 90% of non Orthodox Jews in America are assimilating out of Judaism - one way or another. (That is not of course the good news.) The good news is the 10% that are not assimilating out - are more engaged in their Judaism than I once thought. This was the impression I got after reading stories in The JUF’s Jewish Chicago Magazine. 

Shortly after the events of October 7^th, Charedi magazines reported that there was a renewed interest in Judaism by secular Jews in their heritage.  

I must admit that the skeptic in me wondered if that was just a bit of wishful thinking based on some anecdotal evidence that didn’t reflect any significant overall change. And that in any case it wouldn’t las too long But when Cindy.Sher, the heterodox editor of JUF’s Jewish Chicago Magazine said the same thing many months later and backed it up with statistics – well, I think that is significant.

The 10 percenters are not secular Jews that don’t care about Judaism. They care a lot and always have. These are  Jews who take their Judaism seriously enough to observe at least some of the Torah’s Mitzvos and recognize that the Torah is in fact our foundational document. When tragedy struck they decided to become even more serious about observance. That might be the reason why there has been an uptick in Jewish day school enrollment. (Although the perception of an increase in antisemitism maybe part of the reason for that too) But there has also been an uptick in synagogue participation and in other areas of Jewish life.. 

It appears there has been a reawakening of one’s Judaism even among some of the 90%  as well.

I don’t know what to make of all this. My hope is that it isn’t a ‘flash in the pan’ that will disappear once things calm down in the Middle East. But in the meantime, it is good to know that secular  Jewry might be taking a step back from their exit out of Judaism. 

If that is indeed the case it should give us hope for a better future for American Jews than I had recently imagined. 

Now, let us get the people being held hostage by Hamas released. And may God grant us the permanent peace for which we pray every single day

Woke Jewish Professors

USC Professor Jonathan Cohen

One of the things that upsets me the most about all of the anti Israel protests is when I see a Jew involved. Especially one who plays the Holocaust card. This was the case with Jonathan Cohen, a professor of of public health at the University of Southern California (USC). When someone like this criticizes Israel it lends their views an aura of credence they do not deserve.

Cohen is yet another woke progressive that refuses to recognize context and sees only the here and now of a conflict. Which in my view is a very immoral way of looking at anything. To the uninformed masses criticism of Israel is enhanced by use of that card.. Which is not only immoral, it is unethical, too.

 Professor Cohen is upset at the following:

One of the applicants was Asna Tabassum, the 2024 class valedictorian whose invitation to speak at commencement was rescinded by the university April 15, after pro-Israel groups complained about a pro-Palestinian viewpoint she had shared on social media.  

As if to underscore his credentials with respect to genocide he offered this: 

I am a grandchild of the Holocaust, born to a refugee mother whose family fled the Nazi occupation of Poland and immigrated to Canada in 1948…

When I began my career in health and human rights, my understanding of safety evolved. I came to see how governments abridge all kinds of human freedoms — the freedom to speak, assemble, even move — in the name of “public safety.” 

And then - the coup de grâce:

In this context, it was as natural to criticize Israel’s policies toward Palestinians as it was to criticize Burma’s policies toward Rohingya Muslims, China’s policies toward Uyghurs, or Russia’s policies toward Chechens… 

I’m surprised he didn't include Nazi Germany’s policies toward the Jews in that list. Professor Cohen completely ignores the security context that makes that treatment a necessity. His non contextual implication is that Israel has nothing but nefarious motives for it’s polices towards Palestinians. Cohen might have a PhD in public health, But he is willfully ignorant of Israel’s security needs.

Where, one may ask, does Cohen get his information from.  The following might shed some light on that question: 

When criticism of Israel took a sharper turn, alleging crimes of apartheid and genocide against Palestinians, I knew better than to feel threatened as a Jew. By then, multiple trips to the West Bank with my husband, a Jewish anti-occupation activist, had taught me that Jews’ right to self-determination could not come at the expense of Palestinians’ rights and safety. And growing condemnation of Israel’s policies toward Palestinians by Israeli and Jewish human rights defenders showed me that many Jews saw their safety bound up in that of Palestinians. 

This article by a woke progressive Jewish professor explains a lot. It tells you what kind of Jew sees Israel as only an aggressor nation and Palestinians as their eternal victims. It also tells you why there are so many Jewish students (who are themselves ignorant) joining anti Israel protests. 

So next time a pro Palestinian Jewish student is interviewed by the media, it will be easier to understand where they got those ideas. Jonathan Cohen is not alone. There are probably a lot more woke Jews like him. 

The Anti War Protests

Pre October 7 Anti Israel student protest (TOI)

I am watching with dismay the increasing number of anti war protests taking place on college campuses right now. Protests that are fueled with the righteous indignation of students over civilian casualties that seem to outnumber terrorist casualties by orders of magnitude.

Indeed. Over 30,000 civilian casualties is a very disturbing number of innocent people dying in a war. Even if that war is just. It should therefore not be a surprise that students are expressing anger and outrage at those they see as responsible: Israel.

But what if they are protesting the wrong people? What if those really responsible are among the casualties themselves. Terrorists in civilian clothing hiding in plain sight? What if it is the Palestinian leadership in Gaza (Hamas) that is responsible for those numbers as a tactic to gain world sympathy? Problem is that these protestors either don't know it or don't believe it possible that any nation would do that to their people. 

What these students must surmise is what hey have been indoctrinated to believe about Israel, from intellectual Palestinian professors and their progressive colleagues who mentor many of these students,. Filling their heads about the evils of Zionism - the foundational principle of the Jewish state. These mentors define Zionism as nothing more than a colonialist enterprise designed to take land away from its indigenous peoples; to subjugate them and to mistreat them. 

And that for its entire 76 year existence Zionist Israel has been an Apartheid state where Palestinians have been ruled with an iron  military fist - subjected to harassment, humiliation, and poverty.  

Some of these leftist academics are quite mainstream  and their message is quite subtle, often cleverly stated in the context of tepidly condemning antisemitism.

Problem with that false narrative is that it’s working. This narrative is what is led UN Secretary-General António Guterres to say that October 7^th did not happen in a vacuum. While he did condemn what Hamas did,  he ended up partially justifying it with that comment. 

Anti Israel protests by students on college campuses didn’t start on October 7^th. They have been going on for quite some time. That they have increased in intensity now is because they see Hamas’s claim of Israeli Apartheid as true and a justification for what they did on that day.

In my view these protests are more about being anti Israel than they are about protesting the casualties of war and its attendant starvation. The war is just the precipitating factor of a long simmering animosity toward the Zionist Apartheid state 

(On this last point, It was quite telling to hear what Pope Francis said about starving Palestinians in answer to a question asked by a mainstream US network news anchor.  Based on direct reports from Gazans he said that food was coming in but there has been a distribution problem. That people there are fighting over the food.  

To me that says that Israel is not at fault. They are in fact letting food into Gaza. However, those distributing it (the UN?) are not doing a good job. There have also been reports that Hamas has been commandeering the food for themselves and selling it to civilians at exorbitant prices. But I digress.)

If you look at the protest signs and listen to the chants of the students it is mostly anti Zionism (i.e. anti Israel) . Not too much about a cease fire anymore. Zionism is the problem and it must be eradicated so that Palestinians can get their land back.

Sadly there are some Jews are among these protesters who have been chanting the same slogans. It should not be surprising that they are not aware that Zionism - which is about the Jewish people returning to the promised land - is and has always been part of our Jewish identity since ancient times. Not knowing that (or not even caring) is a common error made by much of our Jewish youth bereft of any kind of quality Jewish education.

To many (most) of these people, justice in Palestine means dismantling the Zionist Jewish state. They  agree with the Hamas goal if not entirely with their methods (resulting from decades of frustration at the oppression by Zionists).  

That there is a leftist bias indoctrinated into these student protestors was exposed by the reaction Columbia students had to House Speaker Mike Johnson - widely known as a conservative  Republican.  Before he could open his mouth he was booed by the crowd. Without knowing what he was going to say.

There is an eerie similarity between the current protests and the anti Viet Nam War protests of the late 60s - early70s. Back then college campuses were taken over by students. And just like today, some of those protests turned violent and some protestors were arrested. The idealistic students of that time persisted. They considered the Viet Nam War immoral. Just as today’s protestors consider Israel’s war against Hamas immoral

Although they refuse to recognize the truth, there are major differences between this war and the Viet Nam War. Starting with the fact that Hamas first attacked Israel, killing 1200 Jews in the most brutal way imaginable -  and took hostages. Israel had no choice but to conduct a war to eliminate that scourge.  Doing so with the blessing of the US government, its people, and the rest of the free world. Even now the US still supports Israel’s right to do so albeit now disagreeing with their methods.. Point being that unlike these protestors they do not see Israel as an Apartheid state that needs to be dismantled and given to the Palestinians.

Complicating matters is the fact that there are still over 100 hostages being held by Hamas. Hostage families and Anti Netanyahu protestors are demanding that he make any deal that would that would free them. Hamas has said the only way it will do that is if there is a permanent cease fire. Which of course will only be permanent until the next time they want to perpetrate an October 7^th. Israel cannot afford to make that deal. So they are basically caught between a rock and a hard place.

I am not feeling very confident right now about where this is going. Which seems to be in the opposite direction of justice for the Jewish people. 

We’ve been here before. I just wish I knew how to instill the truth into these young minds filled with the progressive mush they are being fed so successfully by their morally bankrupt  professors.

May This Pesach Bring an End to War and Bring Peace to Our People

This has been a tough year. Israel is going through one of it's most challenging periods since its founding in 1948. They are fighting for their very lives. with an enemy determined to annihilate them. Even though Israel's military is clearly capable of defending itself, it has come - and will unfortunately continue come at great cost  in both blood and treasure.

The Jewish people have not been under such  assault since the Holocaust. Although obviously not anywhere near the same level. And just as obviously not by - either our benevolent government or the vast majority of it people. Still, the assault from the few is still greater in number and more vocal than at any time in American history.

The war against Hamas has brought out into the open in very strident ways the latent antisemitism in a lot of people.  Thankfully, unlike Europe of the 30s  the  American government and its people do not  tolerate it. 

It is for tis reason that this year's celebration of Pesach has taken on deeper meaning. We are a lot closer to the persecution our ancestors had in ancient Egypt than we have ever been in this country (obviously of course not anywhere near its intensity).

As we are about to celebrate our liberation from slavery in Egypt - a liberation that included our formation as a nation at Sinai through the reception of the Torah - culminating with our entry into the promised land, I pray that just like our ancestors were given salvation by the Lord, so too will the Jewish people - their offspring many generations later - be given theirs. 

With that in mind, I want to wish everyone a happy and Kosher Pesach. May God protect and save the Jewish people. May He bring peace to his people and to the entire world.

The Tenth Plague

Pour Out Your Wrath

Exodus

The Four Cups

Why are Women Required to Recite the Haggadah

Sinas Chinam and Pesach

The Fifth Cup

The Torah is Not in Heaven

L'fichach

Pesach, Matza, Marror

Yochel MeRosh Chodesh

Amen

Maschil B'Gnus U'Mesayem B'Shvach

Heseibah L'ikuva

Kol Difchin

Baruch Shomer Haftechaso

The Haggadah and Kriyas Yam Suf

Kriyas Yam Suf

Torah Thoughts for the Seder

American Views about Israel Since October 2023

Some of Mishpachca’s ‘man in the street’ interviewees

There was an interesting ‘man in the street’ interview in Mishpacha Magazine last week. The idea was to randomly ask Jews who were not particularly religious how - or even if October 7^th changed their lives Jewishly. While their goal was to interview only Jews, they ended up interviewing a few non Jews as well.  

Although this was not a statistically significant study, it mimics what my own non scientific impression about the views of both Jewish and non Jewish Americans with respect to Israel since that day of infamy. I got a sense of what I believe is a very sad reality. Which is that as a rule most Jews tend to be more critical of Israel’s conduct in the war them most non Jews.

I can’t really blame them for being critical based on what they see. Even though I completely disagree with them I have the benefit of knowing the historical context of the conflict and the reality of their unalterable determination to return all of Palestine into Muslim hands and exterminate us in the process as as a religious value. All of which is codified in the Hamas charter. And the fact that Israel is surrounded by countries and  militias with guns pointed at it. Including Iran proxies in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and  Iran itself. Not to mention Hamas, which is itself an Iran proxy.

Without any of that context, it is understandable why Palestinians are getting so much sympathy. The fact that it is mostly young people (including many young Jewish people) that are joining pro Palestinian protests is a function of their ignorance of any of that context. They protest what they see every night now for 6 months! If you factor in the influence pro Palestinian faculty members have on their students, it not only increases their numbers but gives campus protesters the added ‘legitimacy’ of being college educated.

The response of one the Mishpacha’s  Jewish interviewees illustrates the complete naiveté of which I speak: 

 “I see the anger on both sides. I was brought up on the philosophy that you should love your enemy. I see that Jews are angry, so this principle of ‘love your enemy’ is really being put to the test. It’s a test for us to be able to look beyond all the hate. But even in this horror, we can be a bridge, and look beyond the hate to what is true and just. We should find a way to make peace with our neighbors to the south.

“Everyone has lost people, there is indiscriminate horror regardless of which side you’re on. Everyone wants to protect his own family, his tribe.”

If this response was not so laden with deadly consequences it would make me laugh. Imagine having a meeting with Hitler and trying to sell him this argument? Does anyone with even a half a brain think this could have worked?

We are talking about Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran... and more. all of whom consider  Mein Kampf required reading. They consider Hitler one of their heroes. A role model with respect to the Jewish people. Little children are indoctrinated to believe that killing Jews is the will of God. Devout Muslims like these are probably more motivated to kill Jews than Hitler was. That’s why Palestinians in Gaza AND the West Bank cheered at what happened on October 7^th instead of being horrified like the rest of the civilized world.

Sure. Finding common ground and making peace with your enemy is the surest way to find peace a prosperity for your people. But only it it’s possible. This poor clueless young Jew may think he is being true to his ideals. But he is not. He is being stupid based on ignorance.

I am happy to say that the president and vast majority of congress (in both houses - on both sides of the political aisle) are a bit less clueless than the altruistic but misguided young  supporters of Hamas. While they also express sympathy for suffering Palestinian they understand what Israel is up against and must do to protect itself. And they are supporting them with cash.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a conservative Republican supporter of Donald Trump bucked fellow conservative Republican House members (that I consider extremists). They wanted him to reject any support for the Ukraine even if it meant denying aid to Israel. They have been denying this vital aid for 6 months. 

Johnson had the courage of his convictions to  finally submit 3 bills for a vote in the House (one of which was aid to Israel). It passed overwhelmingly with almost half the Republicans and all of the Democrats voting in favor of it. This despite threats by the extremists in his party to oust him if he did.  They will now  attempt to do that. But it appears that Democrats may actually vote against it and save his job as a reward for doing the right thing. (Haven’t seen bipartisanship like that in a long time.)

Although there is so much media focus on the nationwide Palestinian protests, I still believe that most Americans support Israel and its right to defend itself. Even if they might disagree on how they are doing it (based on all those horrible images coming out of Gaza).

There are two interviews with non Jews that I believe capture the mood of the country - one of someone leaning conservative and the other of two people  leaning  liberal: 

Interview one:

 “Netanyahu did right,” he offers emphatically. “Hamas took over the Palestinian people, and he was right to go after them. The people who are pro-Palestinian and pro-Hamas just aren’t very educated. Biden, Obama… I don’t know what’s going on there. Obama never showed any respect for Netanyahu. He made him wait hours for meetings. Maybe it goes back to the influence of George Soros. But what’s happening with them all is a travesty. I hope Netanyahu stays in power.”

Interview two:

“It’s bad, what’s going on,” Diana ventures. “I can empathize with the people who are feeling unsafe, or targeted. But I don’t know that people in New York are so negative. I think there are as many people who want to help Israel and Jews as there are against them.”

 “It’s been a rough situation over there that’s been going on for years,” she says. “Most people don’t want to see more people dying over it. We’d like to see some kind of resolution.”

“The pro-Hamas people are just more vocal,” Diane says. “When you speak to people quietly, they’re pro-Israel. I feel like New York is still a safe place, and Jews don’t need to worry.” 

As I indicated at the outset. I have no proof that the views expressed in these  excerpts reflect the actual mood of the American people vis-a vis Israel and the Jewish people. But they do closely  resemble my own observation and instincts. .

Ignorant Jews and their 'Judaism'

Dr. Nemat Shafik testifying at yesterday's congressional hearing (Forward)

Emily Tamkim is a case study in ignorance about both academic freedom - and especially Judaism. She should be embarrassed by her comments on both issues

In her opinion piece in the Forward, Tamkin first quoted Nara Milanich, a professor of history at Barnard College who said the following: 

“I think President (Dr. Nemat) Shafik had an opportunity to stand up for the values of academic freedom, free speech and the value of the university to research, teach, and engage on difficult issues,” Milanich wrote. “She chose not to do so.” 

Really? Calling for the genocide of the Jewish people is a protected right of free speech?! And praising the mass murder of 1200 Jews by a group whose published goal is the extermination of the Jewish people is  right granted by academic Freedom?!  Praising or advocating mass murder of an entire people is OK with her?! 

How would she feel about Jewish protestors calling for the extermination of the Palestinian people? Or a Jewish professor who said that Baruch Goldstein's slaughter of innocent Palestinians was amazing? I highly doubt that she would say that he has that right. He would probably be fired in a heartbeat. Tenured or not.  

Free speech cannot include calling for genocide. And academic freedom cannot include praising mass murderers.  It should be no different than yelling ‘Fire’ in a crowded theater and calling it free speech. Academic freedom – like free speech stops when it results in - or incites harm to others.

Furthermore her criticism of the committee members that questioned President Shafik about her schools antisemitism having their own antisemitic baggage is irrelevant. What is relevant is whether there is currently any antisemitism on her campus today. Evil is still evil no matter who points it out.

What bothered me even more is her view about Israel’s relevance to the Jewish people. Which was indicated by the following excerpt from her column: 

Law professor David Schizer, co-chair of Columbia’s task force on antisemitism, testified alongside Shafik, and stated that Israel “is a core part of Jewish identity.” “That is false,” Sheldon Pollock, an emeritus professor of South Asian studies at Columbia, wrote me in an email. “Many Jews are indifferent to Zionism, or are non-Zionists, or are anti-Zionists, something abundantly attested to in the history of Jewish nationalism over the last 150 years.” Schizer’s misconception, Pollock continued, was a prime example of the acute confusion about antisemitism itself, which, ostensibly, is what the hearing was about. 

To quote someone (Jewish or not)  whose knowledge of Judaism is about the same as my Mexican neighbor is both deceptive and wrong. All one has to do to realize how important Israel is to Jewish identity is to open the bible. It’s all there in black and white.

That there are Jews who are ignorant of the bible and their own Jewish heritage and probably never even cracked open the bible, our foundational document, makes them clueless about what actually is important to the Jewish people.  

Any Jew who says Israel is not important to them would probably say that Shabbos and Kashrus is not important to them. Sadly, I wouldn’t even be surprised if their very Jewish identity isn’t important to them. That has unfortunately been borne out by the massive decline in Jewish identity by secular Jews  and their high rate of intermarriage. The younger they are, the more that seems to be true.

I’m sure there are exceptions. But I’m pretty sure that the kind of Jews that are anti Israel are drawn from that crowd. Where Torah is either ignored if not downright disparaged

To be absolutely clear, this is not to say that any criticism of Israel is illegitimate. The Agudah criticizes Israel all the time. Not because Israel isn’t a part of their Jewish identity. But because they are opposed to  some of Israel’s polices as it affects their religious beliefs and practices.

I am so sick of ignorant Jews like Tampkin explaining Judaism to the world. If she really wants to do that, she ought to take a few years off and get an authentic Jewish education. She could use one.

Academia and the American People

Columbia University President Nemat Shafik (JTA)

This time the answer was the right one. It’s too bad the first three times (in a row) the answer was stupid, foolish, and outright wrong. The question asked this time at a congressional hearing about antisemitism on college campuses was the same as it was in the other three cases: 

“Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate (Insert college here) code of conduct?”

The first time (back n December of last year) 3 university presidents with diverse backgrounds were asked that question: Harvard (now former) President Claudine Gay who is black, UPenn (now former) President Elizabeth McGill who is white, and MIT President Sally Kornbluth who is Jewish. They gave virtually identical answers. As though they were schooled by the ACLU in constitutionally protected free speech. Their answers were ‘It depends.

Yesterday at the latest congressional hearing on the subject, the correct answer was given by Columbia President Nemat Shafik who is of Egyptian descent. It was an a immediate and unequivocal yes. It did violate Columbia’s code of conduct.

The first 3 presidents were harshly criticized for their stupid answer by people on both sides of the political aisle. Staring with conservative Republican and Trump supporter Elise Stefanik (who first asked the question) - to Lawrence Tribe an arch-liberal constitutional scholar who said that he never thought he would ever agree with Stefanik on anything. But he did on this.

It seems ironic that a woman of Arab descent would give the right answer about antisemitism while a Jewish woman could not. But I think it is more about ‘lesson learned’ than actually knowing the difference between right and wrong. This was indicated by Shafik’s hesitation at a follow up question about a tenured Columbia professor of Arab descent who publicly expressed amazement and approval of what Hamas did on October 7^th. She was asked whether she would fire a teacher expressing a view like that. 

She stumbled over her answer but then answered in the affirmative.  She stumbled because for a moment - she probably thought his views were a function of his constitutionally protected free speech.

This is the problem with the progressiveness that has taken over in the hierarchy in university education. It isn’t just that a popular left wing Palestinian professor says things like this. It is that college presidents are condoning it.

If Jews on campus were to have a rally calling for the genocide of Palestinians, how far would university tolerance for free speech go?  I can’t imagine a question about whether Jewish students calling for the genocide of Palestinians was against school policy getting an ‘it depends’ answer. And I can’t imagine any university official expressing hesitation about firing a Jewish professor expressing joy over the 30,000 Gaza Palestinain deaths and the starvation of its refugees - thinking even for a moment it was his free speech right. There would be no hesitation at all about firing him.

What if anything does this say about antisemitism in America?   

Well for starters it says that both liberals and conservatives agree that antisemitism is wrong. It also say that the government does not tolerate it. But it also says something about academia. Major universities have gone from right wing antisemitism where Jews were at first barred from entry and later limited to quotas out of fear that those schools would become ‘too Jewish’... to left wing antisemitism under the guise of leveling the playing field through affrimative action. Disadvantaged minorities were given precedence over more qualified students.jsudge more by the Which in some cases were Jews started implementing quotas again in reverse. Instead of being accepted on merit a predetermined number of students would be accepted based on diversity. 

Now things have deteriorated into outright antisemtism being tolerated on college campuses from  faulty, students, and even administrations. All of whom are victims of woke progressives

I do not however believe this kind of thinking has filtered down to the average American.  The vast majority of Americans are not woke. Most are not hypnotozed by the rhetoric of the left that has for example villified he founding fathers as nothing ore than slaveholders who built this great country on the backs of those slaves. Most Americans still see the founding fathers m as great but flawed men who were influenced by the etos of theor time.  

This is why there is a distinct possibility that the most unqualified individual in the history of the American presidency may ascend to office again. The American  people are not happy with the woke direction in which this country is going. a direction that - among other things spawned a permissive attitude in academia about antisemitism.

My hope is that the pendulum will again swing back to where it was before he term woke even existed. 

The Ignorant View of a Biased Man

Pastor John Hagee speaking at the November March for Israel (Forward)

Jay Michaelson is an open and proud gay man who is an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. He also is identified as a rabbi in his bio. 

I have no idea where he was ordained. But if he engages in male to male sexual activity typical of most gay people, then his rabbinic ordination is worthless – even if it is Orthodox.  There is no way a man can call himself a ‘teacher of Torah’ which is what a rabbi is supposed to do and deliberately violate one of its cardinal principles. I can't say for sure that he does that. But at the very least he has never said that such activity is forbidden if he is actually opposed to it as the Torah requires.

Please do not misunderstand. I am not anti LGBTQ+. On the contrary. I support their right to be treated with the dignity that every human being deserves. That is what being created in the image of God requires us to do. Mistreating them in any way is a violation of the Torah. They have a right to be treated with respect and human dignity. And to judge them by the content of their character, not by their sexual orientation. There is nothing sinful about being attracted to members of the same sex. It is how one reacts to that attraction that might be.

(I know that I have said this many times. But I have to say it every time the subject comes up lest I am accused of gay bashing. Something I am vehemently opposed to.)

I mention all this now because of an opinion piece he wrote in the Forward where his identity as a rabbi has relevance. Which he does bring to bear in his column.

Therein he bashes Pastor John Hagee, founder of CUFI (Christians United for Israel) one of the strongest supporters of Israel and the Jewish people in all of Christendom. I am not going to go into all the money Pastor Hagee has raised for the Jewish state or all the support he has drummed up among the Christian faithful. That kind of thing is easy to find online. Needless to say it is massive.

I am, however, going to address the Michaelson’s ‘proof’ that Hagee’s support is nothing more than a desire to bring on the second coming of his god and therefore no friend to Israel. This he says is evidenced by the following: 

“Prophetically, we are on the verge of the Gog-Magog war that Ezekiel described in chapters 38 and 39,” Hagee said on Sunday, after over 200 Iranian missiles were fired on Israel... 

And what does Hagee plan to do about this unprecedented attack? “We don’t need to de-escalate,” he said. Instead, Christians United For Israel — the Christian Zionist organization that Hagee founded in 2006 —held an “emergency fly-in” Monday to visit lawmakers in Washington, D.C., in order to “tell them to stop shuffling papers and do something to help Israel.”

A cursory look at Pastor Hagee’s comments might lead some people to say, Hey! Maybe Michaelson is right about all that Evangelical support. Maybe it is all about hastening end-times and the  second coming.  And accelerating Armageddon where non believing Jews and other non believers will die.

Wow! A Christian that believes in Christian theology. Is anyone really surprised at that? Anyone who thinks that an Evangelical preacher gave up a core Christian belief is a fool. And yet, Michaelson thinks that Hagee's true motives have finally been exposed. Which are not about supporting Israel but about hastening end-times. 

But that just isn’t the case. Of course Hagee believes in that. But guess what,  We have an end-times prophesy too. It is known as Acharis HaYomim.- the 'end of days’. Hagee’s  quote from Ezekiel is quite accurate. There will be a war between Gog and Magog - that will end with the coming of Moshiach. But not as Hagee believes with the second coming of his god. That result will manifest at the proper time. Until then Pastor Hagee’s support for Israel and the Jewish people is both warm and genuine.

In the meantime devout Jews and Christians base their views about Israel on the bible. This is why Evangelical Christians tend to support the most right wing position on settling the land of Israel. In this sense their views are not that far off from those of the religious Zionist right who believe the same thing. I don't agree that we should be doing that now for reasons that are beyond the scope of this post. My point is, however, that they do so because the bible tells them that all the land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people.

This hardly makes Hagee no friend of Israel. At least not any more than the tens of thousands of Israelis that believe and advocate for the same thing. Does Michaelson think they too are no friends of Israel?  Disagree if you will. But enemies of Israel they are not.

What Michaelson chooses to ignore is that people like Hagee and his flock support Israel and the Jewish people not because they want to hasten end-times (even though they believe in that theology).. But that is clearly what Michaelson want’s you to believe. 

We know why they support Israel by what they constantly preach to the flock. Quoting passages from the Torah (their Old Testament) where God says numerous times that those who bless the Jewish people will themselves be blessed. 

That being said, a lot of people will actually agree with Michaelson and  say that they have been saying this was their true motive all along. But I have heard their televangelists preaching their reasons for many years and the vast majority of time, it is all about what their their Old Testament says, Not what their New Testament says. 

The late Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein who made a career out of courting Evangelical preachers told me the same thing. Evangelical support of Israel like that of John Hagee is not based on their end-times prophesy beliefs. Michaelson’s view to the contrary not withstanding. They are simply the machinations of an ignoramus with preconceived biases who has not done his homework.

Has There Been an Earthquake in Israel?

Do Charedim still consider the draft- Shmad?

There has been a massive earthquake in Israel.  Not a physical earthquake. A spiritual earthquake. So massive is the proposed  change in the Charedi position on drafting their students, I can’t really believe it’s happening. In fact, I’ll believe it when I see it…when it is actually implemented. It is almost too good to be true. From VIN: 

In the wake of the public debate over the new Draft Law, a dramatic proposal has allegedly been put forward by Charedi parties to begin drafting approximately 25% of yeshiva students who come of age each year, and later raise the percentage to nearly 50%, which would amount to 6,000 yeshiva students, Israel Hayom reported. 

A few days ago I referred to a story about a possible break between Charedi politicians in Israel and their rabbinic leadership (often referred to simply as ‘the Gedolim’). Which by itself was unprecedented. But this is more than a little ripple of disagreement. It seems like a split of gargantuan proportion. 

The hard fact is that Charedi opposition to the draft was one of the few things they have always said was non negotiable. Opposition that was based not only on  reducing the numbers of Charedim learning Torah full time. But fear that the army would disabuse their students of their God fearing ways - and ultimately their religious practice. Arguments to the contrary have always been dismissed as not good enough – with the government falling well short of all the promises they made to accommodate Charedi recruits in special Charedi units. 

Opposition to the draft  has remained firm since the establishment of the state. Every time there was discussion among Israeli officials about drafting any number of Charedim - no matter how small the percentage - massive protests  called for by the Gedolim broke out. As recently as a few days ago, in a act of solidarity with Israeli Gedolim the American Agudah Moetzes  published the following words in an email blast I received: 

Now, the authorities in the Holy Land have cancelled deferrals and exemptions from army service for those scholars, attacking the Torah and its Giver, and because of these anti-religious motivations they are endangering all Jews in this time of war.  

We join in the pain and worry of all Jews at this danger. We join with the great Torah leaders of the Holy Land in their call to stand against this ruling. 

Obviously compromise was the furthest thing from the mind. And now… THIS? 

I’m not sure what to make of it. If true... have the Israeli Gedolim done a complete 180 about the draft? Or are Charedi  politicians acting on their own? I find the latter highly unlikely. Because almost by definition Charedi politicians will never defy their leadership. 

I am hopeful  but nonetheless skeptical about the reliability of this news. I do not see a massive change in policy on an issue of this nature. An issue that has been at the core of Chareid policy from which their leadership has never veered.

And what about the hard core Jerusalem faction? They are not going to take this sitting down. There will surely be unprecedented protests that will cause unprecedented disruption in the lives of all Israelis -  including Charedim. How will the Charedi leadership deal with that?

On the other hand if this is indeed true and a compromise of this nature is acceptable to both sides - it can usher in a new era of unprecedented unity among Jews of good will and of all stripes.. A unity that was heretofore unachievable except for the briefest of moments during times of tragedy. As was he case in the immediate aftermath of the October 7^th Hamas massacre.

 The benefits of this compromise (if true) are unlimited. If secular Israelis were ever ready for outreach... ready   to take a new look at what it means to be Jew.. there has never been a better time than now. The observant community will  have a golden opportunity to rise to the occasion and welcome them  with warmth and open arms.